Fun ways to use a shared online family calendar

We’ll show you some new ways to use a family calendar that can actually bring everyone closer together—without stepping on anyone’s busy schedule.

Make a vacation itinerary.

Who needs a concierge? You’ve got plenty of family members with their own ideas about what they want to do during your getaway. Keep the peace by letting each member of the family plan an activity or two—or even an entire day. They’ll love feeling in control and since everyone will get a say—there will be fewer arguments. You can have them block off the calendar and add detailed info inside—or upload a file with even more detail about your vacation itinerary.

Learn a new skill.

All too often, calendars are filled with the mundane, day-to-day things we’ve come to expect. Why not add a little spice? By scheduling time to learn something entirely new as a family, you can inject some excitement into everyone’s day. It doesn’t have to be something that requires a lot of time and dedication (like learning an instrument). Instead, make it something you can do in one afternoon. Get messy trying out a pottery wheel. Take a cooking class. Make your own candles. Go horseback riding. Try goat yoga. Take a self-defense course. No matter what it is, making time to try something new with your family is a great way to have fun, break-up the boredom and build memories.

Craft a family menu.

Why should mom or dad always have to come up with a dinner plan? Take the pressure off and make everyone happy by allowing each member of the family to come up with a meal idea for each night of the week. You can set the rules on how difficult or easy it should be. Ask that they include a specific recipe on their calendar insert and an ingredients list for each suggestion. They could even create and upload a meal-planner template. Once you know the plan for the week, you can build a shopping list in advance. The person who comes up with the meal plan will be responsible for helping create the meal. The rest of the family is on clean-up duty. TIP: Consider making and freezing the meals ahead of time for quick, easy prep on those busy nights.

Celebrate a weird holiday.

Seems like every day has been designated as some type of “holiday”. From “Talk Like a Pirate Day” and “Elephant Appreciation Day”, to “Cream Filled Donut Day”, “Video Game Day” and beyond—there’s sure to be something that strikes a chord with your family. You can find plenty of these calendars online or—better yet—just subscribe or import it to your shared family calendar and pick the days you want to celebrate. Whether it’s a trip the zoo to see the elephants—or picking up a dozen cream-filled donuts on a Saturday morning, these silly holidays add a touch of fun to everyday life!

Schedule a day to volunteer.

Whether it’s a local food bank, animal shelter, hospital, nursing home or another organization near-and-dear to your heart—block in one day a month (or every three months, whatever works for you) to volunteer together. Make sure everyone in the family gets to pick something they’re passionate about. You could even get creative and tie this into your weird holiday theme! For example, on “Read a Book Day”, you could volunteer to read to underserved kids. On “National Bird Day” you could volunteer your time at a bird rescue. On “Random Acts of Kindness Day”, you could do something spontaneous and nice for others (e.g. pick up someone’s tab at the drive thru; pay off someone’s layaway bill; let someone go ahead of you in line). On “National Nothing Day” you could volunteer your time doing nothing at all, except hanging out and having some downtime with your family. Think of it as a much-needed mental-health day for everyone!

Of course, these are just some suggestions. The key to creating your fun and unique family calendar is finding one that fits you best. No matter which type of online family calendar you choose, make sure you take advantage of all the handy features designed to simplify, including:

• Assigning and tracking tasks
• Using color-coding to identify tasks or calendar entries by family member
• Setting recurring events, reminders, alarms and more
• Seeing everyone’s availability instantly
• Collaborating on popular apps right from your inbox

While it may get off to a rocky start at first, stick with it. Soon you’ll be mastering the art of the shared family calendar and maximizing time spent with your family.