Starting New Traditions & a Blessing Blanket

Do you have family traditions? We do too. I try to be careful not to over load the family with following too many of them because family traditions can become chores rather than blessings. When we were expecting our first grand child, I wanted to have a gown and blanket for each child to use on their Dedication Day at church; like a Christening gown. A new tradition to follow.

At the time of our first grand child's arrival, I was working full time and there was no way I could fit the sewing of a gown and matching blanket into my schedule. So I turned to a loving friend that sews beautifully and asked her to make one; she did and the craftsmanship is fabulous! It is my hope that it will be passed down and used for generations to come.

I wanted this gown to look like a family heirloom too, so I choose an off white silk. Yes it was expensive and worth every penny! The fabric does wrinkle, and my mother would fuss at me for photographing it without ironing first. I kinda like the wrinkling though. Look at the sweet embroidery on the yolk. 

There is a matching bonnet.

And there are folded pleats at the hem of the gown where I can one day embroider the initials and birthdays of each grand child that uses it. (when I am old and the kids are grown :)  

The blanket comes in handy for the boys if mom and dad are afraid the gown is too fussy to for them to wear.

One day when I was cleaning the closet I took out the gown and blanket. I was thinking how sad that something so beautiful was stuck in the closet after one use per child. It might not be used for years until the next generation arrives. (That is if I don't have any more grand kids. I think I will though, one or two ;)

Then I had an idea; the blanket could be re-used to start a new tradition! A Blessing Blanket that is wrapped around the shoulders of a birthday child and a blessing spoke over them by their family and friends! Now we have a new tradition to follow in our family, one that is very cherished and looked forward to by each child. 

Cousin giving the birthday girl a blessing; I love it! The birthday girl held on to some of her new toys while she was blessed :) 

 Mom blessing her sweet birthday girl.

What is a blessing? Here is a link, and here is another, if you would like to read their definitions of a blessing. We speak words of encouragement, good things we wanted to happen for them. We ask that God direct and protect their lives. We tell the birthday child what we liked best about them and why they are special to us. Sometimes some one will say something funny for a blessing, and that was ok; we all laughed! Some times we were very serious and shed a few tears. It is a wonderful way to draw those heart strings tighter, wound around to gather us all together in deeper love for each other. 

Gee, I would love to have that blanket around my shoulders and be blessed by my family too; maybe I should extended it to the adults as well! What are your most cherished family traditions?

I link at these parties. 

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