We all love holidays right? Special foods, special activities, time spent with people we love. However, there aren't that many Holidays between Easter and Memorial Day that the whole family can look forward to. (Mother's Day is the most important Day of the year in my opinion but somehow the rest of the family doesn't seem to get all that excited about it.)
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So, instead of waiting around for the next major Holiday, why not create your own? I was inspired when I came across a fun posting on Creating Your Own Family Holiday over at RookieMoms.com. How fun would that be!?! Maybe you don’t get to take off of work for your own invented Holiday, but any reason to celebrate ranks high on the family fun meter. And, what a great opportunity to use your imagination and creativity.
Here’s my take on how this could work – Why not let each person in the family come up with a Holiday idea and you can vote on it. Or, make it a tradition and put the ideas in a hat and draw one idea to be celebrated that year. If you love celebrations, why limit yourself to just one customized Holiday? Let each person in the family get their own Day! Here are some of my family's ideas for a customized, family Holiday:
- 1. Family Movie Festival. Pick a Saturday or Sunday for a family movie festival. Everyone in the family gets to pick their favorite movie to watch. Lounge the day away in your pajamas and watch these classic movies with plenty of snacks. End the day by watching some of your favorite home movies or ask Grandma and Grandpa to come over with movies of you when you were a kid. The kids will love it! If your family is super creative you could actually make your own movie. What a great way to preserve some memories and show how your kids are growing every year. Here's a post with several ideas on how to make Family Movie Night more fun that you could incorporate into your marathon.
2. Summer Gardening Day. This Holiday is a way to get ready for your favorite summer foods. Take a day and create a summer garden as a family. Everyone gets to pick a vegetable or fruit they really look forward to eating in the summer and you work together to plan out and plant the family garden. Whether you love strawberries in June or tomatoes in late July have fun digging in the dirt on your special Holiday. Here are 4 Fun Kids Summer Gardening Projects you could also incorporate into your day.
3. All Things Chocolate Festival. I don't know why this isn't a National Holiday already. A day where you celebrate all things chocolate by having it at every meal. Figure out how to add chocolate to every dish you eat that day. Search for recipes online for inspiration. Here's a super easy but super delicious Chocolate Fondue recipe.
4. Our Family Gives Back Day. Spend the day helping out various charities. Call some of your local charities and ask if there is something you can do as a family to help out. Before the Holiday, here's how to Talk to Your Kids about the Importance of Giving Back.
5. Family Adventure Day. Grab a map with a 2-hour driving radius from where you live. Have one of the kids close their eyes and stick a pin into the map. You now have a destination for your adventure. Look up the town on Google and see what interesting things or restaurants there might be in that town and head out to discover a new place.
If you could create your own family Holiday, what would it be?
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Sue Kirchner is a family fun coach, blogger, kids party planner, and weekly contributor to Patch.com. Sue and her family fun ideas have been featured on TV, newspapers, magazines, blogs, as well as her own family fun site ChocolateCakeMoments.com.
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