This letter-writing tradition in Italy is all about feeling thankful.
It's no secret that Italians take Christmas seriously, and there are
many traditions surrounding the holiday. We love and appreciate any reminder to make the holidays a little bit more about family and togetherness, and this particular Italian letter-writing tradition might be just the thing in our households. In Italy, it's customary for children to write letters to their parents, thanking them and expressing their love. The letters are generally decorated and tied up in a bow, like a gift in and of itself!
It doesn't stop there - the tradition is for the letters to be read aloud to the family right after the customary Italian Christmas lunch, so if you have a big family, make sure to alot some time! (Aunt Raffy says, "It's true. There were 17 cousins... it went on forever!")
There is just so much we love about the concept of this tradition. Kids get so caught up in the gift-opening part of the holidays, and this Italian letter-writing tradition such a lovely way to remind them to be thankful for what they have. It's all about the togetherness of family and ones you love, after all - all the good food and presents are just a fun perk! We've already got some of our little ones in our families on board with this idea, and they've fully embraced it in the form of adorable poems, drawings, and
lots of holiday stickers. Hearing them recite their feelings on Christmas day is going to be so incredibly special - and we can already tell this is a tradition we're going to happily adopt year after year (but then again, not all of us have 17 cousins coming over!) It's the kind of card you would cherish and hold on to for your entire life.
While we've been thinking about it, why reserve this tradition just for kids? We might not be standing up and reciting poems at Christmas lunch to everyone anytime soon, but we do love the concept of making a special letter to tell the people we love how grateful we are for them, and making those thoughts a special gift all on its own. With some of the beautiful, chic and festive cards companies like
Hallmark have available (we used this "
love you deerly" and this "
Merry Christmas" card in the photos!) the "decorated" aspect of this tradition is pretty much all done for us - and it makes it that much more special for someone to open a card that's so beautiful. Why not give it a shot this year? Take the time to tell a few people in your life how much they mean to you by writing a heartfelt card (whether you write acrostic poems and use stickers is fully up to you!). That way, you give the gift of your sincere words in a tangible, physical form - something that anyone can hold dear for their entire life.
This post was brought to you in partnership with Hallmark.
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