Share Holiday Traditions
Interview family members about holiday traditions, collect photos or drawings, and create a colorful booklet to share one favorite custom with classmates.
Step-by-step guide to share holiday traditions
Step 1
Pick two family members you want to interview about holiday traditions.
Step 2
Ask each selected family member for permission to interview them.
Step 3
Write five simple questions about their holiday traditions on a sheet of paper.
Step 4
Choose quiet times to talk with each person and make a plan for when to interview them.
Step 5
Sit with the first family member and ask your prepared questions while you listen carefully.
Step 6
Write down the answers and any short stories the first person tells you.
Step 7
Ask to borrow or copy one photo of the tradition or draw a picture of it yourself.
Step 8
Repeat Steps 5 through 7 with the second family member.
Step 9
Choose one favorite custom from both interviews to feature in your booklet.
Step 10
Make a colorful cover page with a title and a drawing or photo that shows the chosen custom.
Step 11
Write one clear page that explains the chosen custom using the notes from your interviews.
Step 12
Glue the photo or drawing beside your explanation page.
Step 13
Decorate the page with stickers markers or colored pencils to make it bright and fun.
Step 14
Assemble all pages into a booklet by stapling them or punching holes and tying with yarn.
Step 15
Share your finished booklet on DIY.org.
Final steps
You're almost there! Complete all the steps, bring your creation to life, post it, and conquer the challenge!
Help!?
What can we use if we don't have a camera or printer to copy a family photo for the booklet?
Instead of borrowing or printing a photo (Step 6), take a clear picture with a smartphone, ask a relative to email or text you a photo to print at a library, or simply draw the scene on your cover page.
What should we do if the person we're scheduled to interview is busy or gets nervous during the interview?
If someone is unavailable when you planned (Step 4) or nervous during Step 5, reschedule for a quieter time, ask permission to record short answers on your phone, or interview another family member and note the change in your booklet.
How can this activity be adapted for younger children or older kids?
For younger children, have a parent help write the five questions and act as scribe during interviews (Steps 3 and 5), while older kids can add extra pages with more detailed explanations, photos, or research about the chosen customs before assembling the booklet (Steps 9–12).
What's a simple way to make our finished booklet more special before we share it on DIY.org?
Make the booklet extra special by adding a family recipe or short timeline about the custom on an extra page, attaching a small printed photo or a QR code linking to an audio clip of the interview, and decorating the colorful cover page to reflect the chosen customs before assembling and sharing (Steps 8, 9, 11, 13, 15).
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Facts about holiday traditions and cultural heritage
📚 A simple folded homemade booklet is often called a "zine" — zines are quick, creative little books that kids and artists have loved making for decades.
🗣️ Oral history (interviewing people about their memories) is a real research method historians use to capture personal stories that might not be written down.
📸 The first permanent photograph was made in 1826, and family snapshots have been a popular way to remember holidays ever since.
🔁 The word "tradition" comes from the Latin tradere, which means "to hand over" — just like passing family stories down the generations.
🌍 UNESCO protects intangible cultural heritage (like festivals and holiday customs) to help keep traditions alive around the world.
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