Wow! October is almost over! I don\’t know about you, but it seems as the holidays get closer, the time goes faster! This is my favorite time of year with so many fun things to look forward to — Fall Festivals, Thanksgiving meals, Christmas parties, and even more Christmas parties!
And, although I love Christmas and everything it means, I have to say that I love the fall holidays on a completely different level. Fall Festivals and Thanksgiving just seem to be a time when families can get together, relax, and enjoy each other’s company. I love how churches offer special events that encourage family time. Here are a few of my favorites:
Fall Festivals and Celebrations. These can include anything such as games in a carnival-type atmosphere, blow-up rides, cake walks, chili cook-offs, face-painting, trunk-or-treating, fun costumes, you name it!
Hayrides and cookouts. Encourage families to come dressed in warm clothes (depending on your location!), provide hot dogs and the makings for s\’mores! Hayrides can be elaborate on a hay truck or could be as simple as a child’s wagon filled with hay. Plan fun games that families can participate in together.
Thanksgiving meals. Because we live far away from extended family, this sometimes becomes an opportunity for our family to host others who are also away from parents and grandparents. Love, love, love it! What a way to build relationships! You might plan a Thanksgiving meal at your church where young families can come celebrate together.
Parents Night Out. This time of year also lends itself to being a perfect time for you to offer parents a night out. They may choose to Christmas shop, have a date night, or get together with other parents for a fun night out. This is a great way to connect young families! You might even call this a "Kids\’ Night Out" and gear it more to having a party for the kids at church. (This especially helps those school-age kids who feel "too old" to have a babysitter!)
Family Night Out. Host special nights at your church to encourage families to come together to play board games, make crafts, cook together, or play in the gym. These can be some great memory makers! I always LOVE anything that makes good memories – both of being together as a family and of being at church!
So…there are a few of my favorites. Help each other out…what are some great events that you offer to young families in your ministry? Let us know!
Great post! Gotta keep those kiddos and parents busy throughout the year! God bless!
What would a Thanksgiving meals look like? Would you plan any entertainment/message? Any ideas on how to make this appealing to all ages? Ideas? (email cjones@sohillscc.com)
Just wanted to give a couple of thoughts about a Thanksgiving Feast for young families at your church. I’ve done it a couple of ways. We’ve bought the meat and had the parents bring the sides and we’ve also just provided the entire meal. When we did, we offered chicken nuggets for the children – they seemed to like that better than turkey! 🙂
One of these meals was for our weekday preschool parents, so we let the children share some songs that they had learned in their music class. You could also do this with Sunday School if you had a song they could all learn and sing together.
You could have a short message about the true reason for Thanksgiving. These days, especially in public schools, the real meaning gets passed over!
You could host one large Thanksgiving Feast for all young families prior to the actual holiday, or if you discover that you have just a family or two who have no plans, you could host them in your home or pair them up with other young families that won’t be with extended relatives.
You could offer projects to work on or games to play, such as making a turkey from an apple or a pumpkin, pin the feather on the turkey; providing crayons and markers for drawing on a placemat; or providing a placemat with word searches that relate to Thanksgiving.
Hope these were a help. Blessings to you!!!