For some, it’s Sunday dinner. For others, it’s a Christmas morning brunch or a backyard oyster roast.

We asked our readers to tell us about the traditions that never fail to bring their families together — and their answers remind us that gathering “at the table” doesn’t always require an actual table. Sometimes it happens around a campfire, on a tennis court or wherever the people we love make time to come together.

Here are some of the traditions you shared with us.

Family camping trips on Labor Day weekend with friends! We play our annual Redneck Cornhole Tournament and watch the Dawgs together when they play their first game of the season. It’s been a tradition in our family for 29 years!

— JOE CHENEY

One tradition that brings our family together is supporting our daughter through adaptive tennis. She discovered tennis during her second semester of college, and ever since then, it has become her thing. What started as something fun has grown into something that means so much to her and to our entire family.

We have loved watching her develop her skills, gain confidence and become more active. One of the most special parts has been seeing how adaptive tennis has helped improve her mobility and physical abilities.Tennis isn’t just a sport to her anymore. It is something she looks forward to and enjoys, and it has become an important part of her life. As a family, we love being there to encourage her, celebrate her progress and cheer her on every step of the way.

Seeing how happy tennis makes her and how far she has come is what makes this tradition so special to our family.

— JINCI GRACE GORDY

It used to be the Statesboro F1RST Fridays.

— TIM STAHL

Christmas tree trimming parties. Everyone brings an ornament to put on the tree, and we eat together.

— B. SEWELL

Such a wonderful tradition of our pups “talking.” Most of them have sass and their own opinions. It’s a great tradition for an only child!

Also, when we were a young married couple, we would meet my husband’s family in Athens for Christmas Eve. We would ride around looking at all of the grand decorations, then go home for a bowl of oyster stew.

— TERESA CHENEY

When it is someone in my family’s birthday, we all go to my mom’s house and eat a meal of their choice that my dad cooks, and then we sing our version of the happy birthday song.

— JONA GASKIN

Christmas morning brunch.

— MARILYN MARTIN TURNER

It used to be Scrabble night or spades. Not that they ever taught me, but anyhoo....

— COURTNEY McNEELY JONES

Every Fourth of July, we have what we call “Family Day” — food, games, fireworks and lot of laughter. And every three years, we take family pictures with a specific theme.

— TONI B. CRAIN

Oyster roasts. We would get a piece of tin, make a fire in the backyard, roast oysters and eat them. Sometimes we would have blue crabs or fried fish, but mostly just the oysters.

— ABRIAH FRAZIER

Thanksgiving ... Christmas morning brunch ... and for the past couple of years, we bring in the New Year eating breakfast.

— DAWN JOHNSON

For me, it’s Sunday dinner! Growing up, church and family have always been a big part of my life. After church, gathering around the table for a good home-cooked meal was more than just eating — it was a time to laugh, talk, catch up and simply enjoy being together.

Some of my greatest memories were made around the table with family. Good food, gospel music somewhere in the background, plenty of laughter and somebody always telling an old family story!

As life gets busier and everyone goes in different directions, I’ve learned to appreciate those moments even more. There’s just something special about family, faith, food and fellowship around the table.

— MARCEL McMANUS SR.

Growing up, we had a fish fry almost every Friday. It was definitely something to look forward to and bring the family together.

— JADESHALA HARRIS

Birthdays and holidays, we always get together at my auntie’s house.

— DKAY LATAY

Seafood. My people will get together on any given random day and do seafood. Either we buy it or we cook it!! But seafood and liquor shall be our portion, hahaha

— SHAYLA LOADHOLT

Sunday dinner! I have always looked forward to spending time with family and friends after worship. It’s a great time to fellowship and embrace family and friends with love and gratitude.

— KRISTEN NATASHA

CHRISTMAS!!!!! Every Christmas, we all gather at our parents’ home and exchange gifts! Everybody brings a gift for everyone at the house. We all leave with carloads of gifts! Getting a gift is exciting, but watching the next person be so happy and grateful for the gift they received is so heartwarming.

Also, every second and fourth Sunday, my husband and I cook for my parents, our children, grandchildren and siblings. It’s so amazing seeing my parents get excited about coming to our house to eat and talk around the table. Making memories with my parents now that they are older means a lot more to me now!!! 😌

— TRACY DIANE CHAVERS-BUDGETT

For years, we have gone to my sister’s house on Christmas Eve for food, games, presents and lots of laughs. All the kids look forward to crashing at Auntie Kisha’s house that night.

— RHONDA WALKER

THANKSGIVING is our FAMILY REUNION! Family members come from every part of the world. We have a full day of events, from various games with prizes to family portraits, a fashion show and family prayer.

We make sure we have a HUGE FOOD MENU on purpose, with a variety of meats and a table full of desserts. We also prepare a full meal to give to a family in need for Thanksgiving.

It’s a day full of laughter, joy, gathering and FAMILY.

— LISA L. LINEN

Birthdays with the immediate fam.

— BACON SHAILA

Christmas morning…I make a big breakfast for my family to eat on throughout the morning, sit on the couch in my Santa robe, and we watch “A Christmas Story” alllll day … we’ve been doing this since Beau was 1.

— MO CONYERS

I'm thankful my daughters live here in Statesboro and that we worship together at Trinity Presbyterian, so every Sunday, we — our three daughters, two spouses, one fiancé, my husband and me — have lunch together on our informal back-porch farmhouse table. Sometimes we invite others to join us with as many as 20 packed in the space, but usually there are about a dozen folks.

As dessert is served, we use questions written on popsicle sticks to give our quieter family members and guests a chance to speak up and quiet those who tend to dominate conversations. Because my dear son-in-law struggles with aphasia resulting from a stroke, these questions — some lighthearted, some more serious — help draw him out to feel comfortable speaking.

For birthdays, we create a trivia game of multiple-choice answers of information about the birthday girl or boy's childhood, giving two wrong and/or funny answers and one correct one. For example, "Why did Vinny have to get stitches on his head?" 1) His brother pushed him out of a tree. 2) He hit himself with a baseball bat. 3) He fell off his bike while trying to ride with no hands.

I credit the food, the games, and just the habit of eating at home on Sundays after church for always bringing our family to the table.

— EMILY KOCHETTA

Deep in the heart of Bulloch County, in the Pig Eye community, my family has been keeping a Southern tradition alive for more than 50 years. Every Friday after Thanksgiving, while most families are braving the Black Friday crowds, ours gathers at the Jimmy Bath Farm for our annual cane grinding.

The tradition goes back even farther than those 50 years. Cane grinding was something my great-grandfather, Earl Shuman, grew up doing with his own family, and today we still use his original syrup boiler and cane grinder. Before daylight, the work begins — feeding sugar cane through the grinder by hand, cooking the juice down in a hot, steamy barn, and eventually lining up to can jar after jar of fresh cane syrup.

But the syrup has never been the best part. It’s getting to spend the day with family we may only see once a year. We eat good, laugh, work, tell stories, and when the sun goes down, we gather around the fire to sing, dance, and enjoy being together.

Traditions have a way of disappearing as generations pass, and I’m incredibly proud that ours hasn’t. Now my own children are growing up making the same memories I did. I can only hope that one day they’ll be the ones getting up before daylight on the Friday after Thanksgiving to keep it going.

— MEGAN G. HART

All the traditional holidays, birthdays and of course any "Hallelujah" moments in life to celebrate! Being together is a celebration of itself!

— ANDREA WOOD HENDLEY