Make National Family Week Special in Your House!

National Family Week is a great opportunity to lay out some new family goals and activities for your family. National Family Week for 2007 is to be held from November 18th-24th. National Family Week was first celebrated the year of 1968 and was passed by legislation to have every Thanksgiving week be celebrated as the National Family Week (NFW).

The Alliance for Families & Children in Milwaukee, WI has been in charge of NFW. The Alliance has focused on promoting the NFW across the nation. The Annie E. Casey Foundation provides funding for the promotion of NFW. The Annie E. Casey foundation is a private charity that is devoted to improving better family structure and a stronger future for children across the United States.

Every year the NFW announces a new recipient of the National Family Week Connections Count Award. For 2007, the Family and Children's Service in Minneapolis, MN has been awarded this achievement. Two congressmen are also chosen to receive the National Family Week Champion of the Year Award. The two congressmen chosen for 2007 are Patrick J. Kenney from Rhode Island and Jim Ramstad of Minnesota.

While every week should be family week in your household, this national week that celebrates the family helps to motivate many families to make some new goals and spend more time together. Family time is a key part of raising children and more important than we may know. Why not take advantage of this National Family Week to encourage new family activities in your household.

A healthy goal for every family is to set aside at least 30 minutes of time a day to spend together. Even though many families are busy and family members and other people are coming and going out of the house through out the day, if you schedule this time and make it a part of your routine, it will happen. If you do not schedule it and make it a priority, the likelihood of your entire family being together for even 15 minutes a day is not very likely.

Apart from these 30 minutes every day, you may want to try to host at least a weekly family activity. Spend one evening as a family without any interruptions. Some ideas include going out for a meal, movie night at home, game night, campfires, a park trip, or anything your family loves to do! This night will undoubtedly provide you with many laughs and make some long lasting family memories.

If you have young children at home, try to make this week all about them! Spend extra time doing the activities that they love. Crafts, singing, splashing in the tub, drawing, coloring, making forts, reading and all your children's favorite activities should take precedence over any other activities. This allows the children to feel special and that they are valued as important members of the family.

If you would like to officially participate in National Family Week with a group from school, church or a community group visit their website: http://www.nationalfamilyweek.org. Why not join up with several other families from your community to make families first!