Do you have a favourite Christmas family tradition? Ours is full of hopes and dreams.
by Jessica Grant
My son and I started this tradition several years ago, adopted from my aunt and uncle. Each year during the Christmas holidays we get to work designing and constructing little boats. Inside these boats we write down our wishes, hopes and dreams for the year ahead and on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day we set them sail in a body of water nearby. Every year we put a lot of thought into the construction of our boats and of course our wishes, dreams and hopes. Inside the boat we may include little guys that we make, trinkets or anything else that strikes our fancy. Once they’re ready to go we seal them up and set them sailing on their way to work their magic. Last year we discussed putting firecrackers in them and shooting them off….
This is by far my absolute favourite tradition.
“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”
— Malala Yousafzai
Some of our New Year’s dream/wish boats over the years
This year we decided to be more conscious of using only biodegradable materials since once the boats are sailed they are out of our hands and end up in the lake or river. My son has tended to go overboard retrieving materials for his out of the recycling bin previous years and the materials haven’t always been biodegradable.