One of the hardest things to do as your children grow older is to find and create times to be relaxed and engaged with one another while doing things that everyone in the family likes to do.
Our family has a few family traditions that we use to create this fun time together with little stress and everyone enjoys the time that we spend together.
One of those is the "family picnic," or so we call it.
Many follow up conversations and teachable moments come from this time spent together and it's one of our favorite things to do.
We've modified the format of a picnic for an indoor picnic which I'll say more about, but I think you'll be able to see how this allows everyone to have a good time, and as a result, family bonds are built and strengthened along the way.
The first element of a family picnic in our home is food.
Every picnic should have food, even if you are picnicking indoors.
What we do is to create finger foods of everyone's favorite things and put them out on platters and trays in our family room.
You can do anything that is easy and fun, but be sure that everyone has favorites.
In our home, typically that includes crackers, cheese, fruit, hummus, veggie sticks, and dip.
The idea is not to stress over the food, but to have enough "nibbles" to turn them into your meal.
Next, we pick out a movie on DVD.
We have done animated movies, spy thrillers, comedies, black and white classics, "chick flicks," and even a series of musicals.
Any one of those is likely to have some members of the family more engaged than others for a given movie, but overall, everyone is willing to enjoy the movie together, and we are sure to vary the genre from picnic to picnic.
Keep the movie appropriate for the age of your children, but on occasion, stretch the topic just a bit to allow for family-friendly discussion on that topic.
This creates a perfect and safe environment to discuss life issues, faith, politics, civic responsibility, etc.
And don't be fooled that the "younger" animated films don't allow for these discussions, too - they do! Then, everyone joins in, watches the movie, and nibbles our way through a meal while watching the movie.
When it's done, while we are cleaning up our picnic, or even finishing it up sometimes, we talk about the movie.
We pick out clever or witty movie lines, and we've even turned that into a family game, too, but we enjoy the process of seeing what everyone thought about the movie and why.
Who did they connect with? What did the movie remind them of? Could the actor have played the part differently? Is the movie like real life? What can we learn? All of these questions and more lead into some fascinating conversations that have been incredible sources of delight and growth for our family.
No matter how young or old, all children will have an opinion on a movie - I promise! So, pick up a movie, grab some healthy snacks, and enjoy time with the people in your life who matter most.
This family-friendly activity is sure to become a favorite of yours, too.
Our family has a few family traditions that we use to create this fun time together with little stress and everyone enjoys the time that we spend together.
One of those is the "family picnic," or so we call it.
Many follow up conversations and teachable moments come from this time spent together and it's one of our favorite things to do.
We've modified the format of a picnic for an indoor picnic which I'll say more about, but I think you'll be able to see how this allows everyone to have a good time, and as a result, family bonds are built and strengthened along the way.
The first element of a family picnic in our home is food.
Every picnic should have food, even if you are picnicking indoors.
What we do is to create finger foods of everyone's favorite things and put them out on platters and trays in our family room.
You can do anything that is easy and fun, but be sure that everyone has favorites.
In our home, typically that includes crackers, cheese, fruit, hummus, veggie sticks, and dip.
The idea is not to stress over the food, but to have enough "nibbles" to turn them into your meal.
Next, we pick out a movie on DVD.
We have done animated movies, spy thrillers, comedies, black and white classics, "chick flicks," and even a series of musicals.
Any one of those is likely to have some members of the family more engaged than others for a given movie, but overall, everyone is willing to enjoy the movie together, and we are sure to vary the genre from picnic to picnic.
Keep the movie appropriate for the age of your children, but on occasion, stretch the topic just a bit to allow for family-friendly discussion on that topic.
This creates a perfect and safe environment to discuss life issues, faith, politics, civic responsibility, etc.
And don't be fooled that the "younger" animated films don't allow for these discussions, too - they do! Then, everyone joins in, watches the movie, and nibbles our way through a meal while watching the movie.
When it's done, while we are cleaning up our picnic, or even finishing it up sometimes, we talk about the movie.
We pick out clever or witty movie lines, and we've even turned that into a family game, too, but we enjoy the process of seeing what everyone thought about the movie and why.
Who did they connect with? What did the movie remind them of? Could the actor have played the part differently? Is the movie like real life? What can we learn? All of these questions and more lead into some fascinating conversations that have been incredible sources of delight and growth for our family.
No matter how young or old, all children will have an opinion on a movie - I promise! So, pick up a movie, grab some healthy snacks, and enjoy time with the people in your life who matter most.
This family-friendly activity is sure to become a favorite of yours, too.
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