Are you missing your long-distance family members?
Do you wish there were better ways to stay connected across the miles?
There are numerous reasons why family members may not live in the same area, either short or long term, including military deployments, educational pursuits, or career changes. Whatever the situation, staying connected across the miles has its challenges.
Furthermore, it’s too easy to let distance impact our ability to keep in touch with family and build on our relationships. If you have long-distance family members across the globe, then you know first-hand the struggle to stay as close as you once were.
Why Is It Important To Stay Connected as a Long-Distance Family?
With more and more families living so far apart, it’s easy to wonder if it’s worth it to put time and effort into keeping a long-distance family connected. The reality is staying connected to long-distance family members contributes significantly to the well-being of individuals of all ages, but particularly the older members of a family. Family relationships provide support and closeness during the good times and bad. Additionally, families who have a greater connection provide stability, understanding, and love throughout life.
So, now you may be asking yourself whether it is even possible to stay connected and keep your relationship strong when your family is geographically separated.
Is It Possible To Stay Connected as a Long-Distance Family?
Absolutely! Thanks to modern technology and with a little bit of creativity and initiative, it’s possible to not only stay connected but to have a stronger relationship than ever before. There are numerous new and fun ways to connect to those you love the most!
How Do You Stay Connected as a Long-Distance Family?
If you’re struggling to find creative ways your whole family can get behind to bridge the distance in your long-distance relationships, we have some tips for you! Our team at Lovebox has researched the best ways to stay connected that are fun for the whole family.
Here are our best ways to stay connected as a long-distance family!
Stay Active in Family Group Chats
Thankfully we live in a time when technology has become increasingly popular among all generations, which has made it easier than ever to stay connected to long-distance families no matter how far away they may live. As a result, our parents and grandparents have, for the most part, embraced smartphones, texting, and even social media. While some family members still may have reservations about using social media, there are still many ways to connect as a family.
For example, a great way to stay connected is creating a family group chat through an online chat system such as texting with your smartphone or WhatsApp. You can send pictures, videos, and quick updates on your day-to-day lives. It’s easy to get overwhelmed in a group chat but staying active is perfect for everyone in your family to feel included!
Make a Calendar of Everyone’s Special Dates
It can be challenging to remember everyone’s birthday, anniversary, and other special dates and milestones in your family member’s life with several long-distance family members. You are not alone! However, it’s best to keep track of these important dates to stay connected and feel a part of everyone’s life. If you’re having trouble recalling these dates, take the time to call everyone and ask what dates they would like to include in a family calendar.
Then, make a digital or physical family calendar with fun pictures of everyone and include all the family members' special days. This way, no one will be forgotten. Plus, the family will be thankful to have everyone’s key dates in one convenient place.
Play Virtual Games as a Family
Thanks to modern technology, there are many virtual games available for families to choose from, including video games, card games, board games, charades, and even Pictionary! Host a virtual game night where families can determine which online game you’ll all play for the evening and get ready for some fierce competition! If you know your family is competitive, playing virtual games is a great way to maintain a connection with all ages of your family members even when you’re apart.
Make a Digital Family Photo Album
Sharing photos of what is going on in each other’s lives is a beautiful opportunity to stay connected to a long-distance family no matter the distance. Many excellent apps can give you a great place to share family photos privately instead of on social media. Often older family members or other members of the family who have chosen not to be on social media find private digital family albums the perfect solution!
Create a Family Newsletter
A family newsletter is an excellent way to stay connected with an ever-growing long-distance family! Whether you choose to create an issue monthly, quarterly, or yearly is entirely up to you. A family newsletter provides updates for everyone to share. Invite everyone to share whatever they would like to share with the family, no matter how big or small, including graduations, births, celebrations, recipes from Grandma, and artwork from the family's younger members. In addition, you could create a name, such as “Smith Family Tribune,” and design a fun family logo. You could get as creative as you’d like!
Send Fun Care Packages
Care packages don’t just have to be during the holidays! Consider sending care packages throughout the year to each other with fun surprises. For example, you could send fun hats or gloves during winter. Or, if a family member is going on a big trip somewhere, you could send a few items to make their journey more manageable, such as a money belt or a converter.
Then, of course, you can always send fun treats like candy or your famous chocolate chip cookies. Local delicacies are also fun, such as honey, jam, or nuts from your region. Remember, it’s the thought that counts!
Take Annual Family Vacations
Start packing! An excellent way for the whole family to connect is to travel together! If you all live in different locations, find a vacation spot you’ve all wanted to visit and plan a trip. Maybe there’s a perfect central location for everyone to meet and make one destination an annual trip. Spending extended periods together is a great way to make fun memories together. No matter how far away from everyone lives, bonding with family creates a strong connection that will last for many generations to come.
Start a Family Facebook Group
If everyone in your family is on social media, starting a private family Facebook group is an excellent option for staying connected. Some people check their Facebook account more than their texts, so it’s a perfect way to keep in connect.
Make a Family Cookbook
Write down essential family recipes from everyone in the family and put them together in a cookbook, either digitally or in a physical copy. It’s a great way to keep family traditions alive and to bond over shared attempts at trying Great-Grandma’s apple pie.
Make it a family event, and everyone writes little stories about the recipes and what they remember about them. Or who they remember cooking the recipes. Future generations will thank you for taking the time to compile everyone’s recipes!
Pick Up the Phone
As simple as it may sound, simply picking up the phone and making a good old-fashioned phone call is one of the best ways to stay connected. In our modern world is something we take for granted. Maybe there’s a life update or some exciting news you’d like to tell them. Perhaps you find you have a few minutes free to call Uncle Mike or Grandpa in your day. They will surely be surprised and ecstatic to hear your voice!
Make Yearly Family Scrapbooks
Get the family together (if possible) at the end of each year and make a scrapbook. Include any events or milestones and any fun vacations you took as a family. You could also include any postcards or letters sent back and forth between everyone. Get as creative as you’d like. You could either make the scrapbook a physical book to keep in a central location or a digital scrapbook so everyone can enjoy it all year long!
Get Creative With Communication
Sometimes it’s challenging to find the perfect way to communicate with loved ones. But not always. We have the perfect way to stay connected with your long-distance family members! Lovebox Original Color & Photo is an incredible way to tell all ages of family members how much you love them, and here’s how it works!
Lovebox Original Color & Photo is a connected messaging device that pairs with our free easy-to-use app to go beyond regular communication and deliver instant expressions of affection! It’s a super-easy way to get creative with options such as personalized stickers, cute drawings, notes, pictures, and more. With the Lovebox—which is fully customizable so you can choose everyone’s spinny—you can send messages to all your family members and even schedule it ahead, so you don’t have to worry about everyone getting their message!
When you send your message, the heart on their Lovebox will spin, letting them know they have a new message. Then, after they open the message, they can send a waterfall of digital hearts to cascade over your phone in response. It’s the perfect way for many family members to express their love and affection without interrupting their busy day.
Staying connected across the miles can be challenging, but thanks to the Lovebox Original Color & Photo is just got a whole lot easier!
Send Postcards of Your Travels
Sending postcards may seem archaic, but your family would love to hear from you on one of your adventures. Even if you don’t travel a lot, whenever you go out, look for cute postcards that show something fun to do in your town and send it to a few family members. Write a cute note and put a stamp on it, and you’re good to go. Postcards are also a great budget-friendly way to stay connected across long distances!
Start a Family Book Club
Do you have any readers in your family? Then, consider starting a book club with your long-distance family! It’s a great way to stay connected, especially if you find you don’t have much to talk about to each other regularly. For example, you could start a poll and send it to everyone asking what book series or genre they would like to start reading. Then narrow the selection down to something everyone agrees would be fun. Then, after you read the book, you could find a time to Skype and discuss what you thought about the book!
Virtual Movie Nights
Get the popcorn ready; it’s movie night! If you don’t have many book lovers in the family, consider hosting virtual movie nights. Thanks to modern technology, several streaming services now offer host “parties” for multiple people to join. So simply find a movie all ages would enjoy and sit back and relax. Virtual movie nights make it easy to connect when you might not have much in common with your family except movies!
Don’t Forget To Have Fun Together
Often, we can make connecting with long-distance family members something to check off our list at the end of the day. So, make sure while planning virtual game nights or movie nights, making family calendars, and writing family newsletters that you are still having fun! Families that have fun and laugh together over silly moments create unbelievably stronger bonds than families who don’t.
Summary
All in all, it’s all too easy to feel disconnected from your long-distance family. But, the good news is there are so many fun and simple ways to stay connected even if you can’t physically be in the exact location! One of the best ways to keep in touch is to start communication for all generations of family members to feel comfortable such as a family group chat, a family newsletter, or a family Facebook page.
And, of course, our Lovebox Original Color & Photo is perfect for all generations of all family members to send sweet notes and messages across the distance. Through our best-researched ways for staying connected to long-distance families, no matter how many miles are between you, it’s more than possible to create an unbreakable bond that will guide many future generations!
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Sources:
Connecting Across the Miles: Long Distance Family Relationships | USU
How to stay in touch with your long-distance family | AZ Big Media
