Visit Your Relatives: Why To Stay Connected To Family And Friends
I find it very hard and often stressful to visit my relatives and stay connected to family and friends. Our lives are busy. Sometimes our visits with family are relegated to Christmas and maybe a few other major holidays throughout the year. Setting up time to connect with friends seems like a major exercise in the calendar shuffle.
It is not that I don’t want to visit with them, it’s just that there never seems to be enough time to do it all.
Visiting Your Relatives Can Create Memories To Uphold You Through The Tough Times
I loved visiting my grandma, especially when we would just sit and play cards for a while. I can still remember the family reunions at the local community center with everyone sitting out on the grass, playing baseball and eating all that amazing food that was set out on the picnic tables. Or our Christmases where Santa would come to surprise everyone with a gift or two.
Today is Visit Your Relatives Day! It is also my wedding anniversary…a special time that brings back lots of memories of our connections to our family and friends.
Visit Your Relatives Day
Visit Your Relatives Day is intended to give us the opportunity to get closer to your relatives, stay connected to family and friends, and to strengthen family ties and relationships. Or at least it is a good day to look at the months coming up and start to plan how you are going to ensure that you keep that special connection strong.
Families can provide the support system needed to get you through the hardest of times and they are there to celebrate and create memories during important life milestones.
The Difference Between Seeing Strangers vs. Seeing Your Friends
This study compared brain activity associated with seeing relatives with that linked to seeing friends and strangers. It suggested that our feelings about biological relatives are at least somewhat primal. The findings may help explain everything from why our family can get on our nerves to why people who look like us can spark immediate feelings of trust.
Beverly’s Tips To Building Resiliency Through Visiting Your Relatives:
- Stay connected to family and friends that you don’t get to see that often
- Send them a Hallmark card (or a free e-card), if it has been a while since you have seen them
- Call them and take a few minutes to catch up and let them know that you are thinking of them
- Host a family reunion! The older generations of your family will be so proud of you for bringing everyone together. There are a lot of great reunion sites out there to help in ensuring a successful family gathering. However, keep generational differences in mind. Older relatives may prefer to have dinner earlier. Relatives with young children may want to get up and out early. The more you consider meals, quiet time and entertainment before hand, the more pleasant the day will be for everyone.
Visiting Your Relatives: Some interesting facts:
- 34% of U.S. adults have traveled to at least one family reunion in the past three years.
- More than half of reunions are held in someone’s home (52%).
- Family reunions occur at least once a year for half of family reunion travelers.
- Most (91%) trips with children are for leisure, nearly half of which are taken to visit friends or relatives.
- The average number of reunion attendees is 79 guests.
- More Canadians travel for the purpose of visiting family than for any other reason (Statistics Canada).
What is the most popular time of the year to host a family reunion?
Summer – 65.8%
Fall – 12.6%
Winter – 11.2%
Spring – 10.4%
Who is planning the family reunions?
47% – Family planning committee
40% – Single family member
What types of activities are most popular at family reunions?
63% – Cultural Activities & Tours
56% – Awards, Recognitions
53% – Area Attractions
44% – Recreational Activities
39% – Outside Catering
19% – Sports
What are the most popular places to have a reunion other than someone’s home?
32% – Recreational park
22% – Restaurant/Banquet Hall
18% – Resort or scenic location
14% – Major cities
Contact Beverly about hosting a mental health workshop for your teams on work life balance. Discover tips to deal with stress and how to build resilience!
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If you have some strategies to share – comment on this posting!
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