25 years ago (I'm older than dirt) I took a one semester class in film making at MATC (Milwaukee) which helped me understand the process and think (and shoot) in terms of the final product.

Now after lots of practice, I have a blast making short films. Special, and not-so-special occasions, just about any kind of activity can be filmed.

Here is one tip that works great...
Get more than one perspective. For example, I filmed my nephew riding a pony at his birthday. I got a few shots of him waving as he rode past... then I walked along side him to get a "helmet-cam" perspective. You see what he saw, people waving as he hides past them. Then I got a few close up shots of the pony and the rider. Later I asked him some questions about the ponies. He probably didn't even realize I was filming. I got some really great comments from him... stuff like "the ponies smell like poop".

I find that I need 25 to 50 short shots (edited together) to make a short film of 3 to 5 minutes. Sometimes I put in some still shots too.

The editing has the biggest impact on the final product. You can add music, voice over, sound effects, transitions, video effects, titles, etc.

Bottom line - shoot anything (and everything) and think about how this shot will fit into the final film.