November Family Connections Calendar
Draw closer as a family with the November Family Connections Calendar and Scripture reading plan. Each month includes simple and easy ways to connect as a family as well as a Scripture plan to read aloud together.
November is both still all about embracing fall’s beauty and preparing for the upcoming holiday season. With three full weeks of fall before Thanksgiving, November offers plenty of time to practice gratitude, enjoy quality family time, and prepare with eager anticipation for Thanksgiving and the start of the Christmas season.
In our house, we have a NO-CHRISTMAS rule until after Thanksgiving which means we don’t decorate or do any Christmas related activities until the Friday after Thanksgiving. The only exception to that rule is that I do begin planning for Advent & Christmas well before the big meal in November. Your Intentional Holiday Planning Toolkit certainly helps with this!
This month’s November’s Family Connections Calendar is filled with plenty of activities to spend together as a family as you prepare for the holiday season.
Each month, you will receive a calendar with thoughtful, yet intentional, activity ideas for your family that doesn’t require much preparation and are almost always free!
You can view January’s calendar here, February’s calendar here, March’s Calendar here, April’s Calendar here, May’s calendar here, June/July here, August’s calendar here, September’s calendar here and October’s calendar here.
You will also receive a Scripture reading plan to read aloud one chapter from a specific book of the Bible together.
Let’s take a closer look at each of these calendars:
Family Activity Calendar
Included in the activity list are seasonal appropriate ideas as well as conversation starters to have at mealtimes.
These are simple and easy activities to do with your family no matter what season or stage you are in. They can also be adapted to meet the needs of your specific family.
Don’t have kids or are an empty nester? Connect with your spouse with some of these ideas!
Have itty bitty little ones? Older children or teens? There are plenty of ideas that appeal to all ages!
Are you single? Grab a friend or serve your neighbors and family with some of these ideas!
The best part of this calendar is that it is designed to help you and your family better connect this year. So whether you do 2 things off the list or all 31, the point is that you are being intentional!
How to Use
Print off the list and stick it on your refrigerator or place near your family command center. Go through the list today and pick at least 5 activities and schedule them on your family calendar.
Almost all of the ideas are free or require things you probably already have on hand in your home. Some do require a little bit of preparation and making room in your calendar but get your family on board to help with the planning!
You can also just pick and choose the activities that best fit into your family’s schedule and routine. Maybe this list even gives you some new ideas!
Make this connection calendar work for your family and watch how just a few simple activities can really draw your family closer together!
Family Scripture Reading Plan
Perhaps the best way you can connect as a family this year is to spend time reading the Bible together.
Last year one of my favorite books I read was a simple account of a mom starting the practice of reading aloud her Bible to her young kids.
Not a children’s Bible but the actual Word of God.
The results were profound and it seriously convicted me to read the Word aloud to my kids too. But sometimes the hardest part is knowing where to start.
This family reading plan makes it simple for you!
Each day you only have one chapter to read aloud. That’s it!
Five days of chronological Scripture reading with a selected Psalm or Proverb for the weekend and a built-in Grace Day because we all know life is unpredictable and busy!
How to Use
Print off the Family Scripture Plan and place in your family Bible, your Bible book basket, or somewhere you and your family will see every day.
Pray together as a family before you read the Bible aloud and then just read.
If your children are old enough, take turns reading aloud or you can even use the YouVersion Bible app to listen to Word if reading aloud is hard.
Both the Family Connections Calendar and Scripture Reading Plan are free to download when you sign up for the email list and then once a month, the new calendar will be delivered straight to your inbox!
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I pray these simple ideas and passages from the Bible help draw you and your family closer together this year as well as water those seeds of faith.
Here’s a peek at November’s Family Connection Calendar:
Scripture Family Reading Plan
We will finish reading 1 John and move into the remaining letters of 2 and 3 John as well as Jude before going back to the Old Testament to read the entire book of 2 Samuel.
On the weekends we will read through Psalms 46-49 on Sunday, with Saturday being a Grace Day to catch up or to reflect on the previous week’s readings.
November Family Activities & Discussion Questions
- Take a walk outdoors soaking up all of the fall beauty while the temperatures are still pleasant. This is also a great way to walk off all the sugar from yesterday!
- After a fun and busy week, take this Friday evening to have a pizza and movie night at home.
- Book Lovers Day– Take an hour today to revisit your beloved books on your own bookshelf. Also, swap out your fall books for Thanksgiving-themed books.
- Daylight Savings- Turn forward your clocks ahead an hour, replace the batteries in your smoke alarm, and just enjoy an extra hour of your Sunday before a new week begins!
- Head to the library to check out some new Thanksgiving-themed books to add to your book basket. While you are there, look for some election day resources to help teach your children about the privilege we have of voting
- Election Day– If time and schedules allow, take your kids with you to the voting booth so they can see you voting. Talk with them about this opportunity, and if they are old enough to understand, include them in on why you vote for the issues and candidates you do. It’s never to early to model how to have civilized discussions on personal opinions and beliefs!
- Write in one child’s memory journal or write a letter to a family member.
- Take some time today to begin to start thinking ahead towards the Advent and Christmas season if you haven’t already. Download Your Intentional Holiday Planning Toolkit to help get you started.
- Make a gratitude jar, tree, or paper chain. Have each member of the family write down different things or people they are grateful for over the next few weeks. Read the different blessings over Thanksgiving dinner.
- Rake the leaves in your yard. Make a big pile and jump in with your kids. Move over to a neighbor’s yard and bless them by raking their yard as well.
- Veteran’s Day– Attend a Veteran’s Day service or memoral as a family.
- If you are hosting, plan your Thanksgiving menu, confirm the guest list and who is bringing what dishes, make your master grocery list, and plan for any decorations, cleaning, or activities for Thanksgiving day. Don’t forget to double check your table linens, serving platters, silverware, glasses, or anything you will need to set the table, serve food, and cook the turkey!
- Write letters to your Pastor, or church staff expressing gratitude for the work they do and how they have impacted your family’s spiritual growth this year.
- Mealtime Discussion Question: Is it easy or hard to think of things to be grateful for? How how the Lord been growing gratitude in your heart?
- Play a game or put together a puzzle as a family. Pop some popcorn and get a fire roaring in the fireplace for a cozy fall night at home!
- Invite a family or friends over to dinner.
- Enjoy a date night together with your spouse before the holiday festivities begin. This could also be a good time to go over holiday expectations, budgets, and calendars before it gets busy.
- Serve together as a family in your church nursery, Sunday school classroom, on the hospitality committee, or wherever your church has a need.
- If you haven’t already, get all of your Thanksgiving shopping and errands done today.
- Mealtime Discussion Question: How does remembering what the Lord has done for you motivate you to bless and serve others?
- Have a baking day with your family. Make your pies, pumpkin bread, or any other favorite desserts. Don’t forget to get your turkey all prepped tonight as well!
- Thanksgiving – Enjoy your favorite family traditions and bond together as a family on this special day.
- Pack up all of your fall decorations and then pull out your Christmas decor! Turn on the Christmas music and go to town transforming your home into a Christmas wonderland!
- Review your Christmas plans together as a family. Make a seasonal bucket list, then put those dates on your family calendar so they will get done.
- Write in one child’s memory journal or write a letter to a family member.
- Volunteer to serve together or to stock a food-group at your local food pantry.
- Bake a big batch of pumpkin bread or muffins.
- Mealtime Discussion Question: What is your favorite memory from the fall and/or Thanksgiving season?
- Head to the library to check out Advent books or devotionals to add to your Christmas countdown book basket.
- Sort through all the photos you took this month and print off the best ones to place in a photo album or digital photobooks like Chatbooks or Shutterfly.