We have been on a mission to bring our family closer together. This is something we have prayed long and hard about, and GOD is working!

We love a lot of old traditions and customs, along with some of the new ones. We try to have at least one or two ‘family get-togethers’ here at our home. The biggest is probably our annual Polar Express party around Christmas time… this has been happening for a while now, and everyone looks forward to it. Why stop at that? We were trying to have a special Sabbath meal each week, and also trying to plan a monthly family dinner with Papa and Nanny, but those got sidelined a bit.

Why? Well, our priorities shifted, and other things seemed more important. We have to make room and time for the people and things we truly love, so I am on a mission to bring back our family dinners. They may not be quite as fancy as they once were, because I’m still exhausted from all the challenges we had last year, but they will be fun.

Here is a list of some fun ideas I have for this coming year as I try to keep old traditions alive, create lasting memories, and bring our family closer together without wearing myself out trying to juggle too many plates at once… let’s combine a few of those plates to make things easier.

I figure that I can stack, or combine, a few of these ideas to make things easier. If we plan to host our dinners or get-togethers on the Sabbath, then we can have family with us and share some of the new traditions we are making. We can also have potluck dinners to keep things easier and more budget-friendly. We don’t really even need to have a full-blown meal all the time… maybe just a light lunch or dessert.

We have A LOT of birthdays around here, so we might try to squeeze those in on some of these special days as well. Be sure to take advantage of special events like a Solar Eclipse, or a passing Comet, to make these days even more memorable!

Idea List:

Note: some of the links will be working once the post(s) have been published, so keep checking back!

Spring:

Special Spring Meals:

• Garden Planning Party – each of the kids can tell what they enjoyed most from the previous year, and then make goals/lists for the upcoming year. Order any seeds or plants that we may need.
• Passover or Easter –two different holidays, but you can celebrate both, if you like!
• Holy Week Meals – a special time to be together.
• St. Patrick’s Day
• Pi Day – make your favorite pizza or pie!
• Spring Tea Party – lots of pastel colors and flowers
• Spring Potluck – your favorite Spring meals
• May Day Picnic – make flower crowns and maybe look up how to make a May Pole
• Cinco De Mayo
• Mother’s Day Brunch
• Memorial Day BBQ

See these posts for more ideas:

Special Holiday Meals: March Edition

Special Holiday Meals: April Edition

Special Holiday Meals: May Edition

Summer:

Special Summer Meals:

• Father’s Day
• Independence Day – Red, White & Blue Party?
• Summer Tea Party – include sunflowers and strawberries! –in the garden?
• Cold Plate Dinner Party – let the kids put it together
• Summer Potluck – this could be the theme of any of these other ideas!
• Christmas in July – draw names and have a gift exchange for fun!
• Outdoor Movie Night – popcorn and candy, please!
• Ice Cream Social–make your own ice cream!
• Back to School Bash – combine with one of the other ideas to make it extra special!
• Pool Party/Water Day – if you don’t have a pool, you could rent a waterslide or just have an abundance of water games to play!

See these posts for more ideas:

Special Holiday Meals: June Edition

Special Holiday Meals: July Edition

Special Holiday Meals: August Edition

Fall:

Special Fall Meals:

• Pumpkin Carving Party – make it a Harvest-themed party with games!
• Thanksgiving
• Stargazing Night – this could easily be combined with a Weenie Roast!
• Weenie Roast – complete with S’mores
• Fall Potluck – soups and storytelling – we may try doing this during Sukkot this year as a way to get our family together before the holidays!
• Fall Tea Party – apple and pumpkin themed
• Football Kickoff Party- if you have football fans in your home
• Hobbit Day – we combine this with the football games for a little extra fun!

See these posts for more ideas:

Special Holiday Meals: September Edition

Special Holiday Meals: October Edition

Special Holiday Meals: November Edition

Winter:

Special Winter Meals:

• Advent Sunday Dinners – we try to plan a special meal for each Sunday!
• St. Nicholas Day – this is also our tree decorating day with hot cocoa and cookies – and we usually have a pancake board for breakfast
• Gingerbread/Cookie Baking/Decorating party – we usually combine this with our Polar Express as a fun craft for the kiddos.
• Cookie/Sock/Ornament/Gift Exchange – this could be a fun idea if you don’t want to do a BIG party.
• Polar Express – create a winter wonderland with lots of hot cocoa, cookies, popcorn, and a movie – YOU CAN PICK ANY MOVIE YOU LIKE, or EVEN HAVE A MOVIE MARATHON!
• Lights and Cocoa on the go –we have a big van, so we can all load up and look for Christmas lights. We’ll take some hot cocoa and popcorn for the ride!
• Bethlehem Dinner
• Birthday Cake for Jesus – this is usually on Christmas Eve, and we make the family secret recipe eggnog!
• Christmas Dinner
• New Year’s Dinner
• Family Game Night –we’ve been missing these!
• Winnie-the-Pooh themed brunch/meal
• Winter-themed tea party
• Winter Potluck –soups or stews?
• Groundhog Day
• Valentine’s dinner/party
• Superbowl Sunday – another great idea if you have football fans in your home.

See these posts for more ideas:

Special Holiday Meals: December Edition

Special Holiday Meals: January Edition

Special Holiday Meals: February Edition

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Remember, this is not a suggestion to do ALL of these things! If you want to incorporate one or two for each season, or even once a month… that would make some really special memories! Please don’t let this post make you feel like you aren’t ENOUGH or that you need to do something more… just do the best you can with what you have!

If you need more ideas, then you can simply type ‘Special Holiday Meals’ in the search bar and find a ton of menu plans and activities to make it even easier for you… Add the month you are searching for to the search to narrow down the idea lists!

You can also check out our BIBLICAL FEAST DAY posts for even more ideas! Our Perpetual Meal Plans also have a lot of these dates listed, as well as some fun and unusual holidays that you may want to incorporate into your schedules!

I really hope this can help someone make some special memories for their families this year! Remember that it is your PRESENCE that counts, not the amount of PRESENTS you give! People need companionship, and they need to know that they are loved! You don’t have to plan any special parties or dinners, but sometimes people feel like they ‘need’ a reason to visit or to invite others to visit, and this gives them a reason.

GOD BLESS!