Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in Tucson, AZ

Ritual is the way you carry the presence of the sacred. Ritual is the spark that must not go out.

Christina Baldwin

The days between Thanksgiving and New Years are filled with rituals.  We all have traditions passed down from our families and new ones formed in our own family.  These traditions and rituals are the memories our children will carry on into adulthood and mix into their own families in the future.

In our family, some of the traditions have had to be modified from place to place depending on the weather.  While going to the beach in Guam to see Santa in shorts on a Harley is completely acceptable, Santa must be viewed in snow in Massachusettes and something in between in Arizona.  For the first time since J was 19 months old, we will try and take the kids sledding in December.  Of course, this is only possible if it decides to snow on one of the nearby mountains.

Rituals are made of more than outdoor activities though.  There are memories you can make no matter where you live.  Is there a recipe passed down from generation to generation?  In our house it is my great-grandma's chocolate donut recipe to be made on Christmas morning.  I've still never made it myself, but even on the years when I can't be with my parents for the holiday, my dad makes extra and express mails them to us.  Plenty of seasonal crafts, ornaments and baked goods can be made to bring the whole family together.

This month on Savvy Source we will be discussing rituals, traditions, and local places to help you make the memories last.  If you have some ideas for cool things to do, please leave me a comment or send me an email so I can share it with everyone.  I look forward to sharing the month with you.