The Family Month Project
Ways to Celebrate
Check out the ideas below. Click HERE for a whole month's worth.
Even if you're on your own, you still have a story. There's no such thing as a family of one.
Schedule Family Time
That's right. Schedule it.
With parents working and kids over-scheduled, it's actually important to make plans to just do nothing.
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Eat dinner together.
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Watch a movie.
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Play a game.
Hanging out may not seem like much, and your teenagers may roll their eyes, but you and your loved ones will look back on those times as the happiest. Occasionally invite that grumpy aunt or dare devil cousin. You might learns something about human nature - and so might they.
Makes Technology Your Family's Friend
Rather than it's enemy.
Those family dinner and movie time should, of course, be free from smart phones. And that includes you! You won't bond staring into that lighted screen in your hand. But there are ways to use technology to keep the family together!
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Make a family group text. Send cat photos or whatever - to everyone all at once and get them talking.
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Do a free Zoom call once a month to gather together those near and far.
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Create a Facebook or other social media group that's just for family photos and news.
Make a Family Tree
Or a Bush. Or a Seedling.
This is probably the most time consuming idea - so skip if you're busy-busy. Yet this idea is the most profound and worthwhile. Some family trees are wide and shallow - others thin and deep. Some come with centuries of details. For others, details - like names, birthdays, names of towns, etc. - are almost non-existent. Some boast famous or infamous ancestors. Others are full of plain folks. The difference and uniqueness is what makes the trees exciting. No other expression says how you got here better than a family tree. And it's a perfect thing to bring you close to family if you're currently on your own.
https://www.ancestry.com/ is just one of many ways to start the process.
23andMe can even help you find genetic relatives.
Pictures of the Folks
The known and the unknown.
Pull out pictures and videos of the relatives, if you have such pictures. If you don't, ask the ones who are still with us to contribute to your collection. Thanks to technology, people can scan and share precious pictures - or even take a picture of their pictures with your phone. Old pictures teach us so much! They remind us that times change, that life goes on, that we all have unique purposes and unique fates. Some of us flew B-29s; some wore beehive hairdos. Didn't like the son-of-a gun? Ponder his photo for Family Month - because his irritating mug shows you how far you've come. But for the most beloved ones, their faces remind us to be our best because that's what they lived their lives for.
Say Thanks
For actions large or small.
Gratitude is all the rage these days in new age circles. But there's science that actually backs it up. Intense positive emotions can actually rewire the brain and diminish stress and even illness. So, during family month, make it a daily practice. Thank a different family member every day (and if you have to double up to cover the month, thank them more than once.) Thanking Mom and Dad for giving you life is easy on Mother's Day and Father's Day, but you could also thank a sibling for teaching you to play tag, or a cousin for having a great sense of humor. For the dead, we can light a candle in church, or make a little altar at home. For the ones that are better to not contact, then it's okay to pray for them - and in that prayer thank them for motivating you to choose a different path.
Teach Your Roots
To pass on knowledge is like watering the tree.
For those with children, Family Month is a great time to pass on knowledge of the past. It's important, even for children adopted into a family, to identify with and understand their heritage, both adoptive and biological. Knowing where you came from helps you know where you are going. Teaching the roots to the next generation provides continuity and gives substance to the future.
Don't have children? Teach it to nieces, nephews or cousins. Or even teach it to your friends.
Hold a Seminar
You probably have experts on family in your area.
If you don't know any, ask us and we'll help you brainstorm. Experts provide food for thought and an opportunity for people in your area to express their challenges. It's a great way for a community to become aware of family issues.
Hold a 5K
Raise money for family services or a preschool or anything that benefits families.
This is a great way for your church or school to find a way to give so that families in your area know they have a community supporting them staying together. Besides a good run is good for your health!
Share our Logo
See the forest, thanks to your tree.
Download our logo and put it somewhere where you can see it - like one your fridge, or where other's can see it - like on your bumper. We have two versions - one with our slogan, and one without.
The Family Month Project is not only a great way to understand your own journey, but it's also a wonderful reminder that we live in a forest of unique journeys. Remembering this brings us together. The idea that we each came into being in the same way - from the merging of the egg of a woman and the sperm of a man - is powerful and humbling. It brings respect, if not awe, for human creation.