Ideas for celebrating
Below are lots of great ideas to help you plan your National Families Week event.
For organisations and community groups, perhaps you could:
- Hold an Open Day for families to show what your agency or organisation does
- Make a National Families Week display in your foyer, service area or office highlighting what you do for families and what families mean to your organisation
- Erect displays in libraries, health centres, shopping centres etc
- Place a suggestion box in your foyer to encourage visitors to comment on your services
- Hold a picnic or BBQ for staff, clients or the public to showcase your services
- Host a family-friendly day in your workplace and encourage staff to bring children to work for the day
- Have a work experience day for youth from the local school or children of staff
- Hold seminars on topics relevant to the week for your clients and staff
- Hold an open forum to discuss the concerns of families and youth in your area
- Disseminate information on youth and families, parenting and the issues faced by families
- Look at your work and family policies. How effective are they? Are staff aware of them? Do they need updating?
- Produce a National Families Week edition of your newsletter or publications
- Arrange for feature articles to be placed in the media on local families and wellbeing
- Promote the Week and any events or activities you organise through community radio and TV commercials
- Have a photographic display or competition
- Hold a bush dance, hip-hop or a multicultural dance display
- Hold a writing or poetry competition – ask the local paper to publish entries
- Organise a concert
- Arrange a community outing to local areas of interest
- Arrange to do something special for a family in difficult circumstances e.g. a gift hamper, arrange babysitting, take the children to a movie
- Promote the achievements of local families through recognition awards
- Promote the diversity of families in your local area
- Honour families and youth who are an inspiration to you
- Investigate families’ needs, the issues they face and review services accordingly
- Link up and organise events with service clubs, community organisations and service providers and agencies in your area – include invitations to more disadvantaged members of your area
- Provide colouring in sheets for children in public contact areas
- Provide discount entry to your facility for families
- Record interviews with people in your community to build an oral history
- Sponsor or raise funds for a local family or youth related community project
For families and individuals, perhaps you could:
- Give kids lots of hugs and smiles
- Take time just to be with children
- Remember to look after adult relationships
- Ask for help if you need it
- Have a family movie marathon
- Have a family sports carnival
- Hold a family talent quest night
- Have a family games night
- Tell each other what makes your family great!
- ‘Adopt’ a granny or grandpa at the local nursing home or hostel
- Encourage your family to make short movies on issues important to them – and then hold a “Movie Premiere Night”
- Be active and eat healthy foods together
- Have a special family breakfast before work and/or school
- Let the children make dinner for the adults – and choose the entertainment!
- Organise a family walkathon
- Organise a street party
- Take some family photos or create a family album or book
The types of events are only limited by your imagination! Many of these ideas are interchangeable between organisations and families.
If you are holding a public event be sure to check whether you need public liability insurance.