Family

As a Utah County Family Photographer, and a mom myself, I know all-to-well that one day your kids will be grown, sitting around the table, reminiscing about the holiday-shaped waffles, or giggling about the dance parties in the living room as the movie credits stream, or even cringing about how bad Dad’s jokes were on every family road trip.

Chances are, you probably won’t even remember those things! 

The traditions that stick aren’t the big, elaborate ones. They’re the simple, everyday routines that feel almost too small to matter:

• The same bedtime story on repeat.
• The way you lay out each kid’s outfit on the foot of the bed the night before the first-day-of-school.
• The rule that whoever takes the first bite of food at the dinner table gets to say Grace.

These are the moments that make childhood feel like home. And chances are, you’re already creating them without even trying. But if you want to start a few more, here are some simple traditions your kids will hold onto forever! ⤵️

Daily Family Traditions 

You probably don’t even realize it, but the little things you do every day are shaping your kids’ childhood. 

The way you always say “I love you, make good choices” before they leave the house.

The way you cut their PB&J sandwiches into heart shapes because that’s just how it’s always been. 

The silly voice you use when reading bedtime stories, or how you always start singing the “Clean Up, Clean Up, Everybody Everywhere” song when it’s time to organize the house.

These small, everyday rituals aren’t grand or Instagram-worthy, but to your kids they’re home and they spell L-O-V-E: love.

What feels routine to you is actually creating a sense of security and belonging for them.

One day, they’ll be adults making a peanut butter sandwich for their own children, and they’ll instinctively pull out the heart-shaped cookie cutter because that’s just how Mom did it. 

You’re already doing a great job and you don’t have to add more (but if you want to add more, there is a list of 10 new traditions you can start using today at the bottom of this post -just keep scrolling).

Weekly Utah County Family Traditions 

Think about what happens in your home like clockwork:

• Weekly family movie nights (complete with popcorn, Swedish fish, and chocolate).
• Late-start Saturday mornings enjoying cartoons and cuddles on the couch in your pajamas.
• Discount-Tuesday pizza from your local Papa Murphy’s.
• The weekly family trip to Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, UT – riding ponies and hopping on the train at Curiosity Farms, smelling the flowers at Ashton Gardens, chasing butterflies at the Butterfly Biosphere, digging up dinosaur bones at The Mountain America Museum of Ancient Life, riding the hand-painted ponies at The Carousel, or exploring the children’s natural sense of wonder at the Museum of Natural Curiosity.

These weekly traditions don’t seem exciting, but they matter!

They’re the anchor points in your kids’ week, little reminders that no matter how crazy life gets, some things stay the same.

Monthly Family Traditions

Then there are the monthly traditions:

• the family game night where everyone gets way too competitive;
• the one-Saturday-a-month character-shaped waffle breakfast complete with scrambled eggs and bacon;
• the library visit to check out new books, movies, and cds.

These aren’t “special occasion” events, but that’s what makes them powerful!

Kids thrive on repetition, and knowing that every Saturday morning means a big homemade breakfast of pancakes or waffles with way too much syrup, or that the first snowfall of the season means hot cocoa with marshmallows on the couch? That’s the good stuff! That’s what sticks!

Annual Utah County Family Traditions

In Utah, we have four seasons, so there’s a yearly tradition for almost every time of the year – winter, spring, summer, or fall.

• In winter, there’s the same Christmas pajamas every year;
• In the spring, there’s the yearly family trip down to the outdoor Tuacahn Amphitheater in St. George, UT to see an off-Broadway musical (so far the family favorite is Frozen);
• In summer, there’s the annual fly-fishing and camping trip (where Dad inevitably complains that the wind made the water too choppy to catch any fish this year); and
• In the fall, there’s the yearly Halloween party with matching family costumes followed by trick-or-treating with the cousins.

Even small, simple annual rituals—like measuring your kids’ height on the pantry door or watching the same holiday movie every year (here’s looking at you Polar Express and Christmas Vacation)—create a deep sense of nostalgia. 

It’s not about what you do, it’s about the fact that it happens every year without fail. 

Your kids might not remember every single vacation or birthday party, but they will remember that the first day of summer always meant an ice cream trip, or that you always played the same song on the 4th of July as you launched fireworks from the driveway. 

And, as a Utah County Family Photographer, I can’t emphasize enough the importance of documenting your child’s story every year. They grow up too fast, and you can bet that this photographer mama has a yearly family photo session booked to freeze those fleeting moments.

If you’re looking for a Utah County Family Photographer to document your family’s yearly story, contact me to get on my books! I’d love to help you “press pause” on this season of your family’s life.

10 Simple Family Traditions to Start Today

If you’re feeling like you need more traditions, good news—you probably already have them! But if you want to add some fun, here are 10 easy ideas from this Utah County Family Photographer to YOU:

1. The “Secret Handshake” Tradition – Create a handshake that only your family knows and use it before big moments (i.e. first day of school, sports games, bedtime).

2. The “Pajama Pancake Breakfast” – One Saturday a month, everyone stays in pajamas for a slow morning of pancakes, hot chocolate, and cartoons.

3. The “Ugly Birthday Candle” – Keep one candle and reuse it for every birthday, no matter how melted it gets!

4. The “Rainy Day Movie & Popcorn” Rule – Every time it rains, you pause life for an afternoon movie and homemade popcorn – add a little sprinkle of flavored salts for an extra special treat (my “crunchy” family loves Just Ingredients salt in cheddar, parmesan, caramel, or movie theater butter flavors).

5. The “Family Walk & Talk” Sundays – Take a family walk every Sunday to talk about the highs and lows of the week. My family enjoys using this walk to stop at a local park, run out the kids’ energy, and head home ready for a warm bath and bedtime routine.

6. The “Annual Photo in the Same Spot” Tradition – Pick a wall or doorway in your house and take a family photo there once a year. Your porch or the fence in the backyard are also good choices for achieving a more flattering, and “professional” natural-light photography look.

7. The “First Day of Summer Ice Cream” Trip – Celebrate the official start of summer by heading to your favorite local ice cream shop! If you’re a local Utah Family (or even just visiting), may I suggest Charlies? It has crave-worthy ice cream shakes and is a Cache Valley, UT treasure.

8. The “First Snow Cup of Cocoa” – No matter how much snow falls, the first snowfall of the season = hot chocolate.

9. The “Surprise Lunchbox Notes” – Randomly slip a funny or sweet hand-written note into your kids’ lunch when they least expect it. This has become a favorite for my daughter in second grade; so much so, that she regularly checks her lunchbox for a little “love” note from Mom, and will scold me when it’s missing.

9. The “New Ornament Every Year” Tradition – Let your kids pick a new ornament for the tree each Christmas, and watch your collection grow over the years. In our house, we have two Christmas trees – a “fancy” tree with all of mom’s matching ornaments, and a “kids” tree with all of the ornaments are children have collected over the years. When they are old enough to move out and get married, the plan is to send them off with their own set of ornaments they collected throughout childhood – a collection of memories in tangible form.

The best family traditions aren’t forced or fancy. 

They’re the small, repeated moments that make home feel like home. And the best part is– You’re already doing them.

So keep telling the same corny joke. 

Keep making PB&J the “right” way. 

Keep singing that ridiculous cleanup song. 

These little things might feel ordinary now, but to your kids, they’re the memories they’ll carry forever! 

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Ready to book a session with this Utah County Family Photographer for a lifetime of memories with your family? Please contact me.

Looking for ways to make your family memories beautiful? I’ve got you covered! Download my FREE FAMILY OUTFIT PLANNING GUIDE . It takes the stress out of planning those picture-perfect outfits!