FCCLA -the Central focus is “Family”

If ever there is a time to embrace some good ol’ family traditions, it is definitely during the holiday season. There are many holiday traditions embraced by my family that bring a sense of comfort and community as we celebrate the holidays. Several of them are worthy of being shared, and are probably common in your Christmas celebrations.

One of the most prominent holiday trends during the past few seasons has been the Elf on the Shelf. Our family was a little late coming on board with this one, but has now incorporated it into our traditions. During the Christmas season, our little elf gets into all kinds of mischief and keeps an eye on things for Santa. It is tremendous fun, and I can’t believe our little elf didn’t come to our shelf sooner! We have happily embraced our elf as one of our new Christmas traditions.

Another wonderful Christmas tradition in our family is all the baking and candy-making. It begins the day after Thanksgiving. This decadent family tradition includes a half dozen different kinds of fudge, bourbon balls, truffles, cookies, pies, and any other kind of treat you can bring to mind!

Our family traditions speak volumes about the importance of family, and may never be more evident than during the holiday season. It will be interesting to see what new traditions begin as our family grows and the years go on. Some tried and true traditions will be passed along, I’m sure, along with a few of the latest holiday trends sprinkled in.

How does your family celebrate the holidays and what are the traditions that you embrace? I’ll bet we all have a few holiday traditions in common and I would imagine every family has some special traditions of their own that are unique! That’s the beauty of celebrating the holidays with family.

Have you ever thought of incorporating holiday traditions into your chapter and your school? The holiday season can be a great time to bring attention to some share-worthy causes. In my chapter we have made it a tradition to hold a “Santa’s Closet” rally. Every year we encourage our student body to donate cash. In order to encourage generous donations we make it a competition between classrooms and offer prizes to the classrooms raising the most money. After the donations are collected our chapter uses the money to buy Christmas gifts for children that otherwise, may not have had a very bright Christmas. This is one of my favorite chapter projects, and I am incredibly proud that it has become a tradition in our chapter.

FCCLA Purpose #2: To strengthen the function of the family as a basic unit of society.

Chania Ruehling

Vice-President of Resource and Development

MN FCCLA