Blog

Celebrating Family Fun Days

12th December 2023

Phew!! I’ve just finished reading through all the incredible feedback from 50 of our partner churches who ran Family Fun Days throughout the Summer holidays and during the Autumn Term. I’m sitting here with the biggest smile on my face. Were they hard work to organise? Yes! Were they worth all the effort? ABSOLUTELY!! There were BBQ’s, Days Out, Circus Skills, Light Parties, Bouncy Castles, Arts and Crafts, Discos, Singing, Games, the list goes on. Basically, so much love, light, joy, and laughter being generated during such challenging times for many.   

• 822 families attended, 25% of those are families who access Early Intervention or Make Lunch

• 2671 children from local communities enjoyed fun, food, and friends, 478 of those children are either being coached or attending a Make Lunch Club 

Our partner churches created safe and welcoming spaces for the families in their communities to enjoy.  We asked those who ran the FFFD’s to share with us some of their moments to celebrate - there were so many! Hence the big smile on my face; but there were two golden nugget highlights that I dug out of all that treasure which made my heart sing. I want to share them with you.

Young Volunteers, Whoop! Whoop! 

‘It was a joy watching the older children assisting the younger children in the activities.’ 

‘One of the highlights was after our meal, whilst the adults were drinking tea, one of the older young people started a game for the younger children. They loved it!’ 

‘Our moment to celebrate were the numbers of young people volunteering.’ 

Parent Volunteers, Yes!! 

‘The mother of a TLG family helped us set up for the Light Party which she enjoyed more than the actual party! She wants to help at the next event.’ 

‘One of the Dad’s came along and he and his child’s coach ran the BBQ together.’ 

‘I was delighted that one of our Make Lunch mums joined our volunteer team at short notice…she really enjoyed being part of the team at a difficult time for her…Since the event she has attended our community service and has joined the volunteer team for our weekly coffee morning.’ 

‘Our families helped us to set up and clear away at the end.’ 

Why does this excite me so much? Well, there is no better way to build connection and nurture a sense of belonging than to get people involved.

What these ‘golden’ moments to celebrate demonstrate are the opportunities we have as church to create safe spaces where the children and families we connect with can feel truly seen, heard, and valued as they become part of a community.   

‘We had a lot of feedback stating how people feel like they belong to a community once more.’ 

Washing up, stacking chairs, grilling burgers are all perfect opportunities to build authentic relationships of trust. 

Well done to everyone who worked so hard to make these events so FABULOUS.