In our home, Destiny’s Child’s “12 Days of Christmas” shares space with Rema’s “Holiday”. The scent of shea butter mingles with cinnamon and nutmeg. One corner holds stockings embroidered with our family’s names; another is draped with bright kente cloth that seems to glow when the Christmas lights hit just right. It’s a holiday harmony we’ve built intentionally, a place where both sides of our heritage feel honored, heard, and at home.
Having a multicultural household during the holidays means we’re doing a lot of blending and I don’t just mean the peppers and onions for the stews or the wet and dry ingredients coming together for the cornbread. I mean music, clothing, and family traditions. Our home is a beautiful fusion of traditional Black American Christmas soul and vibrant Ghanaian festivities. In our blended home, harmony isn’t just a nice idea, it’s the foundation that helps our children grow up knowing their heritage is a gift, not something they ever have to choose between. It’s also important to us because it allows every person in our family to feel seen and celebrated, not squeezed into each other’s family version of “normal.”
So what is the first step to creating a harmonious home? It starts with the food. Baked mac and cheese and candied yams sit proudly next to a pan of waakye. Cornbread shares the table with kelewele. Sweet potato pie cools on the counter while a bold, red jollof waits to be served with pride and maybe a playful “please don’t start a jollof war today” whispered under my breath. Every dish carries history. Every bite feels like a bridge. And if you’re just beginning a multicultural journey, this is where you start with small things like shared meals, shared music, shared curiosity. Let harmony grow one plate at a time.
Fashion becomes a celebration too, with our outfits speaking for us and showing the joy of who we are together. On Christmas morning, you will catch us in matching pajama sets, laughter spilling everywhere while we make French toast and homefries, but by afternoon, we’re stepping out in rich wax prints, bold patterns speaking as loudly as our joy. The camera roll fills quickly; the memories even faster. Through all this, we’ve learned that creating your own version of “home” is key. You don’t have to follow anyone else’s blueprint. The beauty of a blended family is that you get to build something new, something that feels uniquely yours.
Our traditions shine together, like different stars lighting up the same festive sky. Christmas Eve brings a Ghanaian service full of warmth and praise, and the next day, Motown Christmas songs get everyone dancing with excitement over gifts, while the love in the room makes the outside world fade away.
This is what our December looks like, a joyful mix, a vibrant blend, a season made richer by the cultures that shape us. Where love stretches across oceans and generations to form something wholly ours.
Whether you’re just beginning your journey with a blended home or searching for uplifting village energy, here are some trusted spaces where Black parents raise children, celebrate heritage, and find community.
Recommended Resources for Black & Multicultural Parents
- Parenting for Liberation — A grassroots platform uplifting Black families, offering articles, community support, and liberated‑parenting tools rooted in healing and cultural awareness. Parenting for Liberation
- Parenting While Black — A blog for modern Black parenting: raising children in today’s digital age, embracing identity, culture, and parenting with purpose and grace. Parenting while Black
- Black and Parenting — Celebrates the diversity of Black parenting styles and family structures, including blended, diasporic, and multicultural families. Black and Parenting
- Black Moms Blog — Offers perspectives on motherhood, parenting, cultural identity, and the Black family experience. Great for moms navigating culture, parenting, and everyday life. blackmomsblog.com
- Heritage Mom — Focused on raising Black children with pride and identity — giving parents tools to build culturally rich, inclusive homes with books, stories, and resources rooted in Black history and multicultural awareness. Heritage Mom
- Successful Black Parenting Magazine — A parenting magazine dedicated to Black families, offering articles on child-rearing, health, heritage, multicultural family dynamics, and more. Successful Black Parenting Magazine
- The African Parent — Focused more toward African and diaspora parenting support, offering resources, community, cultural guidance, and support networks for immigrant or bicultural families. theafricanparent.org
Books
- Raising Black Children by Rhonda Joy McLean – A guide to instilling cultural identity and pride in children.
- The Conscious Parent: Transforming Ourselves, Empowering Our Children by Dr. Shefali Tsabary – Practical strategies for mindful parenting and personal growth.
- Children of the Diaspora: Perspectives on Identity, Belonging, and Culture – Explores raising children with African and African-American heritage in a multicultural context.
Diamond Jones joined the FunTimes family as an intern while earning her Bachelor’s degree from Temple University. After graduating in 2018, Diamond decided to stay with FunTimes continuing her role as a writer and content creator for social media. In addition to writing, she also enjoys reading, traveling, and art. Working at a magazine has always been a dream. As a child, she would collect and study popular entertainment publications such as Word Up and Teen Vogue. Diamond hopes to continue to create content that will inspire and entertain.
