This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and Walmart Family Mobile. All opinions are mine alone. #MobileMemories #CollectiveBias. Here I’ll share the Top 5 Free & Fun ways we keep in touch with long-distance family, a free inspiring quote for long-distance love, and great info on an affordable plan for family-friendly mobile services.
With Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and a season of graduations, weddings, and family milestones a part of this spring and summer season, I wanted to create and share a list of the five most useful ways our family manages to keep in touch with other family members who live far away. This list can help families bridge the distance that’s created when families live many miles apart. Many of these tools are free. Read on for some tips on ways to talk via video-conferencing online, talk via phone over the internet, and share photos and videos via free online sharing tools.
My husband and I met on eHarmony nearly a decade ago. After a year of long-distance dating I moved 1,500 miles away from home so that we could continue to see each other from the same city. We fell in love and 16 months later were married.
I’m so thankful to have found my husband and even more thankful for our two precious miracle children – our two boys – ages three and five. But living far from family is still hard, especially with two young children and grandparents who adore them, and who would love to see them and be with them every day.
Thankfully, there are lots of fun and frugal ways to stay connected with family. If you’re far from people you love and have a cell phone, laptop, desktop, or other mobile device you’ll love this post.
Inspiration to Keep in Touch
Special moments and milestones are made more memorable when we share them with family and friends. The key to scheduling updates with family and friends who are far away is to remember your “why”. Why do you want to take the time to keep in touch? As a mom who started having babies just before age 40, I am ever aware of how quickly time is passing. My parents are in their 60’s and it seems like every time I check, the boys have grown another half inch or developed some new skill that’s a milestone.
My “why” is this: I want my boys to have a frequent, connected relationship with their grandparents. It brings so much joy to everyone in our family. So, I make it a point to do everything I can to build a bridge between my boys and their grandparents. In addition to regular travel, the 5 FREE & Fun ways to keep in touch with Family I’ve included here are the ways we use to stay connected.
FREE Download – Inspiring Quote Print
If you enjoy inspiring quotes – you’ll like this free downloadable Long Distance Love Quote, “Distance makes no difference. The heart always finds its way home.” I think it captures how I feel about loving my family long distance – my heart will always be with them – wherever they are.
Click the blue “Download Now” button to download this free printable artwork:
5 FREE and FUN ways to Keep in Touch with Family
Many of the tools my family uses are easy to find on a cell phone using an app store or Google play. If you have any trouble, simply connect to the internet and search the tool name to locate it and download it to your phone. In case you’re curious, the phone I use for these applications is the ZTE Zinger. It’s less than $30 for the device and it’s 4G Capable. The ZTE Zinger includes a 2 Megapixel camera with a 3.5″ HGVA touchscreen. I picked it up at Walmart when I activated our family’s Walmart Family Mobile Plan powered by T Mobile. More details on this very affordable family mobile plan below.
- Skype – At the top of our list is Skype. It’s a free app you can download to any device that is connected to the internet and it makes it super easy to video chat with family and friends. It works just as well on a cell phone as it works on a laptop device. There is a small fee to use the service but it’s pennies compared to paying for a long-distance call. I love how clear the picture and sound come through on our ZTE Zinger.
Since Mother’s Day is almost here, it was a great opportunity to call my mom and show her some of the gifts we’re sending for Mother’s Day. My eldest also got to show “Nannie” his new Miles from Tomorrowland toy and my youngest showed my mom some of the updates we’ve made to his bedroom. - Google Hangouts – As a blogger I use Google Hangouts to meet with other bloggers and keep in touch with professionals online. It also works great for keeping in touch with family. This nice thing about Google Hangouts is it’s completely free. Plus you can text and scribble on images during a call to make for some family fun while you keep in touch. Pictured here is a video call with my dad and step-mom.
They love to watch the boys via video and it gives the boys a chance to update my parents on some of the new things they’re up to. - Instagram – Instant Photo Sharing. Want to keep friends and family up to date but don’t have time to video chat? Snap a few photos and share them via Instagram. I can update my family with photos shared on my Instagram Feed. It’s easy for them to follow so they can get the latest updates. Want to stay in touch with Happy and Blessed Home on Instagram? Follow me on Instagram 🙂
- Drop Box – A place to store and share photos. If you have larger photo files to share, Drop Box is another free application you can use to store and share photos. As you invite friends and family to share photos via Drop Box you gain access to additional storage. You can share high resolution photos from significant family events – graduations, weddings, and birthday parties. Bonus: You can upload straight from your ZTE Zinger or other mobile phone device.
- Tango – for video and phone calls. Another service that works similar to Skype and Google Hangouts is Tango. It’s another free app that you can download onto your internet-ready device. Tango features: 1 to 1 & group chat, video & voice calls, and free calls to mobiles and landlines around the world. On the ZTE Zinger phone you can download it via the Google Play store already loaded and visable on the home page of the phone.
An Affordable Solution for Staying Connected with Family
If you’re looking to get connected with family you may want to consider the ZTE Zinger and the Walmart Family Mobile plan like the one we use. The Walmart Family Mobile plan offers 4G LTE service for only $29.88/month (for the first line) Unlimited Talk, Text & Data service plan which includes up to 1G of 4G LTE data.
To get started, you just need to select the phone (other makes and models are available at Walmart) with a $25.00 starter kit. The Walmart Family Mobile plan is one of the lowest priced unlimited plans available and includes unlimited talk, text and data. Great for keeping in touch with family!
Disclaimer: All prices for phones and plans included in this post are accurate as of the date of posting; however, these prices are subject to change. Please refer to Walmart Family Mobile Phones and Pricing or your local Walmart for current pricing.
How do you Keep in Touch with Family?
I hope you found these resources helpful for keeping in touch with family. Have any tips for staying in touch with family far away? Both my parents are 1,500+ miles away and I’m always looking for more ideas. Please share with this online community by leaving a comment below – I love to hear from HappyandBlessedHome.com readers.
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P.S. – I blog to encourage moms, offer free preschool tools, and share ideas for family fun. If you enjoy free recipes, printables, crafts and games for little ones, ideas for family fun and encouraging posts for moms, sign up and have Happy and Blessed Home delivered to your inbox. Simply enter your e-mail address here:
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