Strengthen Family Ties with a New Tradition: Holiday Breakfasts

In February, I happened to stop by a friend’s house around Valentine’s Day, and I saw how she’d set the table for a holiday breakfast. Nothing too elaborate, but very decorated and fun – heart-shaped placemats, some candy, sticky-pads in the shape of hearts, etc. She explained that because of her family’s schedules, they have a tough time eating dinner together, so she uses breakfast as a time to celebrate. I thought that this was a FANTASTIC idea. Festive, easy to set the table the night before, easy to schedule, lots of happiness bang for the buck. I vowed that I would copy her – and I did, on HalloweennnI had a lot of fun creating it. My kids often eat peanut butter on toast for breakfast, so I dyed some peanut butter black, spread it on bread, and added orange pumpkin sprinkles – and used black plates. I dyed some plain yogurt orange and added some black bat sprinkles. I put out two pumpkin-shaped candles and threw some candy corns around the table. That was all it took to transform the breakfast experience. My daughter woke up slightly crabby, and I thought she wasn’t very interested (except for the fact that she got to eat some candy at breakfast). But when we got to school, she kept telling children and teachers excitedly about the “spooky breakfast” she’d had, and she described in detail everything that I’d done. So it made a bigger impression than I thought. Making this kind of effort is a bit of pain, of course. It involves errands and organization. I had to get up earlier this morning, which was hard. But the happiness research shows that this kind of thing does boost happiness. Studies show that family traditions support children’s social development and strengthen family cohesiveness. They provide the connection and predictability that people crave. They help us mark the time and the seasons in a pleasant way. My Third Splendid Truth is “The days are long, but the years are short” (it's also a video), and I find that this kind of festivity helps to slow time, and at least to make time more memorable. It brings the family together in happy circumstances. Many people don’t bother to do anything festive if they don’t have children – but it can be fun to be festive even if you don’t have kids. Have you found that being festive helps make you happy? Have you found any good ways to incorporate festivity into your life?nn* Consider starting a group -- organized around happiness projects! I'm busily creating the starter kit. If you want one, email me at gretchenrubin@gmail.com, and I'll add your name. (Use the usual email format -- that weirdness is to thwart spammers). Just write "happiness-project group" in the subject line. Or use the sign-up box in the top-right column of the blog.