Family night gone a little stale? Spruce up your family’s excitement, connection, and fun with this one theme you can recycle each month!
Visiting Jerusalem was a trauma for me.
Long story short, we were going with a group from church on a cruise tour of the Mediterranean – and when it was finally time for the excursion, I raced onto the bus, bouncing in my seat, ready to walk where Jesus walked.
The heartbreak came when I realized that a “tour” is very different than a pilgrimage.
Specifically, the tour guide would only give us a few minutes to see each site. As a result, I was feeling rushed and anxious. I wasn’t given the time to feel a connection with places that had a very deep meaning for me. As soon as I would close my eyes to pray, the tour guide would call out sharply to hurry up and get back on the bus.
Rather quickly on, I wondered if I could “escape” the tour and somehow find my way back to the ship on my own.
As a result of this experience, I didn’t feel like I was really there because there was no opportunity to connect in the moment, to ask questions or share stories with locals, to just BE.
And that can be the same sorrow for our kids these days too.
They’ve had a long week too…and family night has the potential for kids to share their hardships, worries, questions, joys…themselves. They want to connect with their most loved people in the world. As well, they don’t want to feel rushed and hurried off to bed when it’s over – they want to feel treasured.
Wondering how you can spruce up a family night so it brings you all closer and gives you a chance to be together…but won’t take too much of your straggling scraps of energy on a Friday night?
In this post, I’ve got a done-for-you theme that’s exactly what you need…and the perfect gateway for what your kids have been craving.
ARE YOUR KIDS MISSING YOU…WHEN YOU’RE HOME?
Let’s take a look at your typical family night.
You pull out your favourite movie, all settle on the couch and…spend the next two hours sitting by each other but not looking at each other.
As a result, family night is passive, stagnant, bland – the biggest interaction once you hit play is asking who wants more popcorn.
And your kids are wanting more than that.
Above all, parents need to prioritize that old-fashioned face-to-face interaction – especially now that COVID has changed the world, where screentime and remote learning is a necessity for communication, work, education and more…
Let me ask you a question to put this in perspective…
Does your interaction with them throughout the week involve real conversation beyond instructions, schoolwork, or discipline?
how can your screentime affect your kids?
We can answer that question by taking a look at an interesting article on MMHealth. Take a look at this summary:
The less real, heartfelt, quality attention kids get, the more they’re going to act out to get any kind of attention.
How do you avoid this?
Why not try just one night a month where you grow and laugh together, as well as discovering what’s going on in their hearts and minds these days…
…while still respecting the fact that everyone’s exhausted by Friday night and just wants to sit back and have some relaxing fun.
Interested?
the one (recyclable) theme that will spruce up family night
Wondering what you could do beyond movie or games night?
Allow me to introduce Cultural Nights.
For one thing, you’ll never run out of topics – there are so many new, intriguing, and different countries to discover.
Cultural nights keep your family’s attention, ignite curiosity, and grows gratefulness for your own experience while respecting others’.
Feel free to Pinterest-up your own ideas. For those desperately needing a time-saving gem, I’ve put together a pack of 12 lesser-known countries to explore in the shop, one for each month.
My kids lovelovelove when I announce it’s cultural night. They’ve already made requests for more – an expansion pack might be in our future 😉
What does a sample cultural family night look like?
First off, it involves FOOD, the key to all kids’ hearts:
- Together, you’ll make simple appetizers, entrees, and the bestest desserts
- I chose recipes that had common ingredients but chose flavours a wee bit different so it tastes…like it’s from another country 😉
- There are easy instructions so the whole family can help cook
Secondly, while you’re eating, you’ll learn and have meaningful conversations:
- You could look up the country on a map and observe where it’s located compared to your own
- Learn how to say hello in a new language, search fun facts unique to that culture
- Say a new culturally-relevant grace over your meal
- Introduce a growth-mindset question, such as: “how can we push past the fear of “new”? What can we say if we don’t like a certain food someone’s prepared for us?
Finally, finish with some family fun: cultural activities!
- Depending on your energy level, you’ll experience what it would be like in this new country with 3 optional activities
- It could be a craft that highlights their unique cultural artistry, playing their national sport, or sitting together and learn more about a unique industry (like lacemaking or swordmaking!)
A whole evening to experience life away from home…and wouldn’t that be priceless these COVID-isolation days?!
WHAT can your kids get out of it?
Travel has opened my naive eyes to a world beyond…me.
I can hear the sounds of the marketplace as parents desperately tried to provide for their families in Egypt. Feel the same stones Jesus passed along his Via Dolorosa in Israel. Remember my child-like giddiness when I unwrapped my fish and chips from a newspaper in Ireland or tasted that first sip of the world’s strongest coffee in Turkey.
These nights can unveil a sense of wonder in your children…and yourself!
You’ll be able to teach your kids that there’s beauty in “different” – looking at how unique God made his children, each so tenderly, carefully formed.
Beyond facts to memorize, your kids will cook, hear stories, and grow.
You’ll role play together how to try new experiences (talking to you, picky eaters!)
Without compromising your family’s beliefs or values, you’ll walk with your kids and teach them how to understand a new perspective or what to do when they encounter different beliefs.
And, thinking of how many teens and young adults fall away from the Faith here:
Wouldn’t you rather have these conversations with your kids now, instead of having them blunder into an experience of the flipside without any knowledge, tools, or confidence of what to say and do?
Just think, it only takes one night a month to start preparing your kids – and they won’t even see the bigger picture, they’ll be having too much fun!
Your family’s had a long week. This cultural theme night is an easy peasy way to revive everyone’s spirits. You’ve got a done-for-you plan where you can enjoy time connecting deeply again. Why not give a cultural theme a try? Book in one night this month and watch your kids bloom from the connection you’ve made.
READ MORE:
- Help your kids cope with COVID with a Christian-theme Time Capsule activity and prayer
- Wanting to give your kids a head start in the kitchen? Here are 5 cooking skills your pre-readers can learn today
- Learn my one secret 5 minute trick to keep the kids busy and entertained for hours
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