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The Joy of Family Traditions: A Season-by-Season Companion to 400 Celebrations and Activities
When a special activity evolves into a tradition within a family, it creates meaning, connection, and community and makes common occasions more momentous and memorable. Establishing a sense of stability and shared history has never been more important to parents than it is today, as families become more fractured and scattered. THE JOY OF FAMILY TRADITIONS offers more than 400 fresh ideas and creative approaches to cultivating birthday, anniversary, holiday, and other rite-of-passage and seasonal traditions that strengthen personal bonds and reflect a family's individual style, spirituality, and values.
Reviews"A lovely new book that pays tribute to hundreds of celebrations from around the world and offers new ideas for marking important occasions."—Pregnancy Magazin "Be inspired to preserve, personalize and create meaningful holiday and year round traditions with the more than 400 multi-cultural activities found in The Joy of Family Traditions."—Senior Wire News Service "...read The Joy of Family Traditions by Jennifer Trainer Thompson, so you can celebrate the holidays even better than you celebrate them now."—Washington Post Recommended in Q&A Column"If you love family traditions, you will take pleasure in The Joy of Family Traditions by Jennifer Trainer Thompson."-Tom McMahon's syndicated "Kid Tips" Column appears in 62 newspapers nationwideFeatured in two wedding themed pieces on 5/1/08 and 5/8/08.-Content That Works
Reviews"A lovely new book that pays tribute to hundreds of celebrations from around the world and offers new ideas for marking important occasions."—Pregnancy Magazin "Be inspired to preserve, personalize and create meaningful holiday and year round traditions with the more than 400 multi-cultural activities found in The Joy of Family Traditions."—Senior Wire News Service "...read The Joy of Family Traditions by Jennifer Trainer Thompson, so you can celebrate the holidays even better than you celebrate them now."—Washington Post Recommended in Q&A Column"If you love family traditions, you will take pleasure in The Joy of Family Traditions by Jennifer Trainer Thompson."-Tom McMahon's syndicated "Kid Tips" Column appears in 62 newspapers nationwideFeatured in two wedding themed pieces on 5/1/08 and 5/8/08.-Content That Works
256 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2008
About the author
Jennifer Trainer Thompson
30 books5 followersWith several hundred thousand books and posters in print, Jennifer Trainer Thompson has written more than sixteen books, including The Fresh Egg Cookbook, Hot Sauce!, Beyond Einstein (co-authored with Michio Kaku), and Jump Up and Kiss Me: Spicy Vegetarian Cooking, among others. Nominated for three James Beard awards and dubbed the “Queen of Hot” by Associated Press, she’s recognized as a leader in the spicy foods movement for her cookbooks and the hot sauce posters that she created, which have been featured everywhere from Playboy Magazine to Good Morning America.
Her books have drawn acclaim in the national press, and she’s been on hundreds of talk shows, including Live with Regis, CNN, and Good Morning America. The chef and creator of Jump Up and Kiss Me, an all-natural line of spicy sauces, she is passionate about spicy foods, and has followed her own personal “Trail of Flame,” speaking at festivals and in the media about hot foods, serving as guest chef at Hot Nights at restaurants in Boston, Philadelphia, and the Berkshires, and even going so far as to try Armageddon Sauce at a bar in the Adirondacks that’s accessible only by snowmobile in the winter.
A journalist for over 20 years, Jennifer writes about topics that interest her – science, food, travel, art, and lifestyle – for The New York Times, Travel & Leisure, Omni, Discover, Harvard Magazine among others, and has garnered a reputation for sniffing out trends. She wrote the first objective book on the commercial nuclear power controversy (Nuclear Power: Both Sides), and co-authored a popular book about scientists’ quest for the unified field theory (Beyond Einstein) when the superstring theory was proposed in 1987. She wrote the first national story about the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) for The New York Times in 1987, and was so taken by the idea of establishing a contemporary art museum in an abandoned mill complex in a small New England city that she asked the fledgling institution’s founding director Joseph Thompson for a job. Thompson hired her to become MASS MoCA’s founding development director, and several years later married her. She and her husband Joe live in western Massachusetts with their two children. Family and family traditions have always been important to her, which led to write The Joy of Family Traditions.
Her books have drawn acclaim in the national press, and she’s been on hundreds of talk shows, including Live with Regis, CNN, and Good Morning America. The chef and creator of Jump Up and Kiss Me, an all-natural line of spicy sauces, she is passionate about spicy foods, and has followed her own personal “Trail of Flame,” speaking at festivals and in the media about hot foods, serving as guest chef at Hot Nights at restaurants in Boston, Philadelphia, and the Berkshires, and even going so far as to try Armageddon Sauce at a bar in the Adirondacks that’s accessible only by snowmobile in the winter.
A journalist for over 20 years, Jennifer writes about topics that interest her – science, food, travel, art, and lifestyle – for The New York Times, Travel & Leisure, Omni, Discover, Harvard Magazine among others, and has garnered a reputation for sniffing out trends. She wrote the first objective book on the commercial nuclear power controversy (Nuclear Power: Both Sides), and co-authored a popular book about scientists’ quest for the unified field theory (Beyond Einstein) when the superstring theory was proposed in 1987. She wrote the first national story about the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) for The New York Times in 1987, and was so taken by the idea of establishing a contemporary art museum in an abandoned mill complex in a small New England city that she asked the fledgling institution’s founding director Joseph Thompson for a job. Thompson hired her to become MASS MoCA’s founding development director, and several years later married her. She and her husband Joe live in western Massachusetts with their two children. Family and family traditions have always been important to her, which led to write The Joy of Family Traditions.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 23, 2019
I appreciated the international perspectives and histories of the holidays! Definitely inspired some ideas.
November 6, 2020
This book was full of new ideas to make the entire year (and all of its seasons and holidays) special as a family!
November 19, 2020
Bland and shallow at best, advocating for actual cultural appropriation at worst.
July 19, 2010
This is a wonderful collection of family traditions, intended to help readers strengthen family traditions and start new traditions. The author is quite comprehensive in her inclusion of holidays and special occasions (covering multiple traditions, religions, cultures, and so forth), but her book is so well-organized that the content isn't overwhelming. Originally, I borrowed a copy of this book from the library; I ended up liking it so much (and tabbing so many pages) that I bought it.
I liked that she included multiple ideas for each holiday; gave the historical background of holidays (which is both interesting and also helps in the celebration of the holiday); and included some excellent, applicable quotes (my favorite: "Anybody can observe the Sabbath, but making it holy surely takes the rest of the week."--Alice Walker).
I also like her approach to traditions. In the introduction, she asserts, "Don't feel obligated--the tradition should never overshadow the spirit of an event. . . . I have some Christmas traditions that, rather than attempting annually, I enjoy every two or three years at best. And why not? A tradition doesn't have to be annual," and "[d:]on't hesitate to banish the traditions you never liked--it's liberating." Concerning family Christmas letters, she declares, "I won't mince words. I dislike photocopied holiday letters, which are mostly an excuse for people to brag . . . and have little to do with connecting with the recipient or wishing them well. That people would send a generic letter to everyone on their Christmas list I find equally bizarre, considering that if they are close friends [or family:] you probably know most of these details, and if they are not, you probably don't care." Refreshing.
A very useful book.
I liked that she included multiple ideas for each holiday; gave the historical background of holidays (which is both interesting and also helps in the celebration of the holiday); and included some excellent, applicable quotes (my favorite: "Anybody can observe the Sabbath, but making it holy surely takes the rest of the week."--Alice Walker).
I also like her approach to traditions. In the introduction, she asserts, "Don't feel obligated--the tradition should never overshadow the spirit of an event. . . . I have some Christmas traditions that, rather than attempting annually, I enjoy every two or three years at best. And why not? A tradition doesn't have to be annual," and "[d:]on't hesitate to banish the traditions you never liked--it's liberating." Concerning family Christmas letters, she declares, "I won't mince words. I dislike photocopied holiday letters, which are mostly an excuse for people to brag . . . and have little to do with connecting with the recipient or wishing them well. That people would send a generic letter to everyone on their Christmas list I find equally bizarre, considering that if they are close friends [or family:] you probably know most of these details, and if they are not, you probably don't care." Refreshing.
A very useful book.
August 15, 2011
Even though I have not finished reading this book -- have had the last 20 or so pages to go for over a year now -- I've decided to re-shelve this book as officially "read."
This is a great book for people in households with children or young adults. This is also a good book for teachers or other professions working with children and young adults.
Basically, this book offers tips and suggestions for those of us who are looking to incorporate some traditions into their lives. A lot of people come from families that have tons of traditions, but for those of that don't, or those of us who are looking to modernize some traditions, this book is a treasure trove. Some traditions are tied to traditional/religious holidays, but most of them are multicultural, international, or simply new.
I am so glad I bought this book, and together with The Book of New Family Traditions: How to Create Great Rituals for Holidays & Everydays, I feel like my personal library on this topic is complete.
This is a great book for people in households with children or young adults. This is also a good book for teachers or other professions working with children and young adults.
Basically, this book offers tips and suggestions for those of us who are looking to incorporate some traditions into their lives. A lot of people come from families that have tons of traditions, but for those of that don't, or those of us who are looking to modernize some traditions, this book is a treasure trove. Some traditions are tied to traditional/religious holidays, but most of them are multicultural, international, or simply new.
I am so glad I bought this book, and together with The Book of New Family Traditions: How to Create Great Rituals for Holidays & Everydays, I feel like my personal library on this topic is complete.
November 5, 2009
Really simple and enjoyable book - I had to buy it 'cause the library didn't have it and I'm glad I did. It has great ideas - jumping-off places - for creating special traditions that don't revolve around consumerism. This is something that I am always looking for - how do we make a day special and Ours, without resorting (too much) to the ad-based, consumer driven traditions that fuel our culture? Anyone who has similar questions - this is a good place to reference.
March 19, 2009
This is a great book to give you ideas for how to add in some new family traditions. It covers things from all different cultures and religions and I've used several of the ideas to add to our own family celebrations and will continue to do so along with Raising Children in the Goddess Traditions and Celebrating the Great Mother.
October 8, 2012
Rather than day by day, Thompson's organized this compendium of family traditions season by season. It's a simple approach. However, I did appreciate Meg Cox's book related to family traditions a bit more than this one. I think it's because of how many more rituals/traditions are included in the Cox book.
February 21, 2010
What a treasure! Filled with loving, creative, fun ideas for building family traditions. The idea is by no means to do all of them, but to inspire us to have more of them. I loved it and will revisit this often!
October 24, 2012
A book to help one learn about the traditions of various seasons, customs, and holidays throughout the year and a means to inspire readers to create and celebrate unique traditions and rituals in their own families.
December 2, 2009
Great reference for rituals and traditions that includes seasonal celebrations and isn't especially spiritual or religious. I especially liked the seasonal diagram.
February 15, 2012
-very superficial
-very focused on ways to celebrate the current retarded holidays with young children
-but a couple cute ideas
-very focused on ways to celebrate the current retarded holidays with young children
-but a couple cute ideas
January 19, 2014
Got some good ideas! Will definitely revisit later.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews