As a mom of three (my youngest is 13), I think it is so important to have special little traditions with your family. But instead of starting a bunch of traditions you end up being too overwhelmed to keep up with, find a few simple ones and stick with them!  Since we are winding down our Christmas festivities and looking toward the New Year, here are five meaningful ideas you might want to incorporate into your own family traditions!

1. While we are probably all familiar with Elf on a Shelf, I actually love this alternative idea for Kindness Elves. I think modeling servanthood and kindness for kids goes a long way toward shaping their character. This would be a fun year-round activity for the kids, too!

2. To kick off the coming new year, here are a few fun kid friendly ideas for celebrating New Year’s Eve with your family (I especially like the downloadable questionnaire you can have your kids fill out each year to help them focus on gratitude and positive goals for the future!).

3. Even if you don’t scrapbook or didn’t keep up with the baby book (it’s OK, many  of us fail at that!), how about simplifying things a bit and just once a year creating a birthday questionnaire (similar to the New Year’s questionnaire) or this birthday box idea to honor your child and help them to remember each of their birthdays?

4. To help our families learn to be selfless and care for others, hang a tote bag on a hook near the front door for items to share with others in need. All month long, encourage your kids to be less greedy and care about others by putting items like toys, clothes or small toiletries in the tote bag. When the bag is full, take the contents down to a local shelter or church to donate to families who need our support.

5. It’s important to establish an attitude of gratitude all year round. Keep a basket and small slips of paper on the dining room table. As your family goes about the week, have them write or draw pictures of things they were thankful for and put them in the basket to share at a family meal. Here is an attitude of gratitude list you can modify for your family.

What are some of your simple but meaningful family traditions?