To better organize family life, there’s nothing better than a shared family calendar, accessible from any device
In the family everyone has his own smartphone and PC and often, for family matters or for daily commitments, different calendars are used with relative synchronization. Instead of using a thousand different calendars, we can create a shared family calendar, where all family members will mark their appointments and reminders, so that family management is synchronized on a single calendar accessible to all.
In the following guide we will show you how to create a shared family calendar on all major services that offer the ability to share a calendar. For the purpose we will highlight the possibility of running the calendar on each device and to be able to color the calendar additions by choosing a color for each member of the family.
1) Create shared family calendar with Google
To create a shared calendar with the Google account, open the site Google Calendar from any PC web browser (for example Google Chrome), press up on the gear icon, press up Settings Let’s go to the section Add calendar we press on Create new calendar and choose a name for it (for example Family calendar).
Then we press on Create calendar scroll to the left side where the menus are present, press on the name of the new calendar just created, go to the section Share with specific people we press on Add people and enter the Gmail (or Android, YouTube or Drive) addresses of the people we want to add to the family calendar.
Each person added will receive an invitation by email or on the phone: just accept it and immediately see the same calendar for everyone.
Each person will also be able to add their own entries within the calendar; to make appointments and events distinguishable we use different colors for each user. To do this, when adding a calendar event, we choose our color and communicate it to the other family members, so that everyone has her color.
The shared family calendar is ready and can also be accessed from a phone and tablet using the app Google Calendar and associating the account that has access to the calendar.
To learn more we can read our guides on how to schedule events on Google calendar and Gmail on how to sync google calendar for appointments.
2) Create shared family calendar with Microsoft
If we often use Outlook and want to create our new family calendar on it, all we have to do is open the site Outlook calendar and sign in with a Microsoft account.
After logging in, press immediately on the item Add calendar we press on Create blank calendar give the calendar a name and finally press on Save down. In the window we press on Edit my calendar, select the calendar you just created and press down on the item Share calendar.
We add the Outlook, Skype, Xbox, Microsoft or Exchange email addresses of the people we want to access the family calendar, also assigning calendar modification permissions to each of them; invited people only need to open the invitation to immediately have the calendar added to their Outlook page.
To make a family event distinguishable, just press the item when adding an event More options and use the menu Categorize to assign a color category to each family member.
The shared calendar will be accessible from Windows (via the Mail or Outlook app), but we will also be able to access it from mobile with the Outlook app (available for android and iPhones/iPads).
To learn more we can read our guides on how to sync the outlook calendar on windows 10 and 11 come on how to set up Outlook with one or more Email accounts.
3) Create shared family calendar with Apple
If we only have Apple devices in the family it is advisable to create a shared calendar using the Apple ID account of each family member, so as not to disperse appointments and events on separate calendars.
New calendars for iCloud can be created from the site iCloud.comopening the service Calendar Pressing the gear at the bottom left and selecting New calendar. After assigning the name to the calendar, press on the icon Calendar sharing (shaped like waves) next to the name of the new calendar.
In the drop-down window that will open, tick the item Private calendar and add the Apple ID or address of the people we want to access the shared calendar. At the end of the modifications, press on Okay.
From now on, after accepting the invitation to the new calendar, everyone will see this shared calendar on their Apple devices; unfortunately it is not possible to add specific colors for individual people on this type of calendar since the color change is only allowed between different calendars (we will therefore have to have all family events of the same color).
Fortunately, it is always possible to integrate Google and Outlook calendars on Apple as well, as seen in our guides on how to set up an Email account on iPhone and iPad and about how to Add Email Accounts on Mac.
4) App to create shared family calendar
If we want to use a dedicated app for managing a shared family calendar we can rely on Family Wall Available for free for android and for iPhones/iPads.
The app greatly facilitates the creation of a shared family calendar thanks to synchronization with Google and Outlook accounts; in addition to the simple management of the shared calendar, it also allows you to keep shared shopping lists or to-do lists, plan recipes, share timetables for activities, share photos and videos and locate a family member.
Other apps similar to FamilyWall can be found in our articles about Agenda, appointments and reminders app for Android and iPhone and on apps for monitoring children’s movements via app.
Conclusions
Sharing a family calendar will allow us to keep order among the various family commitments, as well as being able to plan every family event and also involving young and very young people, who will thus have a sense of responsibility in keeping and monitoring the family calendar.
Sharing the calendars of the various online services is more than enough, but the real turning point is when you bet on an all-rounder app like FamilyWallwhich integrates a synchronized shared calendar, a shopping and to-do list, school timetables, external activity timetables and even a personal chat, without forgetting the location system for family members.
To learn more we can read our guides on how to activate the family group on the Play Store to share purchased apps and movies on how to activate parental control and family limits on PC and internet.
