Our favorite take-away from our first time taking Charting a Course (back when our oldest was only 6 months old!) was the beginning of what we call “Clark Family Day.” It occurred to us that just like birthdays and other holidays, it is worth celebrating the family that God has put together, intentionally make memories together and encourage what we see God doing in each person.

So here are the key components we incorporate in our Family Day celebrations:

1. Our whole family and only our family.  Everyone must be present and no friends or extended family are invited – this is one day a year for only your immediate family.
2. No working – this includes schooling, e-mailing, etc. Put phones and computers away and just engage.
3. Do a new activity together.  This is both an opportunity to build new memories and expose our kids to a new activity, hobby or experience.  Budget for this so you can do some really fun things.  Some ideas are: 
   • new sports like rock climbing, ice skating, skiing, kayaking, or mountain biking
   • new adventures like whitewater rafting, ropes courses, exploring a new city or museum
   • going to a theme park, water park or national park
   • A new challenge like an escape room, designing pottery, or painting a canvas
   • A new cultural experience like going to a symphony, play, musical or art exhibit
4. Plan fun meals, snacks and desserts together.  Have fun grocery shopping in advance, cooking together or going out to eat.  We try to do as much prep ahead of time as possible so we can spend as much time together as possible.  
5. Celebrate each person.  We design an evening program each year where we pick favorite worship songs to sing together, each member of the family participates in a talent show to demonstrate a skill they’ve been working on and we have a set of awards for each kid from Mom and from Dad to recognize specific character qualities or other traits we want to acknowledge and encourage.  We design and print these awards for a fun keepsake.  This may sound (and even be) cheesy, but our kids really love this part of the day and we find it to be quite meaningful.
6. Add more fun – games, movies, etc.  We even created a Clark Family Day song.  Fill up the day from morning to bedtime with great family fun!  

Mommy Awards template – Word (tweak for your own needs)

Daddy Awards template – Word (tweak for your own needs)

How to Create Your Own Family Day – PDF

Sample Program for Your Family Day & Ideal Schedule – Word

Sample Kid Questionnaire – Word