A Parenting Tip - Make Memories The Easy Way

Can you use a parenting tip that will help you make easy memories with your family? No stress, fun-filled memories that your kids will remember for years?

Well, here are some giggle-filled ideas from my family to yours.

-- Funny hats.

Well, actually, our funny hats were mostly funny ears. And flowers. And antennas. One year at Christmas we were given a bucket load of silly ears, hats, flowers, etc. all attached to headbands.

We made it a rule. If you were in the kitchen, you had to put your 'ears' on. We have great pictures of that silliness and believe me, NO ONE can keep a straight face with a set of velvet antlers on their head. My kids liked it so much, I saved those 'ears' and we get them out each year to enjoy over and over again.

-- Who's got the boogie man?

When our sons were small, they loved playing jokes on their dad. (Who do you think started the pranks, anyway?) To encourage the fun between them and to help them learn to laugh at themselves, my husband purchased a silly rubberized 'monster' face. You could use it as a puppet and make the somewhat scary face do all sorts of silly things, which helped our boys laugh at what might have been a little frightening in another context.

That little 'boogie man' would show up in the most interesting of places. Peeking out from beneath underwear when someone opened a drawer in the morning. Plopped on top of a favorite coffee cup in the cupboard. The point was you never knew when or where 'boogie man' would show up to startle you.

Our sons are grown but they still laugh about 'boogie man' and how much fun it was to try and 'scare' dad. That's a delightful memory that will last a lifetime for my family.

-- Toe-painting.

What do you do when you have a teen-aged daughter who loves painting fingernails? Why, you join in, of course. Everyone gets the most creative pedicures you've ever seen and everything is safely covered with socks when necessary!

The real benefit is you get a daughter who is aware of how much her family values her. What can beat that?

-- A family fight that's good.

We have chased each other around the house and yard with goofy (and noisy) 'laser' pistols, shot each other up with squishy foam ball guns, soaked each other with water guns, and just played old-fashioned tag.

Why? Because it is an instant memory-maker for all of us, great exercise, brings us together instantly and provides for hours of laughter.

I can't think of a better family idea or parenting tip than that!

-- A family hobby.

We've had many, many types of family dinner nights over the years. When a local restaurant offered 50 cent tacos, we made Sunday night 'taco night' while the deal lasted.

We've made pizza together every week for longer than I can remember. We love coming up with new healthy appetizers and dips for our 'movie night'.

Where did all these food ideas come from? My own smart mom who decided early on to make Saturday night 'sweet roll night' in my childhood home, with the leftovers serving breakfast on Sunday morning.

My two sisters and I have terrific memories of making homemade sweet rolls (and sometimes donuts) each and every Saturday night all the years we were growing up. We loved making them. We loved eating them. Our mom is gone now, but we still have those wonderful memories that cannot be taken from us.

Of course a family hobby doesn't need to stop at food. Both my husband and I come from card-playing families and we've played endless games of cards and board games with our children over the years.

Now that my sons are grown and starting families for themselves, it has been a delight to include their significant others in the card-playing fun. The memory-making continues on!

Making family memories doesn't need to be expensive or complicated. It does need to be fun and something your family likes to do over and over again. Something that provides the closeness any family craves.

Use this parenting tip in your own family to create a rich heritage of warm memories your children will carry with them into the next generation. Making memories together is a powerful way to build up your family and keep it strong.