If you ignore the actual weather, the holidays are one of the warmest times of the year. Togetherness provides an essential human warmth that promotes bonding between people, and kids are no exception.
The kind of familial closeness that the holidays brings can help kids feel that the outside world is safer.
Unfortunately, that feeling of closeness can fade once the holidays are over and extended family members disperse to their respective homes. Luckily, there are ways you can help your kids stay connected with far-flung family even when presents aren’t involved.
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Pick Up the Phone
Technology has transformed how people are able to connect with each other. No longer do your kids have to wait to see their relatives at specific points during the year. You can coordinate with family members to set up Zoom calls for everyone to hang out online and say hi to each other.
Not that video chats are the only option. You could buy a phone for kids that would allow your kiddos to make calls to trusted family members whenever they want. Grandma can hear all about your daughter’s latest basketball win when she’s just a screen tap away.
Play Video Games
One way to hang out with family members is to evoke their competitive spirit and play some online video games together. This can be a great opportunity for your kids to keep in touch with cousins, aunts, uncles, and other family gamers.
Even if your extended family doesn’t play games already, there are tons of fun ones designed with families in mind. Whether you’re solving crimes or banishing ghosts, online games are easy to pick up and a blast to enjoy together. Gaming provides an easy incentive to have family hop online and spend a couple of hours having fun.
Co-Watch Movies and Shows
Likewise, the advent of streaming services has allowed people to enjoy watching shows and movies together, even when they’re apart. You can schedule a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly movie night with as many family members as want to participate. After the credits roll, you can debate that unlikely plot twist or relive the climactic scene.
Movie series and ongoing shows are especially good options, as everyone can look forward to watching the next installment. This will reinforce the commitment to meet up, which might otherwise fade over time, as promises to stay in touch often do. Once you’ve found something that everyone actually wants to watch, the hard part will be over!
Start a Book Club
Just as with games and movies, book clubs are a fantastic way to keep family members meeting and bonding over time. They’re particularly beneficial because reading helps keep people’s minds healthy and growing. Even simple stories deeply engage the human mind and heart, which is why people have been telling stories to each other throughout time.
Books clubs give family members the opportunity to express their interests and opinions and listen to those of others. You’ll get to know extended family members more deeply as a result. A family book club can keep your family growing and bonding while educating your child at the same time.
Send Snail Mail
Sending letters in the mail is a classic but frankly undervalued way of staying in touch with people. So go old school and give your local post office a little love.
Most kids these days will never know the joy of getting something in the mail beyond bills, ads, and Amazon orders. Family members from older generations will deeply appreciate receiving mail from your children, as they likely don’t get much anymore. Plus your kids will like having a penpal and can keep the letters they receive to look back on fondly years later.
Plan Non-Holiday Visits
The holidays aren’t the only time you can get your extended family together. Family itself is reason enough to gather, so why not schedule a visit during the off-season as well?
Of course, this strategy depends heavily on locations and budgets, but visiting family during other times of the year can create deep bonds. That’s because you’re making the effort to meet up when it’s not a seasonal obligation. It also helps your kids see that they can connect with extended family even when ’tisn’t the season.
Take Family Vacations
To make one of those off-season family visits happen, plan to go on a vacation with extended family. Many people love to travel, and going somewhere will help your family grow together by experiencing new places.
Spring break and summer are particularly good times for a multigenerational jaunt, as it’s likely that kids will be free. Plan ahead so parents and other working relatives can schedule time off in advance and save up for the trip. Family trips are a big investment of time and money but are completely worth it for the memories that will last a lifetime.
Make the Time
One reason it’s difficult to connect with family throughout the year is that, frankly, people are busy and difficult to organize. The best holiday intentions have a habit of falling flat when regular life gets in the way. Just “finding the time” doesn’t really work. Instead, make a goal with your family to intentionally schedule time to connect. That way, you and your kids can stay in touch with loved ones all year long.
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