Family Day began in Ontario in 2007, providing a holiday at the midpoint between the winter break and March Break. If you have typically enjoyed Family Day off, and can spend that time enjoying the day or a long weekend with your family, you may have spent time visiting museums, community centre, or library programs, travelling to see extended family members, enjoying the outdoors, or enjoying special meals or movies together. Maybe you have undertaken a family project, played games, or started a Family Day tradition.

This year, with some of the usual options unavailable, we may enjoy having the opportunity to rest and regroup at home together. This article from Parents Together talks about pandemic parental burnout, how some stressors have changed during pandemic time, and some suggestions for resting, responding, and recovering. Consider your family’s energy levels and moods before planning any big adventures or saying yes to big requests, and decide what will best suit you and your family’s needs this year.

If everyone is excited about Family Day, it may be the perfect year to try something new and different - seek out a new adventure, start a different tradition, or just spend some quiet time having breakfast for dinner and reading a story. How will you spend Family Day this year?

Below are a range of ideas for spending time together this Family Day weekend:

At Home

Start a new tradition - perhaps a Family Day Movie Night, a living room picnic, or a family memories journal that people write in each holiday.
Revisit an old favourite - is there something you used to enjoy doing but haven’t done in a while? A movie or book just waiting to be picked up again, or a game you haven’t played in a while?
Have a talent show - with just your household, or online with extended family participating.
Make it Opposite Day - wear your clothes backwards, have dinner for breakfast, let the kids be the parents for an hour or two (with a “help button,” of course).
Let everyone pick one favourite food to add to dinner - a plate with mashed potatoes, chicken fingers, cucumbers, and cookies? Sounds delicious!

Outdoor Adventures

Walk a trail.
Go for an outdoor art tour - Check out the OEV Art Crawl, or look for murals, painted electric boxes, and other public art in your area.
Go snow stomping - is there an area near you where the snow is pretty deep? Have everyone put their snow pants and big boots on, and go for a sensory march through the snow, enjoying the crunch, the sinking of the boots, falling into snow piles. Bring hot chocolate in a thermos and see if you can make snow chairs.
Play winter games.
Go sledding - See guidelines for safe sledding here, then find a right-sized hill for your family, take your sleds and helmets, and have fun.

Online

Be inspired by Museum London and their Imagination Station @Home: Chairs Pop-up Tutorial - Can you make a pop up chair?
Plan a virtual family gathering - Maybe a story time, family cooking “class”, or game of charades. See this article for ideas on how to gather virtually.

For school aged children 6+

Kids Corner Live: Learn about provincial parliament.
TIFF Online: Toronto International Film Festival - Admission for people 25 and under is free, see events that might suit your older school aged children’s interests here.

Written by Lara Vlach, RECE, Parent Support Coach & Community Connector

Try Something New this Family Day