General Conference weekend is upon us again and I thought it would be fun to gather a list of some fun General Conference traditions from my friends. Most of the traditions revolve around food and quiet activities that keep hands busy and minds awake, but there are some fun, unique ones in here too that I wanted to share (and try someday too).
Most of these are quoted directly from friends. Traditions with an asterisk* next to them, are traditions that our family uses.
Feel free to add in some of your favorite traditions to the comment section!
*Fresh homemade doughnuts (or some other exciting treat) on Sunday morning. We rarely eat fried food, so the kids (and adults) look forward to it all year.
Go to the grandparents' home for Sunday morning breakfast, then watch Sunday morning together.
Hot homemade bread coming out of the oven just when everything starts. It sure gets everyone in the room quick.
We have the kids listen for the "special word' of each talk (ie the topic). And then each time they hear the special word, they tell us and they get a small candy.
My parents have an indoor picnic and invite any near relatives. We would have all sorts of cold cuts, cheeses, and sandwich fixings with fun buns or fancy breads, along with chips, potato salad, macaroni salad, etc...
As a parent, we buy skittles, m and m's and play bingo for the first Sunday session.
We all get a bowl of M&Ms and every time we hear "Heavenly Father" or "Lord" we get to eat one! Helps keep our attention!
I used to go with my brother (and usually a couple other guys) to Chuck-a-Rama or other suitable eaterie and eat together before going over to the Stake Center for Priesthood Session.
*Ice cream sundaes at the YM president's house before Priesthood Session.
A yummy breakfast/brunch something and watching on the internet, blasted loud thru the house while we watch in our jammies.
Ritz crackers, easy cheese, and guava juice...... whenever the prophet speaks to us. President Monson always gets out these three things when his family comes to visit, so when he speaks, that's what we eat.
Quiet Ways to Engage the Kids:
*As a kid, we put out a huge sheet and dumped a million Legos on it and just built Lego creations for hours. We were quiet and engaged. (also shared by another friend)
We like to go through our 72-HR kits and update them.
We allow the kids and ourselves to work on something quiet with our hands, like my knitting, Peter's model painting, etc. We do this so we can stay awake during the talks. Not that the talks are boring, of course they are not, but the couch is so soft and comfy........
*Give small notebooks to each of the kids to take notes (or draw pictures).
*Have General Conference Activities printed off for each child.
Service oriented traditions:
*Make a special treat (like cinnamon rolls or apple pies) and bring them to friends before or after conference.
Invite an older ward member to come watch with you.
*Invite a family to eat dinner with you between or after sessions.
Miscellaneous traditions:
*The General Conference after my boys turn 12, my husband takes them on a Conference weekend trip to Utah ( a long flight for us) to attend as many sessions as possible (especially Priesthood Session). It was a great time for them to bond and talk about the responsibilities of the Priesthood.
*The week before Conference, have a special FHE about modern-day prophets and recognizing the spirit and tie it into preparing for General Conference.
Have the house cleaned and errands run before conference, and make the room into a "Quiet Zone", even posting signs on the entrance.
Between sessions we usually check out the biographies or documentary stuff on byu tv.
Most of these are quoted directly from friends. Traditions with an asterisk* next to them, are traditions that our family uses.
Feel free to add in some of your favorite traditions to the comment section!
Food related traditions:
Go to the grandparents' home for Sunday morning breakfast, then watch Sunday morning together.
Hot homemade bread coming out of the oven just when everything starts. It sure gets everyone in the room quick.
We have the kids listen for the "special word' of each talk (ie the topic). And then each time they hear the special word, they tell us and they get a small candy.
My parents have an indoor picnic and invite any near relatives. We would have all sorts of cold cuts, cheeses, and sandwich fixings with fun buns or fancy breads, along with chips, potato salad, macaroni salad, etc...
As a parent, we buy skittles, m and m's and play bingo for the first Sunday session.
We all get a bowl of M&Ms and every time we hear "Heavenly Father" or "Lord" we get to eat one! Helps keep our attention!
I used to go with my brother (and usually a couple other guys) to Chuck-a-Rama or other suitable eaterie and eat together before going over to the Stake Center for Priesthood Session.
*Ice cream sundaes at the YM president's house before Priesthood Session.
A yummy breakfast/brunch something and watching on the internet, blasted loud thru the house while we watch in our jammies.
Ritz crackers, easy cheese, and guava juice...... whenever the prophet speaks to us. President Monson always gets out these three things when his family comes to visit, so when he speaks, that's what we eat.
Quiet Ways to Engage the Kids:
(our basement was right in the middle of being remodeled in this picture...so excuse the torn up walls and tv on the ground)
(Similar to this story in the Friend) I have a friend who sets up their tent in front of the TV to watch it. Because King Benjamin's people listened to the first General Conference from their tents. :) (How fun is that? I want to try this one.) *As a kid, we put out a huge sheet and dumped a million Legos on it and just built Lego creations for hours. We were quiet and engaged. (also shared by another friend)
We like to go through our 72-HR kits and update them.
We allow the kids and ourselves to work on something quiet with our hands, like my knitting, Peter's model painting, etc. We do this so we can stay awake during the talks. Not that the talks are boring, of course they are not, but the couch is so soft and comfy........
*Give small notebooks to each of the kids to take notes (or draw pictures).
*Have General Conference Activities printed off for each child.
Service oriented traditions:
*Make a special treat (like cinnamon rolls or apple pies) and bring them to friends before or after conference.
Invite an older ward member to come watch with you.
*Invite a family to eat dinner with you between or after sessions.
Miscellaneous traditions:
*The week before Conference, have a special FHE about modern-day prophets and recognizing the spirit and tie it into preparing for General Conference.
Have the house cleaned and errands run before conference, and make the room into a "Quiet Zone", even posting signs on the entrance.
Between sessions we usually check out the biographies or documentary stuff on byu tv.
(from lds.org) Remove the spread with photos of the General Authorities from the most recent general conference edition of the Ensign. Use it to help children learn to identify the names of the speakers.
(from lds.org) Create general conference traditions by participating between sessions in a family activity, such as playing games, watching old family videos, taking a walk, or talking about the session that just ended.
3 comments:
Also, our ward has an awesome tradition of Sunday breakfast at the YM president's house on Sunday at ten am. Then they talk about what they remember from priesthood session and head home to watch Sunday session with their families....
You've got some great traditions! Thanks for posting this.
We have the kids write the names of the first presidency and apostles on 15 paper lunch bags, one for each person. Then I fill the bags with little snacks or treats and staple them shut. When a new speaker comes to the podium the little kids get all excited to see if we have a bag for that person. Everyone gets to enjoy the treats during the talk. (I put a variety of things in the bags. In addition to sugary things, some of the bags this year had plums, cashews, chex mix, etc. I keep the portions small so we aren't sick by the time Conference is over!)
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