By Julie
Today is the last day of school for my son. That means as of 12:30 PM, it is summer. Such an auspicious occasion needs something to start it off right, so I always take the kids out for lunch, wherever they want to go, the noisier, the better. And we always have ice cream. Always.
This isn’t some fancy undertaking, or even something out of the ordinary for our family, but it is the continuation of a simple tradition my mom and dad began with my brother, sister, and I as kids. We’d hug our friends goodbye, jump in the car, and head off to eat greasy hamburgers and frozen treats, usually at the local ice cream parlor. It made us feel special, a reward for a school year of hard work and a celebration of the fun to come. So a gladly carry on this little ritual because I know how happy it made me as a kid, and now I know how happy it makes my kids. We’re all excited about the months ahead full of barbecue, corn on the cob, fresh peaches, and popsicles. But for now, we’ll kick it off like this. Let’s go, Summer.
Do you have any food traditions for kicking off the summer?
(Photo from: whatscookingamerica.net)
I love that you're passing on a tradition from your childhood to your kids. :) I hope my kids will do the same when the time comes!
Our 'summer kickoff' tradition is similar...or maybe I should say *was* similar because my daughter leaves for college in August and I will no longer have kids at home to do this with. :(
But! When the kids were little, the last day of school was always a joke -- they would go in for 30 minutes to get their report card, and be done by 9 am or so. We started celebrating by going out to breakfast.
We extended the tradition to include a family breakfast outing on the last day before school started as well. Once the kids got into higher grades and had full days of school on their last day, we moved the "welcome summer" breakfast outing to the next day.
I will be very happy if they continue this tradition with their kids! :-)
Posted by: Wendi | June 09, 2012 at 11:47 AM