Making Memories in Your Home

The hustle and bustle of everyday life is hard to keep up with, let alone to find the time to reflect on happy times and work towards creating new ones. However, before you know it the little ones will be all grown up and you might have missed some great opportunities for creating lasting memories the whole family can look back on.

Creating memories in your home is easy to do and can involve lots of the activities you might already be doing…


Keeping Memories Alive


Is your phone bursting at the seams of storage space because of all the adorable pictures you have of the children? Take your beautiful photos, get them printed and create a photo album or scrapbook. This can be a family activity as you all decide on what goes where and you can also add in some little written memories to go along with pictures so no detail is forgotten. A great bonding experience for the entire brood!

Another tactic is to put on a slideshow with a selection of family snaps that will elicit laughter and a few “awwww” moments. Pro Show Blog has a step-by-step guide to putting on a slideshow including the kit needed.


Celebrations


Making a fuss of every occasion makes the person in question feel loved as well as giving you more excellent family photo opportunities and memory-making moments. Whether this is your child’s birthday party, a festive celebration or just an excuse to show off your cooking skills, you are giving the whole clan an opportunity to spend time together.



Even though we are approaching the end of summer now, that’s no excuse not to have your celebrations outdoors. A lovely garden party can still be attempted in autumn and winter with some careful planning and some cosy additions to your outdoor furniture such as throws, cushions and a little fire pit. You can also use bifold doors to open up your kitchen and garden, or dining room and garden, to make your outdoor space feel like part of the house - just another room.


Learning to Cook


Everyone remembers who taught them certain recipes and when they realised how to perfect a cake. Those memories of messy kitchens, flour fights and waiting for the cooker timer to go off (to see if you had created something edible) are priceless. Teaching your children to cook is firstly entertaining for them and you, as well as giving them essential life skills for the future and healthy associations with food. 

You could even get the kids involved in making their own packed lunches by making bread together for the sandwiches, choosing what fillings they get and picking the snacks they’d like. Letting children take part in food preparation will increase their interest, make them feel in control and help to guide them towards making healthy choices.

Thinking of trying this with your little ones? Check out these 10 healthy beginner recipes especially designed for children from Babble.


Home Improvement


When making changes in your home, why not get the children involved in everything from the planning stage to the execution of the decorating process? As long as you can deal with a bit of mess and a few excitable attempts at painting, this could be a really good experience for all concerned. You can even get the creative juices flowing by letting the kids do their own drawings on the walls for a playroom or a small section of the living room for example. Hand prints are also great for giving your interiors a piece of history with tiny little hands.



Giving children the decision-making powers with their own rooms will also keep them interested in the whole project and will have them eager to help with painting, building new furniture (reading a flat pack manual is a rite of passage) and all the finishing touches. The IKEA website gives some great ideas for what style your children would like for their bedrooms, as well as giving some affordable options for new furniture.

Also, depending on their age, they could choose to have a themed bedroom such as pirates, fairies or a safari-theme. There’s so much that can be done when a theme is involved, influencing colour choices, fabrics and finishing touches. 

The home improvement can also be extended to the garden, with plenty of things to get the whole family involved in, such as the overall design of space, the heavy work – moving pots and plants, raking the grass and watering of plants – as well as choosing the flowers and plants that are in the garden. Who knows? Some of the things you planted with your children could still be there when they’re adults - providing more memories for your home.

Collaborative post.