Cool Idea: Family Days
Trying something new to keep us connected and thinking of each other!
Photo taken by Allison Tyler Jones
As my kids have started to leave my nest and now that my oldest is married, I've been pondering things we can do to stay close as a growing and eventually extended family. I read this cool idea a few weeks ago on Instagram (this account, but I can't find the specific post — sorry!) and it has really stuck with me. Here it is: Dedicate one day each month to one individual family member. On their day, a family member will get some extra attention from other family members. This might be a phone or FaceTime call, text messages or SnapChats or the chance to pick what's for dinner. If you're a blogger or someone who likes Instagram or Facebook then you could write something about that family member each month, on their day.
How do you choose which day to dedicate to each person? We are going to use their birthdates, so for example ...
Clark's birthday is February 24th. Addie was born on July 1st. Trey's birthday is September 22nd and Chase came to earth on November 12th. This means that each month on the first day of the month it is Addie Day! On the 12th of each month, we will celebrate Chase. The 22nd day will be dedicated to Trey and the 24th is set aside for Clark. Get it? Thus far, we do not have any overlapping birthdays. As we add spouses and/or grandchildren, we might have to get creative or just let family members share a day!
Here's our monthly schedule so far:
1st: Addie
3rd: Taft
6th: Mom
12th: Chase
15th: Dad
20th: Lauren
22nd: Trey
24th: Clark
My plan is to do some kind of short spotlight or story about each person on their day—either here on my blog, or via social media. For kids that are still at home, they get to choose the dinner menu or perhaps a night out at a restaurant. They get a day off from their dinner chore and they get a BIG group hug or serenade or something fun and wacky like that. Perhaps we'll all go around the table and say something positive to them.
I think it would be FUN to have some kind of display in our home, so that I could post a picture as a reminder. Not sure what that looks like yet!
If you know me at all, you know I'm a STARTER. This means I may not be super great at follow-through, but I have added these dates to my iPhone calendar and invited all other family members with an iPhone to these "events" — in other words, we will all get a reminder for each person's day. This isn't just Mom doing something extra. It's an opportunity for everyone to stop and recognize a parent or sibling on an ongoing and recurring basis.
Let's DO THIS: Tomorrow is our first Addie Day!
Update 11.2017
We are doing this. It’s working! The primary way we connect is via our family group text. Everyone chose an emoji too, so that makes it EASY to find the ongoing thread. Here’s what it looks like on my iPhone ⛳️ 🌷 🏂 ☀️ 🕺🏼 🔥 🦉 🐼 We aren't 100%, but we are having a great deal of FUN across the miles!
