What Is Family Home Evening?

The phrase is made up of familiar words, but you may never have heard the term Family Home Evening before. What is a family home evening?

At its absolute simplest, a family home evening is a designated time to be together as a family. It implies more than just a coincidence of location. It is not a family home evening if one person is in their bedroom reading a book, another person is cooking in the kitchen, etc. In that case, family members just happen to be at home.

The term family home evening was coined in 1915 by Joseph F. Smith, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He, along with his counsellors, advised church members to set apart one night a week as a special time for the family to gather together in conversation, prayer, and instruction. In the years since, this program has been repeatedly encouraged, and there are many resources available to help your family hold a family home evening.

So what does a family home evening normally consist of? It varies depending on the circumstances of each family; elderly couples will have a very different family home evening from a young family with toddlers. However, a basic set up would include:

1. An opening song

2. An opening prayer

3. A brief lesson or spiritual thought

4. A fun activity

5. A treat (usually something sweet to eat)

Many families also find this a good time to coordinate their schedules and plan for the week. With the whole family together, it is a good time to be able to organise the family's activities. It is also a good time to make family decisions, and discuss concerns.

Although the idea of family home evening was, and is, promoted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, any one can benefit from this practice. If your family is not religious, then you can skip the opening prayer. The lesson, whilst sometimes spiritual or religious in nature, can also be about anything applicable for your family. It can be a time to help toddlers to learn body parts, or to help younger children learn to read. Teenagers and adults could use the time to learn a skill together, such as a foreign language, gardening, or cooking. It can also be a time to work on a service project together.

The fun activity is a crucial part, because the whole purpose is to help the family to get closer and enjoy time together. This can be playing a board game, singing karaoke, acting out stories, playing a game of football outside, or anything else that seems appropriate.

On the official family home evening website, it states that family home evening "is a special time set aside each week that brings family members together and strengthens their love for each other." I think that every family, no matter their background or circumstances, would like this for themselves.