Of all the aspects that make up a good life—positive emotions, identifiable strengths and purpose—arguably among the most important are those people in our lives who make it all come together.
1 “You don’t have to give birth to someone to have a family.” —Sandra Bullock
2. Read Family Life by Akhil Sharma.
3. Watch Terms of Endearment.
4. Call your parents.
5. Get those iPhone pictures of your kids made into prints!
6. Listen to “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver.
7. “The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life.” – Richard Bach
8. Read Home for Dinner by Anne K. Fishel or visit thefamilydinnerproject.org.
9. Listen to our podcast with Anne K. Fishel here.
9. Watch Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors on NBC.
10. Say “I love you” more often.
11. Trace your genealogy and share the results with relatives.
Read more: Family Stories Do More Than Weave Us Together.
12. Listen to “That’s What I Call Home” by Blake Shelton
13. “Family is not an important thing. It’s everything.” —Michael J. Fox
14. Listen to Lake Wobegon Family Reunion: Selected Stories by Garrison Keillor.
15. Watch Look at Us Now, Mother.
Listen to our podcast with Gayle and Mildred Kirschenbaum of Look at Us Now, Mother, here.
16. Record a grandparent or parent telling a story about his or her youth.
17. Take a hike – together!
18. Listen to “There Goes My Life” by Kenny Chesney.
19. “A family is a risky venture, because the greater the love, the greater the loss….That’s the trade-off. But I’ll take it all.” —Brad Pitt
20. Read Tomlinson Hill by Chris Tomlinson.
21. Watch Despicable Me.
22. Commit to having at least one meal a day together.
23. Listen to “100 Years” by Five for Fighting.
24. “I believe the world is one big family, and we need to help each other.” —Jet Li
25. Read The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood by Ta-Nehisi Coates.
26. Watch Madea’s Family Reunion.
27. Learn or share a secret family recipe.
28. “I’ve always put my family first and that’s just the way it is.” —Jamie Lee Curtis
29. Learn a song or language of cultural significance to your roots.
30. Watch Father of the Bride.
31. Volunteer as a family.
32. Host a family game night.
33. Be sure to look for “33 Ideas on Play” in the next issue of Live Happy.
