Pioneer Day is the perfect excuse to learn about your ancestors.
Whether or not we have ancestor roots here in Utah, Pioneer Day is a fun opportunity to look to the past and celebrate our own families in simple and meaningful ways.
The word “kinkeeping” has become part of the vocabulary on Studio 5, and Cami Packer feels that Pioneer Day is a great time to kinkeep. To pass along stories, values, and traditions of the past, while strengthening our current family ties and relationships.
Sego Lily Banner
Cami said if you add a banner to even the simplest occasion, suddenly you have a celebration! This banner features Utah’s state flower, the sego lily. The early settlers of Utah would dig up sego lily bulbs to keep from starvation before the land was producing crops.
Each of these sego lilies is made by gluing three curvy, tear-shaped petals together to create the flower. Cut two small circles out of crepe paper for the center. Use a yellow washable marker to color the circles, then add a bit of brown on top of the yellow. Crumple the circles slightly, then use a glue stick to attach them, one on top of the other, to the center of the sego lily. Drop a few drops of water into the center of the flower, and watch the colors run together. Use a hot glue gun to attach each flower to a length of twine to make a banner.
Ancestor Match Game
This memory match game can help children–and adults–become more familiar with their ancestors. Find photos of your ancestors, print them out on cardstock, and type up just a few sentences about them. Glue each on a four inch square of cardstock. The goal is to match the picture to the short description of them, and of course the ultimate goal is to feel a connection to them.
Ancestor Reels
Reels like this are from an account called Geneology Journey on Instagram. Each member of each family has something unique and intriguing about them, and a short video can highlight these little facts. Use an app like Instagram or InShot to create a video to share with your family members, or challenge a teenager to help you. The goal of a little video like this is to spark an interest in our ancestors, to want to do some digging and find out more of their story. When we think of them as real people with real challenges and real triumphs, it gives us courage to live our own lives to the fullest.
Pioneer Treasure Hunt
This has been a long-time tradition in Cami’s family. Nothing pumps up the adrenaline quite like a treasure hunt! This pioneer treasure hunt is especially fun for young children, about 10 and under. Hide each clue in the spot hinted at in the previous clue. Provide a treat as the “treasure” at the end of the hunt. Cami always has a pie as their treasure, but ice cream cones, salt water taffy, or homemade root beer would be fun alternatives. Download Cami’s treasure hunt clues here.
Old Fashioned Games
Kids today have more toys and entertainment than ever before, but some simple pioneer games will always be perennial favorites of any generation! Play classics like ‘button, button, who’s got the button,’ have three-legged races, and drop clothespins in a jar. No matter the game, if the adults are cheering and participating right along with the kids, those family bonds are strengthened and core memories are created.
DIY Utah Cookie Cutter
It’s a subtle way to celebrate the beautiful state of Utah… and thankfully the shape of our state is a simple one. Make a Utah-shaped cookie cutter out of a cardboard cereal box, a stapler, and tinfoil. Cut strips of the cardboard and start measuring out the Utah shape. Use a stapler to secure corners of the strips in the right shape. When you’re satisfied with the shape of the cookie cutter, wrap it in tinfoil. Make sure to crease the cutting side of the cookie cutter to get a nice crisp shape. This is Cami’s favorite sugar cookie recipe for cookies that hold their shape during baking.
Cami Packer is a wife and mother of five. She loves thrifting, baking, and simple traditions with her family. She believes in the joy and influence of homemaking, and that ALL of us are homemakers regardless of age, gender, employment status, or family circumstance.
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