What family traditions have you created for your kids?

I'm a big fan of family traditions. I especially enjoy ones that my kids helped create. Amy I. posted last week about her Mother's/Father's Day tradition. She and her husband give each other illustrated children's books about moms and dads. I love this idea because it has a personal touch, it's easy to implement and most importantly, the kids can get involved.

As I was catching up on Gretchen Rubin's blog, The Happiness Project, I saw that she had created a new family tradition -- Restaurant Night -- inspired by her oldest daughter. Ever Saturday night, the family decides on a food theme (Italian, Mexican, etc.) and creates a restaurant in their home. They decide on a menu, decorate their dining area (complete with menus, candles, a "sign" with their establishment's name) and cook the meal together. For Italian night, Gretchen and her youngest daughter were the customers while her husband and oldest daughter played chef and waitress.

Here's what Gretchen likes about this particular tradition: it helps facilitate the teaching and practicing of good table manners; it sets the one for the day with everyone eager for the dinner festivities; and it's really easy to implement.

Such a great idea. I may have to adopt it.

What family traditions have you created with and for your kids? Tell us about it and maybe we're feature them in future posts on Shine parenting.