General Conference
(By Rosemarie) For General Conference, the kids like to make nests out of blankets and pillows where they get comfy and watch conference. They usually bring out their favorite toys and their playing cards I made out of general authority printables. (And cinnamon rolls for breakfast, of course)
(By Kamber) The conference tradition my sister-in-law shared with me: we get 15 different snacks set aside — for the first presidency and each of the 12 apostles. We decide together which snack will be for each apostle, and write their name by it. Then, when that person speaks, we have that snack to look forward to. It keeps the kids focused on who is speaking, and keeps their mouths busy. We try to do a mix of fun, sugary snacks, and healthier fruits and veggies, cheese sticks, trail mix, etc. (Elder Holland might be skittles, President Eyring might be cheese sticks, Elder Oaks might be M&Ms…)
(By Krissy) For the Priesthood session of General Conference the girls and I make a special dessert to serve to our guys while they watch. (1 child who is very food-motivated will not miss conference for anything!) This year my husband is excited to treat us girls to a special dessert while we watch.
Gummy Bear Treasure Hunt-After General Conference (by Andrea):
This is one of those traditions that wasn't planned, but has become a tradition in our home. After General Conference we order an Ensign of Conference for each of our children. The first year we did this I didn't just want to hand over their magazines, because I knew that they wouldn't know what to do with them and what was available to them in it. I had a package of gummy bears in my cupboard so I pulled them out and some little containers for each person. I told them we were going to have a Gummy Bear Treasure Hunt which immediately got their interest because there was candy involved and it was a treasure hunt (and who doesn't like those). I showed them that their Ensign had their own names written on the outside of them and it was theirs to keep with their scriptures for the next 6 months because that was the most recent scripture we were given by our living prophets.
Then I proceeded to tell them that they needed to be able to find the things in their that they had already heard in Conference. So I had everyone turn to the index in the front of the Ensign and showed them how the talks were listed by Conference Session, Speaker, and Topic. Then said, "As soon as you can turn to the first page of the Saturday afternoon session of conference you can have a gummy bear." As each person got there, each person got a gummy bear. Those that got there first would help the others that weren't there yet or they would look at what the talk was. We continued this with other questions like....How many talks were given by Dallin H. Oaks? How many missionaries are out right now? (This only works after the April Conference when they give the statistics for the previous year) The year that my twin boys were baptized I asked them how many "children of record" were baptized this year? Then afterwards we told them that they were part of that number. They loved knowing that they were in the Ensign. What were the top 3 topics that were talked about? Can you find the poster of all the prophets and apostles? Who is the Primary General President? (this gets them looking for the other pictures for the rest of the general auxiliaries) Who spoke about baptism? Turn to a talk that was not given by one of the First Presidency or the 12 Apostles. Lots of different answers for this one. Turn to the first page of the Priesthood session. How old do you have to be to attend the Priesthood session of General Conference? How many more Conferences do you have before you will be able to attend that one? Find the story about __________ then turn to it? (this taught them to look up their favorite stories in the story index). They then had to draw a little picture next to the story so they could find it again if they were flipping through their magazine. How many new temples were announces? Who announced them? Where are they? How many of those are in the United States? How many pictures of President Monson are there in this Ensign? It was not a competition. Everyone found the answers. Everyone got the candy. Everyone had a blast!
Their Conference issues did not look brand new when they were done, but they knew where things were. It became personal to them and they became "theirs". Which is exactly what I think needs to be done with the words of the prophets. It made them much more accessible to them on a level that they could understand. The next time General Conference rolled around as soon as it was over my kids asked me if they were going to get to do the Gummy Bear Treasure Hunt again when they got their Conference Issues. It was interesting to me that they said, "when" they got their Ensign, not "if". They already knew that they were going to get another copy that wasn't the question. I told them that they would have to wait until the Ensign came out and that would be 2-3 weeks away. As that time started to draw closer they would rush home from school and check to see if the mail was here so they could get their Ensign. You would have thought it was Christmas the day they found their Conference Issues in the mail. :) We have done this enough times that we have our kids come up with things for us to find now. It's pretty interesting how tricky they try to make them.
(By Kamber) The conference tradition my sister-in-law shared with me: we get 15 different snacks set aside — for the first presidency and each of the 12 apostles. We decide together which snack will be for each apostle, and write their name by it. Then, when that person speaks, we have that snack to look forward to. It keeps the kids focused on who is speaking, and keeps their mouths busy. We try to do a mix of fun, sugary snacks, and healthier fruits and veggies, cheese sticks, trail mix, etc. (Elder Holland might be skittles, President Eyring might be cheese sticks, Elder Oaks might be M&Ms…)
(By Krissy) For the Priesthood session of General Conference the girls and I make a special dessert to serve to our guys while they watch. (1 child who is very food-motivated will not miss conference for anything!) This year my husband is excited to treat us girls to a special dessert while we watch.
Gummy Bear Treasure Hunt-After General Conference (by Andrea):
This is one of those traditions that wasn't planned, but has become a tradition in our home. After General Conference we order an Ensign of Conference for each of our children. The first year we did this I didn't just want to hand over their magazines, because I knew that they wouldn't know what to do with them and what was available to them in it. I had a package of gummy bears in my cupboard so I pulled them out and some little containers for each person. I told them we were going to have a Gummy Bear Treasure Hunt which immediately got their interest because there was candy involved and it was a treasure hunt (and who doesn't like those). I showed them that their Ensign had their own names written on the outside of them and it was theirs to keep with their scriptures for the next 6 months because that was the most recent scripture we were given by our living prophets.
Then I proceeded to tell them that they needed to be able to find the things in their that they had already heard in Conference. So I had everyone turn to the index in the front of the Ensign and showed them how the talks were listed by Conference Session, Speaker, and Topic. Then said, "As soon as you can turn to the first page of the Saturday afternoon session of conference you can have a gummy bear." As each person got there, each person got a gummy bear. Those that got there first would help the others that weren't there yet or they would look at what the talk was. We continued this with other questions like....How many talks were given by Dallin H. Oaks? How many missionaries are out right now? (This only works after the April Conference when they give the statistics for the previous year) The year that my twin boys were baptized I asked them how many "children of record" were baptized this year? Then afterwards we told them that they were part of that number. They loved knowing that they were in the Ensign. What were the top 3 topics that were talked about? Can you find the poster of all the prophets and apostles? Who is the Primary General President? (this gets them looking for the other pictures for the rest of the general auxiliaries) Who spoke about baptism? Turn to a talk that was not given by one of the First Presidency or the 12 Apostles. Lots of different answers for this one. Turn to the first page of the Priesthood session. How old do you have to be to attend the Priesthood session of General Conference? How many more Conferences do you have before you will be able to attend that one? Find the story about __________ then turn to it? (this taught them to look up their favorite stories in the story index). They then had to draw a little picture next to the story so they could find it again if they were flipping through their magazine. How many new temples were announces? Who announced them? Where are they? How many of those are in the United States? How many pictures of President Monson are there in this Ensign? It was not a competition. Everyone found the answers. Everyone got the candy. Everyone had a blast!
Their Conference issues did not look brand new when they were done, but they knew where things were. It became personal to them and they became "theirs". Which is exactly what I think needs to be done with the words of the prophets. It made them much more accessible to them on a level that they could understand. The next time General Conference rolled around as soon as it was over my kids asked me if they were going to get to do the Gummy Bear Treasure Hunt again when they got their Conference Issues. It was interesting to me that they said, "when" they got their Ensign, not "if". They already knew that they were going to get another copy that wasn't the question. I told them that they would have to wait until the Ensign came out and that would be 2-3 weeks away. As that time started to draw closer they would rush home from school and check to see if the mail was here so they could get their Ensign. You would have thought it was Christmas the day they found their Conference Issues in the mail. :) We have done this enough times that we have our kids come up with things for us to find now. It's pretty interesting how tricky they try to make them.
Conference Weekend (by Shawna): Years ago my oldest children dreaded Conference weekend. I wanted to help them feel excited about it and, after reading a similar idea in the Ensign, we began a new tradition. When Conference weekend rolls around I let each child choose one favorite food that we can fix to enjoy while watching Conference. The kids loved it and have looked forward to General Conference ever since. My children even say, "Mom, we have to have .... because it is a tradition." My youngest (9 years old) began making her "Conference food list" a week in advance this year.
Conference Weekend (by Andrea): We roast hotdogs and marshmallows in our fire pit between Saturday sessions of Conference. It is the first fire in the spring and the last fire in the fall. We also have waffles on Saturday morning before Conference. It's something my family looks forward to every year.
(By Aubrey) We have each child pick two buzzwords and two snacks, usually one sweet and one not. All of the snacks are on a table and a list of the words are taped to the table. Each time they hear one of the words, they can choose a snack from the table. This has encouraged my children to listen to the words of the speakers.
General Conference (By Adria) I started making General Conference journals seven years ago when my oldest was five years old. Every year they are different, depending on the child's age and abilities. I find lots of ideas on Pinterest and get new ideas from what others share. Starting at about seven years old, I expect a little bit recorded from each speaker. Around ten years old I expect something recorded from each address and the questions answered, "How does this apply to me?" And, "What am I going to DO about it?" I try to make their journals extra cute and unique... I have sometimes gotten matching pens or pencils.
I also found some adorable tin buckets in the dollar bins at Target several years ago that hold just enough snacks for a session. I try to find some extra special treats that we don't have around very often. They really look forward to those buckets being filled with their own treats, and then we pop an extra large batch of popcorn.
Dad sets up the projector and screen with the surround sound so it's like a theater experience.
After the last session of General Conference, we have a family testimony meeting. We each share a favorite story, talk, quote, or thought and what touched us in that moment.
I also found some adorable tin buckets in the dollar bins at Target several years ago that hold just enough snacks for a session. I try to find some extra special treats that we don't have around very often. They really look forward to those buckets being filled with their own treats, and then we pop an extra large batch of popcorn.
Dad sets up the projector and screen with the surround sound so it's like a theater experience.
After the last session of General Conference, we have a family testimony meeting. We each share a favorite story, talk, quote, or thought and what touched us in that moment.
