This post is sponsored by Hiland Dairy but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

There is something special about family traditions. Whether you are spending time creating new family traditions, or taking the time to pass on old family traditions, each tradition tells a story. Family traditions come with so much history. With every family tradition you can find meaningful stories, giggles, treasured memories, and relationships built stronger. Many of our childhood memories can be brought back to creating and carrying on family traditions.

With this season of life causing us to slow down and spend more time with our family, there have been plenty of opportunities to carry on family traditions with our kids and make new ones of our own. Childhood memories are wrapped in these moments, and when life is full of uncertainty and the unknown, traditions can help us be intentional about bringing the family together. Discovering the things our children look forward to most, and watching what brings the family together has helped us begin family traditions of our own.

Family traditions are meant to tell your story, to be a big part of your family. Even the simplest things can matter more than you realize. A simple cookie recipe passed down from my husband’s mom has brought our family together in more ways than she probably ever realized would happen. The kids know that when daddy goes to the store to pick up our favorite ingredients for cookies, he’s coming home to make Grandma’s cookies. They love to pull their chairs up right next to him and beg to help with the baking. With our favorite Hiland Dairy products, the kids jump right in carrying on a family tradition and baking one of our favorite recipes. Hiland Dairy products offer added nutrients and protein to our family recipes. Hiland Dairy Butter is the perfect ingredient to Grandma’s cookie recipe giving our cookies that mouth watering taste. And Grandma’s cookies are never complete without our favorite Hiland Dairy milk. Hiland Dairy milk contains no artificial growth hormones making it a brand you can trust.

When building and carrying on family traditions with your family, there are three very important things to remember:

Embrace the chaos. Sometimes passing on a tradition or making one of your own is a little messy. Cooking a family recipe together in the kitchen is sure to make messes. Family game nights might not always be picture perfect. It’s not perfection that you’re aiming for, it’s the memories you’re making that matter. It’s about intentionally bringing the family together.

Make them YOURS. Not every tradition is going to look the same. Your family is unique so each tradition is going to tell your story. Even when you’re carrying on traditions through your family, let them become yours. The tradition will adapt to your family and begin to tell your story.

Be Intentional. Family traditions don’t just happen, look for opportunities to bring them into your life. Look for opportunities to build your own traditions. Does your family look forward to pizza and a movie every weekend? Are you pros at playing video games together? Are the kids always begging to play board games? What brings you together? Take those things that are already bringing you together and develop your family traditions from that. Being intentional makes all the difference.

You’ll never regret embracing the time you have to build family traditions, whether new or old, with your family. Your traditions tell a story, and it’s a story that never has an ending.

Want a chance to build a lasting memory together with your family? Visit Hiland Dairy and enter to win a One-on-One Cooking Lesson with Chef Alli via video chat! You also will have an opportunity to win one year worth of dairy coupons!