Four Ways to Get Closer With Your Extended Family

Four Ways to Get Closer With Your Extended Family

With many family members taking to Facebook these days, it can be easy to avoid making an effort with them offline too. Birthday greetings can be sent in a matter of seconds, and you don’t even need to speak to them about their latest holiday as you can simply look at the photo album they publish. There is something both simple and wonderful about having a proper (verbal) conversation with someone, so I’d suggest getting yourself off the computer and putting yourself back in front of your family members to really get to know them.

I decided to do the same this year when my nieces and nephews started to share important news saying they were going to be getting married or having a baby - I didn’t want to miss out on these celebrations so I’ve really put the effort in and everyone has been thankful for it. If you are looking to do the same, here are four ideas about how you could go about it...

Family reunion

The first place many people will start is to organise a family reunion. Depending on how large your family is, you could either have this at someone’s house or garden, or even hire the local community centre for the evening. Logistically, you’ll want to choose a day or evening that most people are likely to be free on - Saturday is often the top choice so people can recover the next day if they have a few too many glasses of wine. Give people enough notice of the reunion date, especially if they are travelling from further afield.

Regular phone calls

If you call a member of your family and they are genuinely shocked to hear from you, there is a good chance that they think that you don’t ring them enough. Of course, it is a two way street so they could have made the first move too. However some people are unable to afford expensive phone bills so if you can then it only makes sense for you to call them; try and make it a regular event.

Enjoy celebrations together

We now have a family piggy bank where we all try to put in a few pounds every week so we can enjoy celebrations and days out together. Usually I’ll take a small portion of my salary but other times I’ve been able to put in a bit more, like when I sold some DVDs online. This year we’re having a big family Christmas so our savings will be going towards food, decorations and wine.

Go abroad

Finally, why not get your family together and have a lovely summer holiday abroad? We’re planning to do this next year as we’ve found a beautiful villa in France that has lots of bedrooms and even a swimming pool. We’ll be able to enjoy barbecues on the terrace, and there will be plenty of opportunities to take some photographs for future generations to look at.