December more than any other month of the year is a perfect time for creating family traditions.
Over the years, during their teenage years Zach and Sam were split between me and my ex and so I would generally have them the first week of the holiday period whereby I would take them on a road trip somewhere before dropping them off in Florida.
For many years we drove to Florida from Toronto via differing routes and experienced some amazing road trip adventures. As an example, one year we drove through Chicago to Florida via the Civil Rights Trail stopping along the way in Selma, Montgomery, and Birmingham (Alabama) to visit museums and important sites. Such a great opportunity to learn about this important era of history.
Another year we drove via New York City where we ice skated at Rockefeller Centre at night, checked out the iconic Christmas displays and windows at Macy’s before hitting all the museums in Washington DC.
From here we continued down the coast stopping to explore Charleston, Hilton Head Island and Savannah. So much history and culture to be experienced when taking your time.
Then once the kids left home for University this tradition changed as they began making their own decisions about what they wanted to do. This enabled us to take overseas trips to Australia, China, and Hong Kong over a couple of years.
There is no question that our road trip era was amazing and fun. Although looking back on this time the kids may have differing opinions, as I imagine being trapped in a car for 3 – 4 hours per day with their dad may not be everyone’s cup of tea.
However, I absolutely treasure those memories!
This year Judy and I began creating our own new traditions. I know it doesn’t sound much, but this year was our first year putting up and decorating a Christmas tree and having stockings. This just wasn’t a part of my childhood and so it was great to experience this for the first time.
Yes, of course, we’re doing a road trip this year which I wrote about recently, but last year we travelled to Singapore and Hong Kong for Christmas and New Year which was fabulous. Who knows what international location we’ll find ourselves in, but this year is all about visiting my family.
This year Zach is spending time in Atlanta with his girlfriend and her family before also heading to Florida. Sam is living in London (UK) and just spent a week with her boyfriend in Ireland with his family, before they both fly to Florida to spend time with my ex and their grandparents.
I’ve always strongly encouraged the kids to spend time with their grandparents and extended family as we age as our health becomes more unpredictable over time. Conversely, I also know that they love seeing them and spending time with each of them.
This tradition of spending time in Florida began as babies and continues to this day – such a great tradition to spend time with family and all that that entails.
Admittedly, it’s tough living so far away from Zach and Sam but that is what happens when you expose your children to a life of travel and adventure when the norm is travelling and experiencing new places, cities and cultures. They don’t think twice about moving to a new country and broadening their horizons.
Personally, for any parent it’s gratifying to see your kids embrace life so fully and pursue such interesting and active lives – which I have always strongly encouraged.
This coming year our travel adventures centre around Judy’s citizenship status as she’s applying for her Australian citizenship in February. This will likely take some time to process and so we may be domestically bound for 2026, but we’ll see.
One trip we’d love to make is to visit her family in the US, however given the current political climate this is not possible. One of our options would be to meet her parents in the Dominican Republic as Judy has family living there without touching down in the US. In fact, that would be a perfect location as many of her family members still live in the Caribbean or could travel down from the US.
Fingers crossed we can make this a reality once Judy has her Australian citizenship.
What are the traditions that you and your family have at this time of year? Who will you be spending time with?
I want to send a huge thank you to all my friends, family and avid readers – I wish you all a happy holiday and fabulous 2026!
May all your dreams come to fruition and that you each find peace, happiness and love.
Until next year.
Ciao!