Family traditions anchor us, but what happens when different cultures come together? In What? No Spaghetti & Meatballs?!?, Jennifer Grisdale Krieger shares how her family crafted new traditions that honored their diverse backgrounds while also carving out something entirely unique.

Rather than sticking rigidly to one way of celebrating, Jennifer’s family embraced creativity. Maybe Christmas involved both Italian seafood feasts and traditional dishes from other cultures. Maybe a wedding or birthday blended customs that once seemed worlds apart. The result? Traditions that told the full story of who they were.

Jennifer’s musings show that tradition isn’t about strict preservation, it’s about meaning. When we allow traditions to evolve, they become living testaments to love, respect, and togetherness across generations.

Families today can take heart from Jennifer’s experiences: it’s okay and beautiful to invent your own traditions that reflect the full, colorful reality of your lives.

By blending the old and the new, Jennifer reminds us that honoring our roots while embracing change can create something even richer, a tradition that’s truly our own. In blending customs, we do not dilute our histories we expand them, weaving vibrant new threads into the fabric of who we are and passing a richer legacy to future generations.