Keohane Funeral Home

Make Summer Memories with the Whole Family

It’s summertime and the livin’ is easy – the perfect time to get extended family together, spend time with multiple generations and make memories that last a lifetime. Get everyone involved – from Grandma Mary to the new baby!

Take the opportunity of these long summer days to find ways for your family to spend time together – plan a family reunion; take a multi-generational vacation or do a project that the whole family can enjoy together. Here’s a few tips and tricks for having fun with all ages:

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  Photo Credit: Cathy Yeulet/123RF.com

  Family reunions are enjoyable for old and young alike. It doesn’t have to be fancy – a backyard BBQ or picnic in the park is all you need to bring the generations together. But plan to have food, fun and activities everyone can enjoy. Games such as scavenger hunts, relay races and Frisbee are a good time for all. Here’s a fun family reunion game – called “Family Lineup.” The object of the game is to be the first team to lineup according to certain characteristics, like birth order, height, etc. Break up into two or more teams – it could be Aunts and Uncles versus Cousins, or boys against girls. One at a time, the organizer of the game calls out categories such as birth dates in a calendar year, oldest to youngest or tallest to shortest. The first team to line up correctly calls out “In Order!” and wins the round. You can play several rounds and offer a prize to the winning team. For more ideas on party games for family reunions, check out party411.

• Take a multi-generational vacation. Multi-generational travel has become a popular way for families to deepen relationships, expose the young generation to new experiences and provide time to reconnect with one another. According to AAA, one in every three families in America will take a multi-generational trip this year. This usually includes parents, children and grandparents coming together, perhaps from different parts of the country, and taking vacation time together. It helps to plan ahead – sometimes a year in advance, to agree on the destination, find the right venue, and determine a budget. Cruises can be a great way to travel with multiple generations as they offer activities and destinations for everyone. There are often “camps” for the kids, based on age, while parents and grandparents can lounge by the pool or play cards. Then families can come together for meals and excursions in exotic destinations. If you’d rather stay on dry land, look for accommodations that are family friendly and provide both private time and family time. Renting a house with multiple bedrooms and a kitchen area works well. Also, bungalows, cottages and villas are good housing options. Theme parks and all-inclusive resorts are popular multi-generational destinations. As with family reunions, fun activities everyone can enjoy together are great opportunities for bonding and creating lasting memories.
• Volunteer together, and you will be providing a wonderful role model for your children to learn how to help those in need. Look for volunteer opportunities that can involve the entire family or pull together the generations. Are there people in the neighborhood who could use some help – can you assist a widow with the yard work or bring dinner to a neighbor who just came home from the hospital? Your family can visit a nursing home or make cards and art projects to send to out-of-town relatives. You can provide volunteer hours either for a single time or all throughout the summer for organizations such as Habitat for Humanity. You can serve meals at a local soup kitchen or collect canned goods for a local food pantry. Whatever way you and your family serve the community, it will be a memorable experience for your children and your whole family.

Your summer activities will be certain to become treasured memories as long as they include people of all ages that your family loves – from siblings to grandparents; and cousins to aunts and uncles.