On a Sunday in November 2021, we had a much-appreciated family get-together in Linköping. We had booked a small gym and both adults and children/youths had a good time. The youngest one was three years old, and the older children were up to fourteen years old. The youngsters immediately set about building an obstacle course, we played floorball, soccer and killer ball. There was a lot of laughter and mischief, and some adults (read most) had a bit of a struggle keeping up with the children’s pace 😊.

Some adults had a need to talk, so there was time for that in a corner of the room as well, without the children having to listen and worry about anything but having fun. Most adults took turns alternately playing with the children and standing and talking for a while.

The children gave high marks and they didn’t really want to go home. They looked forward to meeting more times and felt very pleased to see that there are other children and families who had turn down the injections.

We will plan another meeting in about two weeks.

Organizing a family get-together of your own

We can certainly recommend others to arrange something similar. The purpose of Us together is to help families find and strengthen each other. There are so many who feel alone with their thoughts and there we can all help break the isolation.

Booking a small gym was not expensive; 370 SEK for two hours. This time there was one family that took the cost themselves. We think it wasn’t that much more expensive than any other meaningful activity with the kids on a Sunday, but in this way it could also benefit others.

Examples of other activities you can suggest in your locality are meeting in a playground, at a barbecue area in a cosy place, outdoor obstacle courses, coffee at a café, or booking a gym.

Things to consider

Things to consider when organizing a get-together with others.

• Make sure that as many people as possible receive the invitation, some are prepared to travel a little further to have the opportunity to meet like-minded people.
• If possible, plan well in advance, so that as many people as possible can schedule the time.
• Feel free to contact us and we can help to promote your meeting.
• It is an advantage if the activity is close to public transport. If not, maybe it’s possible to share a car with someone else? There are also carpools for those who have a driver’s license but do not have their own car, it´s usually not very expensive.
• Make sure everyone finds their way. If there is a locked gate, or if the location is difficult to find, make sure that you have provided contact details of one of the organizers. And make sure that someone keeps an eye on the mobile phone, so he/she can be contacted! We had such a good time so one family was locked out because no one noticed the phone ringing, thankfully we discovered them in time!