Creating Family Memories in our Home

It’s obvious here at Let’s Talk Mommy that we love to make family memories outside our home, with family adventures, days out and traveling together. We share them through hundreds of photos and videos on this blog and on my social media. What about the amazing memories we make everyday as a family just at home? They are just as important those small moments that fill our hearts but we are less inclined to share them as much. Those are the little moments as the children grow up that some will fade or be forgotten not because they aren’t important but because those bigger memories just stick out more than a movie night in. But that’s not to say our house isn’t covered from top to bottom with our memories on the walls, in frames, family albums on the shelves, and in every bedroom. So it’s fair to say we love photos too!

This year, I am trying to get creative with fun things to do on rainy days with the kids when we are stuck indoors a lot more than usual. Also to make more simple, fun, crafty memories that we find pleasure in making and creating together. It’s not always about jumping in the car and spending the day out with the family which we used to do every single weekend. It’s exhausting at times. I noticed the kids thrive on fun things at home with their own toys, creating their own crafts, and staying in their pjs for a day. Nothing wrong with that. As part of making more memories at home together this year, we just are trying to enjoy a little slower life pace as we are expecting a baby in May.

So what do we get up to at home?

Movie Time:

We absolutely love curling up under a cozy shared blanket and watching a movie together. Pop some popcorn, get in our comfy sweats and chill. It’s good for the kids to have some down time being so busy during the week with sports, after school activities, school and homework. It does me a world of good to switch off from work and just hold my kids close.

We let each family member pick the next movie or draw it out of a hat to make it more fun. Then after the movie, we like to pick out our favorite parts of the movie to share with each other and our favorite characters.

I think just talking with the kids after a movie or after anything we do together really gives them extra attention and gets them excited for whatever we do next time. I also notice it sticks in their memories longer. B is always saying, oh yeah, remember last time we watched “said movie” we pretended to be the characters and save the world. Whereas, if we just watch the movie, turn it off and do something else it doesn’t have the same effect. MM’s favorite thing is to draw her favorite character after movie time. I think it’s great getting their imagination going.

Cuddling in bed:

On the weekends, we try not to make any arrangements too early. One of our favorite family things to do is all jump in the same bed about 8am and cuddle, talk, plan, and just stay in bed all four of us until 9am. It’s that lovely hour where we still all have sleep in our eyes, don’t want to brave the cold downstairs and some might even doze back off together. I wouldn’t change our weekend routines for nothing. Call me lazy, I call it memory making. The kids love it as it’s the only time they are allowed in our bed.

Sometimes though we might have been out to the park and it started to rain or got caught in the rain riding our bikes so we come home freezing and exhausted. We love to jump under the duvet together to warm up and have a little cuddle together. It’s the quickest way to warm our toes and relax.

SUPERHEROES:

There is always time to play superheroes right? Well, this has become a big one in our house lately with both kids a little older. They tend to gang up on Mommy but I hold my own. We wrap blankets and scarves around us like capes. No need to rush off and buy superhero costumes or actual capes you can make your own!

Although we do have a little collection from previous halloween and charity shops for those days we really want to play dress up and make the house our supernatural world. As a writer and storyteller, it’s one of my favorite things to do with the kids is being silly, and making up stories as we go along. My own mother thinks we are all mentally missing something. I call it fun parenting.

BOOKWORMS:

I also believe in quiet time together. We love to read. All four of us, regularly like our nose in a good book. I am so proud and relieved they came to this without us ever forcing them to read every day. Each child reads their school books before bed without even asking them too. But sometimes on a rainy weekend, when we have been out all day, there is nothing better than everyone grabbing a cozy place, a cozy blanket and pick their favorite book. We are all still in the same room, doing the same thing. Sometimes we decide to just have B read to us all or we read to the whole family together and sometimes we all sit quietly together, reading together.  It’s the perfect relaxation and obviously is great for the kids to learn too. They just don’t know that’s what they are doing!

Of course, there are a million other things you can do to create some fab memories in your home. There are hundreds of crafts, playdoh, toys, learning devices, ipad apps for whole family to play, game night, baking in the kitchen together. We love doing all these things and finding new things to do too. We are documenting more of the small memories that we might forever as we grow up as much as the big ones so that these things that we smile, laugh, love every day with our kids are not forgotten.

Making things like photo memorabilia is the perfect way to keep these smaller memories alive as much as the big ones. We made this gorgeous Snapfish Photo Blanket out of our favorite “home memories” from either our park next door, our backyard, or inside our home just being silly. It’s another thing that can become apart of our making memories at home. We can use it during movie time, reading time, or just having a lie in on the weekends all snuggled together. It’s gorgeous fleece is super soft and warm. You can see just how big it is on my queen bed below!!!

When it arrived the kids loved recalling the day we made each memory which brought back the memories we made together. I was surprised they remembered each one too. Even the day they were arms linked together in MM’s room, they remember that’s the day we made banana bread together and spilt the batter on the floor and Mommy snorted she laughed so hard. Those are the memories I want to remember when my kids are all grown up.

So how did we make our lovely fleece, memory, photo blanket?

It’s easy. I promise. Snapfish, have made it super easy to make any photo memorabilia from albums, canvases, to pillow cushions and blankets. Choose your desired item, I uploaded all mine from instagram, so you can see how clear they came out directly off my instagram feed. You can upload from facebook or directly from the computer too. Then it’s as easy as drag, drop in the places provided for photos on your item. There are so many various ways you can edit your item too. I could have changed the navy to any color, resized any boxes here, changed text and font too. The list is endless with options leaving you to have fun creating.

What a wonderful family keepsake too, isn’t it? I love that could match the product to the design and style of my new playroom. We have navy accents in their so it was awesome I could choose whatever background color I wanted and personalize it to our family with our Taylor name too.

I could have easily made it one big family photo in the middle and added a bunch of embellishments on it. Your design has endless options to become your very own. Do what you want with it as you wish! The quality is fab for the price for a family keepsake that adds that extra bit of love to your home. Gives  your guests something to talk about when they visit and shares memories with everyone that sees it including reminding yourselves of those very special moments.

I think a happy handmade home is a special one.  You can get this photo blanket made in just a few minutes creating your own happy handmade home. Whatever you do at home with your kids, it’s a big part of their childhood. Let’s make it a fun and creative one that makes us want to document the small moments as much as the big moments and share them equally with everyone too.

What do you like to do with your kids at home on a rainy day??

Why not use my discount code JTHOME50 to get 50% OFF SITE WIDE on any order

and start creating your own family memorabilia now! 

 

*Collaboration with Snapfish UK, all photos and opinions are my own.