Family Night

I have been organizing Family Night events at our church for about a year. We have done a lot of really fun things: ice cream social, BBQ after Vacation Bible School, and Halloween party Hayride and Pumpkin Patch visit. Until recently, I have been organizing and orchestrating these events all by myself, which can get boring and draining. Also, I don't have kids and am not from the area so my idea box was looking pretty empty.

I finally got smart and enlisted the help of two mommy friends. (There may have been a little arm-twisting, or perhaps I just have a face you can't say no to.) Not only did they offer to help with Family Night events, but I also recruited them to my church committee! Honestly, they really couldn't say no since they see me all the time.

With three idea boxes to pull from, we planned an amazing indoor camping event. All the kids came wearing their PJ's and brought a flashlight and sleeping bag. We played fun games, went star-gazing, made fun crafts, and at yummy pretend campfires. Then we all gathered around a beautiful pretend fire on our sleeping bags, turned out the overhead lights, turned on our flashlights, and sang songs led by some very talented musicians. Everyone went home with glow bracelets, a full belly, fun crafts, and a stack of information to continue talking about as a family.

We had 40 people come to our event, which is incredible since we have around 400 members at our church. I came home exhausted and happy that all the children were at home with their parents.