Family Traditions

I Love family traditions! They are so bonding and they always create great memories. My wife's family gets together every year around Christmas to have a "gingerbread house" contest. I put that in quotes because as you can see we actually use graham crackers and they aren't always houses. In this case my wife made a manger with Jesus and all the animals. I made a circus tent and some of her other siblings made structures such as the BYU football stadium. We all start out with all of the ingredients, or "construction materials", laid out on the table. We have all sorts of treats: marshmallows, gum drops, candy canes, skittles, m&m's, licorice, starbursts and frosting. Her father announces the time to start and we all begin. Frosting is flying everywhere, graham crackers are being sawed, marshmallows are squished into form and most certainly everyone is sick of eating the sweets within the hour. Then all creations are recorded on camera and a winner is chosen. Her dad is the judge and because he is a big BYU fan, usually not the most excellent construction wins. You have to cater to his taste as a judge. I can't remember if we one this year or not but it certainly was fun and we will always be able to talk about it together as a family. We also get to look forward to the next competition each year as we gather together to enjoy each other's company. I can't wait to introduce our future children to family traditions so that we, too, can grow close together through family activities!