What is your most cherished family tradition?

I got my hands on an old Real Simple by Martha Steward and she inspired today's entry. One of the articles asked what is your most cherished family tradition? I started looking back to search for my most valued traditions current and childhood. There are so many, but here are the ones that stand out the most.

• Traveling to MD for Thanksgiving to visit family. I started traveling south about 8 years ago to spend this fun holiday with my grandpa, my aunt, uncles and cousins. My husband started to come with me a few years ago and now we have my step son for part of the visit too. So, this is a tradition I want to continue for years to come as my family starts to grow so we can pass photos around, compare stories and make new memories.

Grandpa in MD

• Hosting Christmas & Easter dinner. Yes, its a lot of work, but I love to cook and feed my family. I wish I had a better entertaining area in my house, but we make due. I really enjoy getting together over these holidays and visiting with everyone together.

My family at Christmas (my parents weren't there yet)

• Hosting Birthday parties at my house. We have started the traditional pizza and cake meal for winter birthdays and for summer birthdays we have hot dogs/burgers and cake. It might seem minimal, but everyone knows what to expect while we are all having fun.

My husband and niece

As you can tell, my traditions are focused around my family, what can I say!

• One of my favorite childhood traditions was with my dad around Christmas time. We would go two weeks before Christmas and go and find our tree. We never cut one down, but we went to tree lots and we picked the perfect tree out. He would help the attendant wrap up the tree and load it in his vehicle and then we would head home. I hope to do this with my children some day since it leaves me with wonderful memories from my childhood and I hope the same for them.

My dad