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Written by IELTS Mentor

IELTS Speaking Part 2: IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card.

Describe a happy family event from your childhood that you remember well.

You should say:

• what the event was
• when and where it happened
• what you saw or did

and explain why you remember this event so well.

Model Answer 1:
We have a tradition in our extended family which encourages us to enjoy any kind of events together whether we are doing the outdoors or just doing it at home. So, thank you for this interesting cue card topic as it allows me to talk about an event from my childhood which I remember really well.

By the way, having a family picnic was like a regular event, mostly on the weekends, for my family when I still was a young boy. Now, I am not quite sure how much the other members of my extended family liked it, but my grandfather just loved it so much.

So, anyway, the family picnic, I am talking about, was held about 14 years ago from now when I had just finished elementary school, and I was just ready to have all kinds of fun, and watching movies at a theatre just happened to be one of them. But, the problem was that nobody was really there to take me to the movies because everybody was so busy with their works.

So, I had no other option but to wait till the weekend. Naturally, I felt very bad, but then, my dear grandfather noticed it and decided to come to my rescue. In fact, he offered me to go for a picnic with him except, of course, I wanted to watch a movie instead. Suddenly, my grandfather offered me something which he had never done before - he offered me to do barbeque grill on my own which I had always wanted to do. Needless to say, I felt so excited that I immediately agreed to go with my grandfather to a nearby public park and had a lot of fun with him.

Well, I remember this event so well because it was during this occasion that I did chicken barbeque grill, all on my own, for the first time in my life, and they tasted so amazingly delicious! I remember it so well also because my grandfather treated me like a “big boy” for the first time on that day.

Sample Answer 2:
Well, this is a very nice topic for me and I would love to talk about one of my most memorable childhood events that I had with my family members. The celebration was to welcome a new guest in our family- my nephew who was born on that day. My eldest sister gave birth to a beautiful and healthy baby boy on that particular day. I was around 8 years old then.

After my father saw the newborn baby for the first time, he declared that this is a special occasion for us. As this is the first baby in our family, he decided that the occasion must be celebrated to welcome the new guest in our family. The event and the celebration both took place in our house which is in Danville.

As soon as my father affirmed that we would celebrate this very special day, every one of our family got busy with the arrangement. My parents went to invite guests and to do some necessary shopping. I was so happy and excited that I also called some of my friends to enjoy the event. I wanted to be near the newborn baby all the time and when my mother told me to give some time to the mother and baby alone, I felt quite sad and depressed. I could not believe that such a beautiful baby is my nephew and I wanted to touch him and play with him all the time. However, the sad feeling was so momentary in this case and I forgot it in a few minutes. Then I started playing and gossiping with my friends who by the meantime have come to visit us.

It was a different day – in terms of happiness, amazement and celebration. The arrival of a gorgeous baby and a huge celebration to welcome the event brought us unbound happiness and reasons to smile. My mother, with her sister, cooked many delicious dishes and we enjoyed the foods with so many friends and relatives. The large cake that my elder brother bought from a pastry shop was another delight and surprise for us.

This was a very happy event for all our family members, close friends, neighbours and relatives. I still remember this special family event very vividly for the immense joy and happiness it brought for us.

Sample Answer 3:
Christmas is always a happy event for me and my family. In fact, this was the time when we all meet together and had fun.

In such a Christmas, my parents, I and my three other siblings went to my grandpa’s house in Brisbane, Australia. All of my Relatives gathered there marking the occasion like the former years. Actually, all of my uncles remained busy with their respective business and it becomes impossible for them to meet without any extreme emergencies. Thereby, it becomes the happiest event for all of us to get together for Christmas. Receiving gifts is an attractive matter for me. I received more gifts than the others being the smallest daughter of the family. Besides, the foods prepared at the event were appealing for me as well.  

The Christmas gathering took place on December 25 in 2005. All of my relatives gathered in my grandpa’s place one or two days before the event. I have two paternal uncles and three aunts. They arrived with their kids. On the other side, we were six in number. So, it was almost a medium-scale crowd there. Everyone greeted each other and shared their feelings. Additionally, my grandparents were extremely happy with this crowd of people. Actually, they are to live almost alone round the year and this is the time when they have chances to spend some quality moments. My grandpa was a retired professor of Physics while my grandma took care of the house. My parents or uncles were unable to meet them on regular days for their hefty schedules. The gathering was arranged each year to keep the bondage alive among all. So, at this time of the year, we made the gathering at my grandpa’s place.

I did a large number of things at this event. But there were no specific patterns of my activities. Papa took a leave for a week from his office and we reached on grandpa’s home on the day before Christmas for preparation like lighting the Christmas tree, preparing gifts for the family members, decorating the home and so on. It may sound unusual that I did not take part in any preparation activities because I considered it a leisure time for me. An example may make it clear. I used to get up early in the morning to attend my school in typical days. But I woke up late on the Christmas day that I missed the grand breakfast with all. So, my day began at around 11 am. After breakfast, I started moving here and there inside the house. But on my normal days, the scenario is quite different.

I can remember the event so well for several reasons. Firstly, this was the annual family gathering for my family. I was able to meet all the relatives in person at this event. We all had extreme fun at this event. Besides, I received the best gifts of my life in this event. I turned 13 in the next month but received my birthday gifts in advance. My grandpa presented me with a nice jigsaw puzzle game while my aunts and uncles also presented me with attractive presents. Moreover, the evening was wonderful - we all gathered by a fire in the lawn and had a special barbeque and dinner. Considering all the aspects, it was a wonderful event. So, the memories are still vivid in my mind.

More Ideas to talk about this Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card topic:

Topic: Describe a happy family event from your childhood that you remember well.

1. The celebration of the marriage anniversary of my parents was a memorable experience for me. The celebration was held in our place, located in the southwest corner in Osaka, Japan. I was seven or eight years old and had lots of fun on that day, particularly while cutting the cake. Many of the relatives and friends of my family arrived at our home marking the event. And they brought various gifts to my parents but some of them brought presents for me too! For all those reasons, I can remember the event clearly even in my late teens.

2. I have been born and brought up in an extended family here in Pakistan and amid thousands of events, I can remember the marriage ceremony of my eldest sister as the happiest one. The event took place in Islamabad in 2003 and was a small child of nine years old. I enjoyed with other children of my age and took the delicious meals. Every one of the family was happy. But the ending of the event was sad. My parents turned emotional while bidding farewell to my sister. I also cried on that day and so, it has become an unusual day for me engraved both with happiness and sadness.

3. Traveling with family members is great fun and I went on such a family trip in Bali, Indonesia. It was 2007 and we moved there from China. It was entirely a family trip and so every one of my family was present. It was my very first experience with sea and sea beach. And I was highly glad to see the magical appearance of the sea. In fact, dad was in trouble to control me as I wanted to jump on the water. The sunset scenes, the campfires at night at the sea beach etc. everything was enjoyable. So, the memory is set in my brain even today.

4. Getting a new family car was the most exciting event in my childhood. My dad bought a German-made car when we used to live in Kowloon in Hong Kong. I was too happy to see the car and wanted to ride on it. Later, dad invited all the members of the family to ride on it and he took us to a restaurant to celebrate the event. We had lots of fun on that day. And in fact, it was a dream of my dad to get a family car, and he had been trying hard to make the dream come true. He was so happy and we were happy as well. Thereby, it has become a memorable event for me.

5. The celebration of the New Year was an interesting event for me and my family but the celebration in 2009 was the most memorable event for me. We all went to England to meet our relatives there. It was a nice get together. I met my cousins for a long time. In fact, this is tough to maintain the long-distance relationship (we lived in Australia then). And we passed around 15 days there amid great festivity. Based on all the amusing events, the memories are vivid in my heart.

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