With Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner (can you believe they’re almost already here?), I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about special family things we can do for the holidays this year.
Sometime the other day, however, I realized something—Polly, the boys, and I were all already at home together…why not think of something special to do right now?
So I started making a list of easy things that can turn into truly special experiences. Looking down at my list after five minutes or so, I came up with an idea: Ask all of my blog readers what their ideas are, so we’ll all have a really long list from which to draw ideas!
Below you will find the short list I made. Now, let me ask you…what are YOUR ideas for creating memorable moments? Leave a comment and let everyone know! I can’t wait to see what you come up with.
- Go for an unexpected drive after the kids are already in their pajamas. (Remember how fun getting to ride somewhere in your pajamas was?)
- Cook dinner together. Everyone is in charge of making one dish!
- Gather in the living room and read something aloud to your family. Bonus points if it’s cold outside and you’ve got a fire going!
- Spend one whole day with each of your kids or your spouse. Do all the things they want to do. (Within reason, of course. You are allowed to veto skydiving.)
- “Camp out” in the yard or even inside the house. S’mores are encouraged, but not required.
- If you have kids who are young enough to have never pumped gas, but also old enough to handle doing it with a little bit of guidance, let them put gas in the car! This may not sound like something very “memorable,” but a lot of times duties that are arbitrary to us are extraordinary to young minds. Side note: you will probably still end up paying for the gas. Ha!
- Make a special dessert…and then eat it before dinner.
- Every once in a while—teachers, please don’t get too mad at me…I promise this doesn’t happen that often—stay up extra late with your kids to do something special on a school night. Watch your favorite childhood movie with them, take them to a ball game, stay up for a meteor shower, etc.
- The converse of #8, and one teachers may find a little friendlier, get up extra early and do something special before school! The boys and I recently went fishing before school and they had a blast. Convincing them to get up at 5 AM was well worth the effort!
- Bake something and walk it over with your whole family to a neighbor you’ve never met.
- Instead of playing a board game, make up your own game to play! (Surely this is how “Don’t Let the Balloon Touch the Floor” was invented.)
- Do that one thing you’ve been meaning to do with your family. You know what it is. It’s what you’re thinking of right now. Seize this moment, and do it!
