Family build a story time

Humor and shared laughter are fun ways to strengthen relationships and keep them fresh and exciting. Plus, connecting with family is a simple way to increase your well-being. Cigna’s 2018 U.S. Loneliness Index found that people who reported spending the ‘right amount of time’ with family were less likely to feel lonely.

This creative activity combines humor and storytelling to build connections. It’s a great activity for families, but can be used with any group.

1. Schedule a time during the day you can all sit down and not be rushed. A great time to do this is over family dinner. If you cannot all get together in person, try this activity over a video call.
2. Establish this rule: absolutely no electronics at the table. That means cell phones (unless you are doing this over video call) are put away, computers are shut down and TV is off.
3. Set a timer for 5-10 minutes.
4. The oldest person at the table starts a story about their day. For example: “Today, I went to work.”
5. Start “building the story” one sentence at a time, moving clockwise around the table. Each person adds ONE sentence to the story, then passes to the next person at the table. The statements can be real, fictional, purposefully funny or silly – you pick!
   1. Example: “Person 1: Today, I went to work. Person 2: I drove my car all the way to the office but then remembered I work from home. Person 3: Then I quickly checked my Snapchat. Person 4: And pretended to eat a dinosaur.”
6. Continue to create your story, laugh and have fun!
7. After the timer goes off, ask a question: for example, “What was the best part of your day today?” and let everyone at the table answer.