I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and every six months we have General Conference, where leaders of our church gather together to share uplifting and spiritual messages from God with us. I've heard it described as a spiritual version of Ted Talks. I love it every time!
With General Conference, our family has created many traditions that we treasure. Today I wanted to share a few of those.
Learn about Apostles
Our first tradition happens as General Conference approaches. I have printed and laminated pictures of each our 15 leaders (we call them apostles) along with different facts. We start 15 days before Conference and learn about one per day. There are other leaders who talk during conference as well, but these are the main leaders who do, and I've found it really helps the kids to know who it is that is talking to them.
Prizes for Topics
Conference is long for kids--five sessions that are two hours each--so to help them listen, we have little treat bags to open throughout. Each bag has a small treat (like a little handful or small piece of candy) and is labeled with a topic that might come up in conference. These topics include ones such as love, Jesus Christ, service, prophets, the Book of Mormon, etc. The kids can listen and hear the topic and when they do, we get out that bag of treats. I like to have at least 8 bags per session (or 4 per hour).
Treats
We like to have special treats for conference. On Saturday, I like to make cinnamon rolls and on Sunday, I like to make homemade donuts. We also like to have popcorn or chips in the afternoon sessions.
Kid-Friendly Note Taking Sheet
I like to have a simple paper for the kids to fill out as they watch (or afterwards). I think taking notes of the impressions and feelings we had during conference is a great way to bring the Spirit with us into our lives. I've found a simple paper works much better for my kids than more complicated packets.
Special Quiet Activities
Two hours at a time is still a long time for the kids, so I like to prepare special activities for them. I do things like buy a new puzzle we do together, get special playdoh toys, get special markers for coloring, and get out the Legos. We usually pick one or two activities per session and the kids do pretty well remembering to be quiet while doing them.
Go to Grandma's House
There are five sessions of conference over Saturday and Sunday--two morning sessions, two afternoon sessions, and one session in the evening on Saturday. The evening session used to be only for adults, but recently was expanded to include everyone. It's already a lot for our kids to do four hours in one day, so we like to go to my husband's parents' house to watch with them while the kids play outside there.
General Conference is such a wonderful weekend that brings a sweet spirit to our home. My number one goal is to help my kids feel that spirit and come away loving Conference weekend!
What are some of your favorite traditions around General Conference? I would love to hear your ideas and traditions in the comments below!
Opmerkingen