Family Bonding Activities: Books, Memories & Mealtime Traditions

Embracing the joys and opportunities of raising children is a challenging endurance test. As parents, we need fortitude, patience, and a strong sense of humour. Fortunately, everyday moments of wonder – intertwined with mud pies and alibis – add up to a lifetime of memories and help strengthen family bonds.

For me, the word ‘forging’ is appropriate to describe creating family unity, since it means the careful, often difficult, creation or development of something over time.

Here are the top ways and simple traditions that have helped my family forge a sense of unity over the years.

Family bonding through books and reading

We began reading to our children when they were small, and encouraging a love of reading has led to lasting rewards. 

My family has found that reading inspires lifelong learning; encourages imagination; provides a window into a larger world; and helps create routines that strengthen family connections. 

Reading aloud with our children transformed written words into shared experiences. The “Three Billy Goats Gruff” was a favourite fairy tale. The story is about three goats who outsmart a hungry, mean troll that lives under a bridge, so the goats can cross to the other side.

My family enjoyed creating the sound of goats clopping across the bridge, and voicing the hungry troll’s demand, “Who’s that tripping across my bridge?” And by using evocative tones and cadence to perform the story, we also created a fun lesson: that brains can rise above brawn.

Now that I’m a grandparent, it’s been tremendously rewarding to watch my kids share a love of books with their own children. Bedtime stories and library visits are an important part of family life. And recently, I’ve encouraged letter writing and helped my grandchildren find pen pals.

Sharing family stories and photographs

One morning when my kids were young and I was driving them to school, I felt something on my foot. I pulled the car over and, to much surprise, discovered a beetle in my shoe. My children will never forget that drive! And another favourite family story concerns the “time we rolled down the hill together, right through red ants.” These are just two memories that have kept us laughing together throughout the years.

Another way my family brings the past alive and bridges the gap between generations is through printed photographs. Looking at pictures together revives precious memories: children love seeing photos and hearing stories – not only from when they were little, but also from the lives of their parents and grandparents. Sharing family stories helps build connections between generations.

For us, the photograph of a posed ‘pyramid’ of cousins, taken at a family get-together, captivates. It recalls our shared laughter during the many failed attempts to achieve balance. And that early photograph led to a tradition: we recreate the same pose during family gatherings today.

Other family photographs capture small moments of joy, too: bubble monsters in the bath, a dandelion for Nan, blowing giant bubbles, and shooting light-up rockets at night. The photos delight us every time.

Practising mealtime traditions

In my family, the experience of cooking together has inspired togetherness, lifelong skills, and a whole lot of laughs. Our time in the kitchen has also resulted in memorable – and sometimes inedible! – creations.

Cooking with kids and passing down family recipes to budding chefs helps keep traditions alive. It’s deliciously heartwarming to hear a family member say, “I want to learn how to make your banana cake.”

Another way my family fostered unity was during dinner, when we’d ask each other, “What made you smile today?*” This query, along with dinnertime conversation, was a way to share wisdom as well as angst. Our plain paper placemats were useful, too: sometimes they became a story map of the season, or a way to note a memory or something we were grateful for. We held onto some of these placemats, cherishing them long into the future.

It’s all in perspective

In forging togetherness over the years, my family has adopted the approach of the ancient philosopher Heraclitus, who said that “there is nothing permanent except change.”

By adopting the mindset that change is constant, we have been able to build resourcefulness and resilience. And over time we’ve cultivated confident children, who grew to be thankful for their family and life’s simple joys.

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*Another variation of this simple family game is ‘Rose, Bud, Thorn,’ as described on The Family Dinner Project, a non-profit organization that “champions family dinner as an opportunity to connect with each other through food, fun and conversation about things that matter.”