Your sister is in Sydney. Your parents are in Mumbai. Your brother is in London, and two cousins are in Toronto. Somebody has to pick the day, and whoever picks it will hear that it is the middle of the night for someone. This is a method that keeps that someone from always being the same person, and a way to let the family choose instead of you.
Start with the cities, not the dates
List every home by city, not by country. India has one clock, but Australia, Canada and the United States have several. Then write down, for each home, the hours nobody should be asked to be awake, such as 10 pm to 7 am. Ask the grandparents too: an early bedtime is a real limit, and it is the one most often forgotten.
Five steps to a date that works
- List the homes and their no-go hoursOne line per city. Include the elders' bedtimes.
- Write the candidate slots in one anchor time zoneUse the host's. Put each other city's time beside it, so nobody has to convert.
- Check the clock changesDaylight saving starts and ends on different dates in different countries, so the gap between two cities can move by an hour for a few weeks.
- Offer the best three, not twelveMore options make a vote harder to finish. Three is enough.
- Let the family choose, with a close timeAllow more than one answer, so you see which slots overlap. Close it in two days and tell everyone the result in their own time.
A worked example
Take Saturday 21 November 2026 and the four cities above. The table shows three slots, each one leaving a different home out. Sydney is on summer time and Toronto and London are on winter time; India does not change its clocks.
| Best for | Sydney | Mumbai | London | Toronto |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney, Mumbai, London | Sat 8:30 pm | Sat 3:00 pm | Sat 9:30 am | Sat 4:30 am |
| Mumbai, London, Toronto | Sun 12:00 am | Sat 6:30 pm | Sat 1:00 pm | Sat 8:00 am |
| Sydney, Mumbai, Toronto | Sun 1:00 pm | Sun 7:30 am | Sun 2:00 am | Sat 9:00 pm |
No row fits all four homes, and that is normal. It is why the choice belongs to the family: the people who would give up a night's sleep are the ones who should say whether they are willing. If the same home loses every time, rotate it. Next gathering, the early start is Toronto's.
Why a poll, and what to put in it
A poll beats a long message thread because everyone answers once and you can see the overlap. Put the time in every home beside each option, allow more than one answer, set a close time and say what you will do when it closes. Keep the question short: "Which of these can you do?" gets more answers than "What does everyone think?". Any tool works for this, a WhatsApp group poll included.
Doing it in Kunbaa
Family polls are coming to Kunbaa. A date poll will show the time in each home beside every option, sit on the Wall post or the moment it is about, close at the time you set, and show the family totals rather than who voted for what. Smart polls are coming to Kunbaa Plus, where Kunbaa AI can write the poll from one line and suggest times that suit every home; you read and post it yourself. See family polls, or plan the gathering itself with events. Families in several countries can start with staying connected abroad.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I find a time that works across time zones?
- List each home by city, write down the hours nobody can be awake, put candidate slots in one anchor time zone with the other cities beside them, and offer the best three to the family.
- Should I pick the date myself or ask the family?
- Ask, once you have narrowed it to about three options. The people who would lose sleep should be the ones who say yes.
- What if no time works for everyone?
- That is common. Pick the slot that leaves out the fewest people, rotate who gets the inconvenient hour next time, and send a voice note or photos to whoever misses it.
- Why do clock changes matter?
- Countries change their clocks on different dates, so the gap between two cities can shift by an hour for a few weeks. Check the times again a week before the gathering.
