The Best Tip for Holiday Family Bonding
Christmas: it’s the most wonderful time of the year! But for so many of us, especially those of us with children, it can seem more stressful than wonderful. Just think, there’s buying, wrapping, cooking, getting dressed, traveling, socializing, and making sure everyone is on the same page and packed into the same car. It’s a lot, and since Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year are so close together, it can wear anyone out quickly. All the hustle and bustle can make us wonder why we do all this stuff in the first place, besides the mere expectation that it’s what we do every year.
The COVID-19 pandemic really fast-forwarded how many of us and how often we are using our phones, tablets, laptops, and TVs. Unfortunately, this can take away from the feelings of real-life connection that we used to experience sitting around a fire and talking or playing board games as a family. So how do we make meaning out of all this craziness? How do we have quality time together when so many of us have our own things going on-even in the same house? Here is my best advice:
Incorporate Your Technology
Using your tech with intention can pay off in multitudes. For example, there are video games that the whole family can enjoy, stress-free. Games that translate real-life activities into virtual versions are perfect games to get the whole family’s participation. Easy games that aren’t dependent upon storylines or complicated finger movements can really get everyone involved. Or, you can use trivia and make-your-own-quiz games, like Jackbox or Kahoot. Imagine a family trivia game of fun facts collected ahead of time! Some of my best memories include my grandmother, who had never used the internet, let alone a gaming system, up and challenging my seven-year-old cousin to a round of Just Dance.
Tech does not always have to be our enemy, nor does it always have to be an individual, isolated activity.