[Nathan]

My family and many other families set aside one night each week for strengthening and teaching families. In these meetings we talk about family scheduling, we pray together, we sing familiy songs, we have a lesson on a topic of relevance to the family, we have an activity or game, and then we have some kind of treat. It really helps us to do this on the same night each week. We choose Mondays. What traditions or formats do you have for family night?

[Praying2Adopt]

Hi Nathan-
We go to the beach every friday night and have a picnic with our daughter. We collect shells and rocks and have a great time talking. This is great because there is no television etc. We get to spend time as a family.
We also have Saturday night at church that is a great family time. We go to contemporary services on Saturday night as to avoid the large crowd and the having to dress up formal on Sunday! !
Nicole

[bluetree]

we had a family night tonight. the kids did a puppert show and mom made milkshakes. after that dad and kids played some video games and told bedtime stories. a memorable evening.

[lewis4498]

I guess we are very lucky. Just about every night is family night for us. I am able to make dinner, we sit together at the table, enjoy winding down for the night & I am able to read my daughter stories every night at bedtime. We also, on occasion, play a few games after dinner (Chutes & Ladders, Candyland, Checkers, or color pictures) or she will simply want to play hide & seek.

[Praying2Adopt]

Friday nights for us on the beach eating dinner is just an extra special night together and a tradition.
We too have family night every night with a sit down dinner and we talk about our days. We read stories to our child before bed and all of the regular stuff close knit families do
Blessings,
Nicole

[bellerd]

we like to make saturday nights "family movie nights". the older boys pick a movie, we make popcorn, and then all spread out on the living room floor with the lights out and pretend we're at the theater. they look forward to saturday evenings, and it's a good motivator for chores. the rule is "no movie until chores are done". this is just an extra special night. everynight, we have dinner together and talk about our day, with the older boys usually helping out in the kitchen. we'll read books afterwards, or whatever we feel like.

[beth]

With teenagers in the house, I'd love to make family night on Saturday nights, so I'd know what they were getting up to!! Alas, those days are gone. However, we have to settle for a week night that we all get together, and because we've always had a "family night" since they were little, we can still get our adrenalin-filled teens to go along with it. Actually I think they love these nights, but at this age will not admit it. Sometimes we get a special video, but mainly we play games. One of these nights coincided with a sleepover, and we had a great time. I hear that my dáughter's friend has demanded to know why her parents dont have a family night, so we may have started a chain reaction here!

[bellerd]

it won't be long until that is a reality in our family as well. my oldest turns 13 in december, and he already thinks we're "uncool" when his friends are around. i guess i'll enjoy him actually liking us for as long as i can

[Guthswife]

Family night changes weekly. It is always on the weekends though because my husband and I work different shifts. We may even have just a family day anr afternoon. We'll have a movie night with munchies or family picnic in the winter in our living room, game time, forest preserve time, go out to a movie, even a painting party with the kids when we painted their playroom(soon to be the oldests bedroom), or the zoo. The important thing is that we are all making time for eachother and showing our kids how important family truly is. I started "dating" my boys when they were about 2 1/2. My oldest when I realized we were having another and the youngest when the oldest started school. It's a way to spend time together, get errands done and then have them pick the place to eat lunch so we can finish errands on one trip. Unfortunately the oldest liked McDonalds and then the other liked Pizza Hut, so I really hate going there still now. My husband will also have boys night and "kick me out" so IO can go out with my friends or mom and they can"bond". Hopefully it is all stuff they will have fond memories of and take on those traditions with their families.

[Heather V Long]

We don't set a specific night for movies each week, instead we tend to spontaneously decide once or twice a month to make popcorn, pour a bag of M'Ms, pile up the pillows on Mommy and Daddy's bed and settle in with our daughter to watch a movie of her choice. We've seen everything from Disney Classics to Harry Potter to the Thunderbirds. It's always a lot of fun and it's a great way to relax.

Heather