Food is a fantastic thing – not only is it crucial to life, but it also has all kinds of other benefits, including the fact that it can bring people together, ensuring you’re able to bond with your loved ones and create some wonderful memories, perhaps even passing down food-related traditions from one generation to the next. 

In fact, this idea is something that a lot of people might like the sound of, especially when we’re all so busy and trying to find the time to connect with our families can be hard. Since we all have to eat, making this something we all do together and, even better, making traditions out of it, makes a lot of sense. With that in mind, here are some things you can do that will turn eating into something much more. 

Choose Special Dishes 

Every tradition needs a specific and special dish at its heart, so why not work out what your family’s signature dish is and make sure it’s always the star of whatever your tradition happens to be? It could be something that links to your heritage and culture, a favorite outing you had, a family member who’s no longer with you, and so much more. 

Once you know what your special dish is going to be, you can ensure you create a wonderful tradition around it, and that’s where the fun can really start. It might be that you eat the dish once a month, and you all go shopping for the ingredients, and all get involved in making it, for example. Or perhaps it can link to something like a family movie night or games night. Maybe it can be a treat after a visit to the dentist or doctor, for example (making sure not to undo any good that’s just been done). Picking the dish first can be helpful, though, whatever the reason. 

Have A Theme

You don’t have to have a signature dish that you always have. For some, that’s the ideal tradition, but for others, it’s more fun to have a tradition that revolves around food, but that isn’t wedded to a specific type of food itself. 

In that case, you might want to have a theme for your food-related tradition. This will make family dinners a lot more interesting and could mean that you get to try food you wouldn’t otherwise even have thought of. Choose a theme – it could be a certain type of food, a type of cuisine, or perhaps a special occasion, for example – and get everyone to contribute one dish that links to the theme. You could even turn it into a competition if that’s something your family likes. Not only will it be fun, but it will teach everyone how to pick dishes, source ingredients, and cook, which are useful skills for life. 

Recipe Swaps 

If you have a lot of family and friends who all love to cook, a recipe swap on a regular basis (perhaps once a month, maybe only on special occasions like Christmas – it’s up to you) could be a fun tradition to get involved in, and it will teach you a lot of great new recipes as well. 

Every person involved in the tradition can hand out recipes of their favorite dishes, and they’ll receive a few in return as well. Perhaps, if there’s time, of course, everyone could even prepare a sample of the recipe they’re handing out, so everyone can try it before they make it at home.