Choosing a Family Project for Togetherness

Great family projects are in abundance. Some families spend quite a bit of money on their projects (such as the family who spent their Disneyland fund on foreign travel to volunteer at an orphanage) while others spend less (building a house).

The first key to having a good family project is to make it one that everyone can help with. It's important that each person gets the chance to contribute wholeheartedly to the project at hand. It increases the feeling of pleasure when you all look at what you did together.

The second key for a great family project is that it is one that everyone can be interested in, either as far as results are concerned or else as far as the actual process is concerned (preferably both). This way, each person will stay excited about the project and keep working hard on it. Setbacks won't seem so bad, and resiliency will increase.

Ideas for family projects can be as elaborate or as simple as you wish them to be. Some examples are:

• Baking and decorating a gingerbread house (it doesn't have to be just in the winter)
• Working at a soup kitchen
• Clearing a trail for the rangers when out camping
• Throwing a masquerade ball with homemade masks
• Planning a surprise party for someone
• Learning to juggle as a group (for the younger or less-able set, try scarves, as they stay up in the air longer)
• Train to run or walk a marathon
• Building and painting a tree house
• Acting out a play with homemade costumes and props
• Celebrate an ancestor's birthday
• Make a family scrapbook
• Plant and maintain a vegetable garden
• Save up for a family trip (you could have a family car wash or another kind of fundraiser)

Your children will remember the project for a long time, so assure it's one they'll remember fondly by making sure that everyone is included and that everyone has fun.