Kelle Hampton's Life Balance Tips: 5 Ways to Make Ordinary Days Special
Time flies (especially when you have kids) so it's important to make the most of life's moments and balance your crazy busy days with some real memory makers. We checked in with mom blogger Kelle Hampton of Enjoying the Small Things, who shared her creative life balance tips for making every day with your kids a memorable one.
- Make Up Your Own Celebrations! Doing things last minute comes naturally for me, and it definitely works to my advantage as a parent! On days when we're still in our pajamas and the house is a mess, I love to invent a reason to celebrate. Suddenly, it's a party because it's the fourth Thursday of the month, or a favorite doll's pretend birthday! We'll drop everything and dress up for a tea party or have a backyard picnic with all the trimmings. These impromptu soirees always help shift my perspective to what matters most—our families and the little moments we spend with our kids.
- Create Something Special! A surefire way to make a day memorable is to make a memento! Creating a string of paper dolls, a platter of cupcakes, or a messy work of art leaves a special mark on that day. Whether the thing you make is something that'll be devoured in minutes or an item that'll hang on the wall for years, it's the act of creating together that is the important part.
- Invite Others! When you feel stuck in a routine, invite someone else to join you. Adding family and friends to the mix can change a boring day into a bash! I'm a big believer in breakfast dates, last-minute playdates, and meet-ups any place that's interesting for everyone. It's all about socializing, not grand schemes.
- Flip Your Schedule! Humdrum days should be flipped on their heads! For example, instead of planning a typical day at the beach that starts early in the day and ends at naptime, we recently headed for sand and surf at sunset! We played in the water and dug for shells until the sun went down, and then stopped at the nearby ice cream shop to eat melting cones in the dark. It felt like we were experiencing places we've been to many times already in a new and different way.
- Capture the memories! Not everybody thinks of grabbing the camera when they head out to the grocery store or library with the kids, but I find that there is magic in those moments. I've been photographing our family for a while now, and I've figured out how to balance capturing life without letting the picture taking get in my way. It takes less than a minute to snap some pictures, so sometimes I'll take photos at the beginning of an activity and then I'll put my camera down and move on. Give it a try! You'll be surprised that what you envisioned as an ordinary day becomes profound when you see in photos the little discoveries and a-ha moments your kids experience at every turn.
Read more from mom blogger Kelle Hampton at Enjoying the Small Things.
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