Keeping in Touch
TIPical Mary Ellen : Episode TIP-912 -- More Projects »
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Keep a lot of fun letter-writing supplies on hand at a family desk. This will make the activity much more fun and interactive for children.
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Make color photocopies of children's artwork and mail it to out-of-town relatives.
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Family activities expert Dr. Bra Vada Garrett-Akinsanya provides tips for keeping in touch with family members.
- Send each family branch three or four blank sheets of recipe paper. Have each one write down his or her favorite recipes from the year and send them back. Keep them all together, then you can hand our recipe books at the next family get-together.
- A fun idea for a thank-you card is to send a photo of your child wearing or playing with the gift for which they are writing the note.
- Keep a photo album filled with relatives' photos by the phone. When a distant relative calls, flip to their picture in the book to show your children who is on the line.
- When grandparents and grandchildren live far away from each other, ask grandparents to record children's stories on audiocassette. Hearing their grandma or grandpa read them a favorite story will make them seem closer.
- Plan a "same movie, same night" event. In this activity, family members across the globe watch the same movie together on the same night and discuss it later via e-mail or snail mail.
Send a progressive letter. As you receive the letter, read it and write your family's news on it, then send on to the next person (figure A). This can also be done via e-mail.Send clippings from the hometown newspaper to faraway family members to help them feel a little closer to home.Make a family vacation scrapbook. After taking an extended family vacation, have everyone write their memories about the trip on a sheet of paper. Combine these sheets of paper together to form a scrapbook (figure B), then send copies to everyone involved.
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