Pioneer Day is coming up on July 24^th which is next Sunday! Many will be celebrating on the 25^th but no matter what day you decide to celebrate (and whether you’re in Utah or not) here are some great ways for you to make memories with your family while celebrating those who came across the plains in search of religious freedom, better farmland or even gold!

Share Pioneer Stores – whether it’s stories of your own family or of others who came across the plains, this is a great way to celebrate pioneer day. Your kids will start to learn and understand how the pioneers survived and made the trek here.

Go on a Pioneer Trek – Gear up and take your family on a trek. You can talk about how long the pioneers traveled (over 1,000 miles) and the different trials they faced while traveling (Indians, floods, death, cold, hunger, etc) and how excited they were to finally make it to their destination. You could even plan your trek to end at a local ice-cream shop.

Do Pioneer Crafts – There are so many ideas of things you could create with your kids. Here’s just a few ideas with links to give you an idea of how to create these crafts:

• Candles 
• Quilting
• Yarn Dolls
• Butter Making
• Covered Wagon Craft

Visit a Local Farm and Try to Milk a Cow – this is a great activity to do with the kids. If you don’t have anyone you know that would let you milk their cow try doing a quick google search. For all the Utah readers, you can milk a cow at Wheeler farm for a small fee or you can watch it at Thanksgiving Point.

Cook a Meal Over an Open Fire – if you don’t have an open fire in your yard you could reserve a camp site for the evening and enjoy a campfire dinner. Or plan a fun BBQ if that’s more your style.

Go to a Shooting Range and Learn How to Shoot –  the pioneers had to shoot their food and gather it. What better way to experience this for yourself than at a shooting range.

Play Pioneer Games – Although there was lots of work to do they had to make time to have fun but they didn’t have all the electronics and games that we have now. So why not take you kids into the past and play some fun pioneer games like stick pull, hoop roll, marbles and spinning buttons. You can find instructions to play all these games here.

This year make some memories with your family and turn off all the electronics including the lights and spend time talking, telling stores or playing games. There’s no better way to show your family you love them and are grateful for them then by spending time together.