Things for Families To Do Together at a Church Family Day

Ideas to help make your family days special.

Karen Holford is the wife of Bernie Holford, the family life director of the South England Conference. Together they enjoy developing seminars on all aspects of family life. They have three children: Bethany, 10; Nathan, 7; and Joel, 4. Karen has written several books, including, Please, God, Make My Mummy Nice! a warm and humorous look at mothering and what it can teach us about God's love for our families. She also enjoys crafts of all kinds.

Church family days are special days. These days should be eagerly anticipated. Children and adults love to get together with other families. Organized games and skits can usually increase the pleasure of such family get-togethers. Following are some ideas to make your family days special.

1. Let each family design an imaginary machine to help them with a recurring problem. This can be a fun way to look at family needs. For example, a finding-things machine may have a comb (to comb through all the junk), a bin for all the rubbish you find when you’re looking for other things, a magnifying glass (to find those really hidden things), etc. Talking about the problem by designing a funny machine is a lighthearted way to help families come up with better strategies for the everyday problems they face. Perhaps your family lacks organization, and things are always misplaced. Use your imaginary machine to help find lost items, and then use it to organize them.

2. Let each family draw a picture of themselves. Then have the families swap their pictures with the other families. Each family then writes something special about the other families. At the end of the game, each family will have a picture of themselves with several good things written about them that will make them feel special.

3. Give each family member a large piece of paper and some felt-tip markers and ask them to design their own coat of arms. Or let each family create a poster advertising the family or Jesus.

4. Outside activities are extra-special. On a sunny day, have each family plan a game to share with others. Bring a jar filled with cookies or beans and let ev­eryone guess how many are in the jar. Let the winner take the jar home. Have a bucket throw to practice throwing skills. Make a clock-golf game (hit the ball from each number to the hole; the person with the lowest score wins). The ideas are endless. Charge a few pennies for each game, and give the money to ADRA or let each family keep what it makes to offset any expenses it may have incurred.

5. Cut heart shapes out of paper, and let each family member write a love note to each person in the family.

6. Provide materials for each family to make a kite together, then have a kite-flying contest. Kites can be made from a simple pattern, polythene bags, cel­lophane, and garden sticks. Find a library book to show you how.

Planning fun family days takes little effort, and the rewards are great. Memories are created, relationships are strengthened, and friendships are made.

Karen Holford is the wife of Bernie Holford, the family life director of the South England Conference. Together they enjoy developing seminars on all aspects of family life. They have three children: Bethany, 10; Nathan, 7; and Joel, 4. Karen has written several books, including, Please, God, Make My Mummy Nice! a warm and humorous look at mothering and what it can teach us about God's love for our families. She also enjoys crafts of all kinds.