Doing the usual scrolling down on Facebook, I recently came across a photograph, which brought back a thousand and one memories from my childhood summers. It was of our family friends and their friends, nostalgia hit hard when I fondly recognised the veranda and the background of where the picture was taken. As a child I used to spend part of my summers at this place with my mum, dad and sisters. I couldn’t wait for the time when we would leave London to go to this magical spot in Greece and I vividly recall spending time with the same people year after year. The memories that come flooding back to me are so special. The perfect simplicity of it all remains unforgotten. Same destination, same people, same activities. Spending time on that same veranda, making meals together, walking across the road to the beach spending the day there, going for an ice cream and a ‘peripato’(fun walk) in the evening, listening to my parents laughing, drinking and generally enjoying their evenings with their family and friends. I remember these summers so so vividly. Where the place – Leptokaryia, near Agia Katerini.
The past few years we, my lot and I have been spending our summers in a place we like to call, ‘our home away from home’ with our own friends who have become family. Very similar actually to where I used to go as a child. Now that the children are still young, time spent on this small island we’ve discovered, is what constitutes to our perfect summer holiday. It’s a step back to a simpler place and time. It does our hearts, souls, and family bonding good every summer.
You can have your exotic resorts and European destinations but when it comes to the ideal summer getaway, I think the happiest places on Earth are the ones where time stands still, where you can eat, swim, fish, unwind and connect with people you care about most in the simplest of ways. The places where new memories are made. 
It goes without saying that escaping to faraway places around the world is exciting but come summer, flocking ourselves to the same place year after year and just enjoying the simplicity of it all end up being vacations that become traditions that etch themselves into memories that last a lifetime.
Family traditions are a part of feeling connected, grounded, and loved. They build relationships between generations, contribute to family identity, and form loving experiences. Holiday traditions become something we look forward to and rely on. They create a sense of contentment and security into our lives, and for me as a mother; I follow a simple pattern each year, which enables me to focus on my family.
I grew up in a family with lots of simple traditions, many of which I have carried into our own family life.
- Traditions anchor your family.
- Traditions create a strong family identity.
- Traditions honour your family’s heritage.
- Traditions encourage family time together.
- Traditions build memories through intentional parenting.
Something to think about for when planning your next summer holiday!
