If you are part of a stepfamily, or any type of blended family for that matter, you know that everyday can be filled with more love, joy, bonding, frustration, annoyances, and stressors than you ever thought possible.
That’s right, stepfamilies aren’t always easy – but they are special, so why not celebrate them?
Turns out there is one day a year dedicated to doing just that – National Step-Family Day.
It’s like Christmas… but no presents, or Santa Clause, or candy (well, maybe you can swindle some candy from your step-parent if you ask nicely).
We know, we know… you are sitting there thinking we just made this up, which, hey, we could do – I mean, everything you read on the internet is true right?
But no, it actually is a real thing – we swear it – and to prove it, we are going to tell you everything you need to know national stepfamily day.
First Off: When Is It?
National Stepfamily Day is celebrated every year on September 16th. It was Christy Borgeld, and was first celebrated in 1997.
Christy’s vision for this holiday is to create a strong and supportive atmosphere for stepfamilies across the nation and the globe.
Who is Christy Borgeld?
Aside from being the founder or National Stepfamily Day, Christy Borgeld has been working as a Stepfamily Expert for The National Stepfamily Resource Centre (NSRC) in Grand Rapids, Michigan for the last decade.
How To Celebrate National Stepfamily Day
Many communities throughout the nation actively take part in celebrating national stepfamily day by hosting a variety of fun, family-focused, child-friendly events, such as picnics, barbeques, and even games.
If your community doesn’t have anything special planned for the day, you could always take the initiative to propose an event to the leaders of your community, plan an event yourself, or simply spend the day one-on-one with your family doing something special.
Why Is National Stepfamily Day Important?
In the United States alone, over 50% of families today are some form of blended family.
National stepfamily day is important both for the role that stepfamilies play within society and how they are perceived, and for the families themselves, as a day to remind them of how special their family is.
For Society
Even in today’s society, stepfamilies, along with many other types of blended families, still face issues such as stereotyping and negative representation in the media.
Having a special day, especially one that gets the community involved, is a great way to dissipate these closed-minded views and let children and parents who are part of blended families alike know, and show to their communities, that their family is perfectly normal (or at least as normal as any family can be) and is just as much a “family” as any “traditional” family out there.
For Families
Often times, we get caught up in our crazy, hectic, messy lives – this can easily distract us from what is really important, our families.
Especially in stepfamilies, where things can be even more stressful and complicated than in a traditional family setting, national stepfamily day can act as a reminder, and a day to step back, relax, and remember how blessed you are. It’s a great reason to put the rest of life on hold for 24 hours and do something special with your beautiful blended family.
Are you part of a stepfamily? Have you heard of national stepfamily day and, if so, how do you celebrate it?
References
- https://cyberparent.com/parenting/step-parent-problems-advice-boundaries/
- http://www.celebratelove.com/stepfamilyday.htm
- http://www.blogtalkradio.com/barbara-goldberg/2016/09/13/christy-tusing-borgeld-founder-of-national-stepfamily-day
- http://www.stepfamily.org/stepfamily-statistics.html
