We don’t throw a big party for the Super Bowl at our house, but twice a year we pull out all of the stops to enjoy General Conference (www.lds.org). Each of my three children are assigned a session of conference (and Dad gets the final session.) They get to choose the foods that we eat (and we eat a lot!).They also select the quiet activities that we do while we watch. I admit to having the same short attention span as my children, so I have to multi-task while I watch or else I will fall asleep. (This is not a reflection on the content because I fall asleep during action movies and exciting basketball games, too.)

I really want General Conference to be a positive experience that we look forward to as a family. Over the years we’ve tweaked our system and now we have so much fun that it’s nearly a national holiday in the Springer house. So, here’s what we do in 7 easy steps:

1) Eat. Pick lots and lots of fun foods that you don’t normally eat. Of course, all things in moderation. For example, we’re having nachos as a meal. I wouldn’t normally allow this, but it’s a special occasion. My oldest did suggest getting a veggie tray to make up for all the junk food we’d eat, so I guess that’s our version of moderation.

2) Whip out the box of crayons. There are several great coloring packets available online with items for all ages. For example, check out http://www.scribd.com/doc/13298891/2009-April-Conference-Packet. Also, my friend posted a good idea for a game for non-readers on her blog: jimandjoy.blogspot.com. (I’ve also added it to my guest blog category, so you can access it there too.)

3) Games and puzzles can be quiet too. Little kids (and adults with ADD) have a hard time sitting and listening and can focus better on the words if their hands are distracted. We pull out puzzles and work on them while we listen and we love to play games such as Bingo while we watch. (We always buy M & Ms to use instead of beans because everything is more fun with chocolate.)

4) Get out and take a break. In between sessions we try to take in some fresh air at a park. We’ll pack a picnic lunch (if there is any room left for food after pigging out for two hours). It gives everyone a chance to work out their wiggles and come back ready to watch.

5) Prizes for note takers. My older children enjoy taking notes on the computer and by hand because I reward them for jotting down a few main ideas from each speaker. It’s amazing to me how much they glean from the speakers even though they are so young.

6) Follow-up FHEs (Family Home Evening). We try to take special note of the talks that are specifically geared towards children or those that share stories of their childhood and use those as the basis for future FHE lessons. We make a list and keep track of those talks we’ve studied in the weeks following conference.

7) TiVo is tops. We actually didn’t have cable for years but we re-subscribed just so we could “celebrate” conference at home. As an added bonus, we’ve really enjoyed being able to DVR conference so we can take potty breaks, pause for spats, and rewind the stuff we want to hear again.

Question: What do you do for General Conference weekend?