Holidays, special events, and traditions are one way to create a framework for the year ahead. This can be a framework for budgets, vacations, family get-togethers, and more. I thought I would play with this framework perspective this morning as I plan the year.
June
For our family June is the month of school year finales, Father's Day, graduations, birthdays, and anniversaries. Sometimes June includes weddings too. June is the start of summer as well and a good-weather month. June is the kind of month when our plans will change from year-to-year, and for the most part it's a month of close-to-home events.
July
July is another month with birthdays, and a month filled with family members' various summer vacations and adventures. Our family has yet to put into place one July 4th tradition, so that changes each year and tends to be somewhat low key. Recently we added two family reunions--one that occurs in late June/early July and the other which happens during the last weekend in July.
August
In August there are more birthdays and anniversaries. The end of August is often a time of transition for those in school at all levels. August finds us adventuring with friends and family members in beautiful, local settings.
September
September has always been the back-to-school month, a get-back-to-business month after a fun summer. This year September will be similar to years past.
October
October is an apple-picking, hiking, leaves-changing outdoor adventure month. Of late, October has found us visiting our adult children at their places of study/work for weekend adventures. It's a good time to travel.
November
There's a few family birthdays during this month, and of course, it's a month focused on Thanksgiving get-togethers and the start of the Christmas celebrations.
December
December is always focused on holiday happenings and includes some family birthdays too. Sister-weekend and a few family reunions/parties make up the busy December schedule. The festivities during December help to brighten up the typical cold, dark days of late fall and early winter.
January
January is another back-to-business month like September. It's a good month to prepare your taxes, plan for the fun spring/summer getaways ahead, get cozy and enjoy some quiet winter days.
February
February is a short month filled with birthday celebrations, Valentine's Day, and winter adventures. When the children were young, it was a getaway time since they had a school vacation, but now, if we do plan a getaway we won't do it during the busy school vacation days.
March
March, for me, is the longest month. It's still gray and dark in these parts and we're more than ready for some warm weather. There are few celebrations in March so if we do plan a getaway this is a good month to do it. The one upside of March is that the lack of events means it's a good month to save a few dollars.
April
April finds spring awakening and it's a good time to get outdoors more to bike, hike and explore. We have a number of family birthdays in spring too and Easter often occurs in late March or April.
May
May is one of my favorite months--it's a beautiful spring month perfect for local adventures and get-togethers. It's the month for Mother's Day and more family birthdays.
Taking a look at the year's holidays, special events, and traditions helps you to pinpoint when you want to plan travel and when you want to explore your local environment instead. Knowing what's to come helps you to prepare too in ways that help you save money on low key months and spend a bit more on months when you want to get away. As I look at the schedule, it helps me to make time and plans to celebrate the special people in my life too. Onward.