Love them or hate them, family traditions are very important. We are often very busy and don’t have time to spend together. Each family member has his/her own friends and hobbies. Family traditions keep the family together and build memories. When you’re old you will not remember what projects you did for school or how often you had to vacuum your room. You will remember your granny’s cookies and the time you spent with your family. 

We asked four teens this question: Which family traditions do you like best?

Tina, 16

I love our Christmas traditions. My mum and I start Christmas baking in early December. The air is full of secrets because everybody is preparing secret gifts for others and we hide them in safe places. We – kids never decorate the tree. When we come to the living room on Christmas Eve, the sparkling tree is there. We can also stay up late and read the new books as long as we want. We also sleep under the Christmas tree on Christmas night.

Anne, 13

We have some special birthday traditions. First, I can have breakfast in my bed – only on this special day. We always take the same photo on each birthday to see how we’ve grown. And we usually have a birthday party with our family and relatives and then another party with friends. My mum always bakes a special birthday cake. We always tell her what theme we want it to be. I also prepare a doll birthday party for my little sister.

Dean, 11

The best tradition is our Pizza Night. We have pizza every Friday night. It’s the only evening when we are all at home. No sports or clubs. We’re together and eat pizza. We sometimes order pizza but the best is the pizza my dad bakes. When we moved to a new city last year, I didn’t like it there. Everything and everybody were strange. Then the first Pizza Night came and everything was OK again. I felt at home again.

Neil, 13

I like our summer traditions. We always write a list of things we’d like to do and places we’d like to see during the summer. We try to do them all so that everybody is satisfied. At the end of summer, we check how much we’ve really done and seen. I like it because there’s something for all. We also write a diary everywhere we go. We have 9 fat books already! Sometimes we sit and read about our past holidays. It’s fun.

What’s your opinion?

• What family traditions do you want to keep when you get older? Why?
• Are there any family traditions you don’t like and want to stop when you have your own family? Why?