Community Ideas
The hardest part of the poster is deciding what to fill the month with. It is easier when you see how others did it: somebody’s “Month of Water”, somebody’s “Month Without Screens”, somebody’s storylines for four. Any season here can be opened and forked for your own family.
Ideas month by month:SeptemberOctoberNovemberDecemberJanuaryFebruary
- Cosy MonthWhich small thing changed the house the most?Week 1 Fixing what has annoyed us for monthsWeek 2 Buying what was missing: a lamp, a shelfWeek 3 Decorating: windows, the tree, the lightsWeek 4 An evening in: candles and a Christmas filmGet the flat to a state where we want to stay in it for the holidays.
- Book MonthWhose book turned out better — his or hers?Week 1 Swapping books: each picks for the otherWeek 2 The reading club: we go and see if it is oursWeek 3 A swap shelf in the hallway, for neighboursWeek 4 Talking it over: did we agree or notRead what the other chose, get to the club and put a shelf up in the hallway.
- Culture MonthWhat of all we saw did we want to see again?Week 1 The theatre — a play, the whole familyWeek 2 Ballet: the first time in our livesWeek 3 A concert: the philharmonic or an organWeek 4 Playing it ourselves: guitar and pianoGo where we never go, and play something of our own at the end of the month.
- Board Game MonthWhich game stayed in the family for good?Week 1 Classics: everything we used to playWeek 2 A new one: we pick it and learn the rulesWeek 3 Friends over: playing with a big crowdWeek 4 Teaching grandma: explain it all and playFind a game worth playing again and get everyone we can around the table.
- Know Your CityWhat did we see in our own city for the first time?Week 1 A museum we have never once walked intoWeek 2 An unfamiliar district: pick one, walk itWeek 3 The blank spots near home — walk to themWeek 4 A tour of the local ice-cream factoryGo where we have never been and see our own city the way visitors do.
- Taking Care of UsWhat should have been done long ago?Week 1 Barber and hairdresser: style, not lengthWeek 2 Massage: both of us booked on the same dayWeek 3 A whole day at the spa: phones in the lockerWeek 4 The doctor, not the spa: the tests we put offCome first for once, not last: the barber, the massage, the spa and the doctor.
- Month of GuestsWho do we want to see again?Week 1 The son's classmates come roundWeek 2 Off to grandma and grandpa, long overdueWeek 3 Rounding up the coursemates we lostWeek 4 Getting to know the neighboursOpen the door four times: the children, the family, old friends, the neighbours.
- Presents for EveryoneWhich present was the best one to give away?Week 1 Making family cards for every relativeWeek 2 A secret Santa inside the familyWeek 3 The wish tree: a stranger child's letterWeek 4 Thanking the cleaner, the porter, the doctorMake the presents by hand and give them to more than our own.
- Month of HelpingWhat do we want to keep doing?Week 1 The shelter: how to help other than moneyWeek 2 Collecting food: asking the class and neighboursWeek 3 Sorting clothes and taking them to charityWeek 4 Sitting down together: what each of us feltHelp with hands and time rather than a transfer — and see what was ours.
- Eco MonthWhat we gave away — who needed it more than we did?Week 1 Clearing cupboards: give away, not throw outWeek 2 Litter-picking in the park next doorWeek 3 A book swap shelf in our hallwayWeek 4 Finding the city's eco volunteers, joining inGive it away rather than bin it — and find who else is doing this.
Families put the seasons here themselves — with the megaphone button on their own season. We show a random set every time: that way a new one has a chance to catch your eye instead of drowning under the ones already visible. If you see an ad, rudeness or someone else’s personal data, press the flag: we take such seasons off the showcase.