The holiday season is approaching and with the season comes family traditions. There are many holiday traditions, such as baking cookies, eating special foods, lighting a menorah, and many others that are unique to families. No matter what your holiday traditions are, being a part of them can make the holidays special.

     One famous tradition is the Elf on the Shelf. The Elf on the Shelf is an elf that “watches” the family that they belong to and “reports” back to Santa Claus. The elves move over night and children get very excited to see where their elves are each day. One important note is that the Elf on the Shelf can’t be touched or else it will lose its magic. This tradition has been very popular in the last few years. So popular in fact, that they now sell elf accessories and even have a Netflix show. 

     “My family has an Elf on the Shelf,” said Bella Janus, junior at WBHS. “I love seeing how excited my little brothers get when they find our elf in the morning and I love how well they behave when they are near the elf.”

     Another famous tradition is getting and decorating trees. Whether it is using an artificial tree or getting a real one, they are both filled with making memories.  Going to a tree farm with family, searching around for the perfect tree, sawing it down, taking it home and decorating it, is a tradition that a lot of families take part in. Some families love just putting an artificial tree together, searching through all of the decorations, and bonding with family. Getting the tree is a tradition in itself, but there are also traditions that come out of that. 

     “A specific tradition that my family does is cutting a piece of the stump, called a cookie,  off of our tree. Each year on the cookie we write the year and our last name,” said Raschel Snead, teacher in the West Bloomfield district.  “We save the cookies so we can look back on all of the years we have done this tradition together as a family.”

    Holiday traditions are very meaningful to those who participate in them. Think about new activities that you can try this holiday season that can become a new family tradition.