“Help me bring my whole family closer!”

Strengthening your most meaningful relationships boosts your resilience, sends your mood soaring and creates memories you’ll treasure forever

Connect face-to-face Bond over dinner

It’s often the simplest rituals that bring us closer, observes parenting expert Michele Borba. “My family has a twokindness dinner rule,” she says. “We share one good thing we did for someone and one generous gesture we saw someone else do for another person. Talking about the kindness within and outside ourselves deepens our conversations.”

Make a prayer basket

A family “wishing well” can help you bond on a more spiritual level, promises minister Traci Smith. “Put out a basket with slips of paper and label it

We Wish for Each Other,” she says. “Whenever someone has a need they would like loved ones to pray for, they can write it down. And when anyone wants to pray for others, they can pull from the basket. Just knowing it’s there makes you feel supported every day.”

Give the gift of everyday beauty

“Ask loved ones to take three mental snapshots of beautiful things they saw this week,” encourages Smith. “Then have each person share them with the whole family.” Simply stopping to

see the roses is proven to melt stress— and sharing those moments strengthens ties by helping us look at the world through each others’ eyes.

Boost bonds over the miles Set up Skype dates

Can’t be there in person for a milestone occasion? “We bake a cake, light candles and celebrate birthdays over Skype,” says Smith. “Doing the same thing at the same time together will bridge the distance between you.”

Share inspiration

Spreading joy among far-flung family is just one text away, says Borba. “I send uplifting news stories over a chain and we all chat about them,” she reveals. And sometimes the smile-worthiest headlines happen close to home: “When my son returned from service in Iraq, firefighters came out in their trucks and created a cascade of water over the plane when it landed to make a rainbow for the troops,” she recalls. “I texted it to everyone, and it inspired a few relatives to find creative ways to support their local heroes. You never know the far-reaching effects your stories will have!”

Make reunions sweeter

When family rituals expert Sue Johnson finds herself missing someone she loves, she fills a special “memory vase.” “I jot down simple things, like, I loved getting ice cream

with you last summer, on slips of paper and toss them into an

I’m Thinking of You Jar,” she says. “Once we reunite, they take out the slips of paper and read them—it makes us feel like we were never apart.”