Pick a Family Word for the Year

Have you heard people talk about their word for the year or have you picked a word yourself? It’s a rather simple process but not always easy to narrow it down to just one word. In this Family Bonding Challenge, you’ll be picking a word (or two) as a family.

The word will be a reminder of what the family agreed upon as what you want for the year. Whatever word you pick will need to be agreed upon by everyone for it to create a bonding experience. This process will require teamwork, thoughtfulness, sharing, and compromise.

1. Pick a time to work together.

During your next family meeting would be a perfect time. If you don’t have family meetings, it’s something to think about starting. They really are a wonderful way to unite the family and make sure there’s open communication with all family members.

Another great time to do this is at the dinner table toward the end of the meal when everyone is full and happy. If you have littles who don’t sit still for the whole meal yet, then while everyone is eating will work too.

2. Explain your purpose.

If you have a reason why you’d like to come up with a family word for the year, then share it with them. If it’s because you’re reading this and think it will be fun, then tell them you read a great idea and want to give it a try.

Let them know you’d like them to come up with a few words that express how they want to feel for the year. Or it can be a word that reminds family members to behave a certain way.

Maybe it’s the year everyone is adventurous. Or it can express anything else you want it to. Or you can let each family member choose their own reasoning and share it with their word.

3. Write things down.

Pass out paper and pen to each family member or choose one family member to write down everyone’s suggestions. You can let everyone think about their words over dinner and write them down at the end, or you can call them out/write them down as you come up with them.

You can limit each family member to a word or two, or you can go crazy and list all the words the family thinks of. Whatever works best for your family. Keep in mind, the more words there are to choose from, the more you’ll have to eliminate to find your word.

4. Share your ideas.

When you have the words down on paper, have each family member explain why they chose the word they did and what it means to them. Sometimes the meaning of a word can mean something slightly different to each person.

5. Combine words.

Are there any words that are similar or have similar meanings? If so, combine them or have the family members who came up with them work together to pick one of them.

6. Eliminate what doesn’t work.

See if there are any words that someone in the family doesn’t like. Can the family agree to eliminate it? Work together until the list is whittled down to as few as you can get.

Can everyone agree on just one word? If not, eliminate as many as you can and then put the words to a vote to narrow it down to two or three. Out of those, pick one as a family. Or if that’s too hard, then decide to have two or three words for the year.

7. Display your words.

Write them down and display them in the house somewhere where everyone can see them. Remind each other of the word or words as needed, and have a wonderful year.