In today’s world, where most of us spend far more time looking at screens than engaging in meaningful, enjoyable activities, it’s critical to make family time a priority. The simple act of having regular family dinners has been shown to have positive emotional, academic, and even physical effects on the children in the house. Imagine how much farther you could go with 31 days of family activities specifically designed to bring you closer together and create cherished memories!
Baking
Make a list of everything everyone wants to create together as a family. It might be cookies, cake pops, muffins, or perhaps a crusty pastry—anything delicious and oven-safe! Then you can all work together as a family to collect the ingredients and prepare something delectable that everyone can be proud of. If your family is large, you could even divide the tasks up among everyone, with each person taking on a different role.
There’s something special about working together in the kitchen that brings families closer. It might be because of the shared memories created while baking, or simply because it’s a fun way to spend time together. And what better way to show your love for each other than by creating something delicious that everyone can enjoy?
So turn on some music, dust off your baking supplies, and get ready to have some fun in the kitchen with your family!
Gardening
Gardening is a wonderful hobby and can be a lot of fun to learn. Depending on the amount of room you have, you might start with a tiny vegetable, herb, or flower garden. Everyone may have their own little plot where they can cultivate whatever they wish if you have enough room! Gardening is an excellent method to teach your children about where food comes from, in addition to being a fun and relaxing way to spend time together as a family.
You can also use gardening as an opportunity to teach your children about different aspects of nature, such as how plants grow and how different animals live in harmony with one another. Gardening is also an excellent form of exercise, so it’s a great way to get everyone moving and outside in the fresh air.
There are many different ways to garden, so it’s easy to find a method that works best for your family. You can even grow food indoors if you don’t have much space outdoors! Gardening is a wonderful activity for families to enjoy.
Story Time
Instead of merely reading a story to your family, try acting it out! Everyone will become a part of the narrative, and you’ll all have an unforgettable experience. For added fun, dress up as if you’re going all out with costumes, funny voices, and handmade props!
Board Games
Just spending a day playing board games may be plenty entertaining. If you want to add something extra, make up some new rules and have fun with the same old games! Make your own games based on popular themes like as Haunted Mansion or scary stories. Play by your own rules and let your imagination run wild. 😉
Craft Day
Coloring, cut-out pictures, slime manufacturing, painting, and other similar activities are all fantastic family leisure activities. Art may be therapeutic, so make sure it’s a pleasant experience with no nasty suggestions or criticism. There is no wrong way to express oneself creatively; every artwork is unique. Need ideas? Visit Pinterest, or you can go to: https://funfamilycrafts.com for lots of great ideas.
Pizza Night
All it takes is dough, toppings of choice, sauce, and an oven to open your very own family pizzeria! Everyone receives enough dough for a personal-sized pizza, and they can decorate it however they choose. Then you just bake and eat! This makes everyone’s pizzas completely unique, as well as great bonding time with your family. You can also get as creative as you want with the toppings; there are no limits!
Another idea is to make a large pizza and have everyone cut it up into pieces for themselves. This is perfect for larger families and makes sure that everyone gets their desired topping. Either way, pizza night is always a hit!
Pillow Fort
A single person may make a beautiful pillow fort, but a whole family may create an incredible Pillow Castle! To build a huge pillow fort to relax in, use cardboard boxes, blankets, sofa cushions, and other items.
Movie Marathon
(This is a great add-on to pillow fort day) Take advantage of the day by watching a series of movies for supper and finger food. For extra warmth, stay in your pajamas! Pop some popcorn, get the drinks flowing, and enjoy your day!
Learn Sign Language
Sign language is a really useful language to possess, and it’s really entertaining to learn. You may use books and/or internet tutorials, as well as assist one another in practice, all while attempting to communicate for just half a day using only signs! Find more about learning sign language here: https://www.startasl.com/american-sign-language-alphabet/
Film For A Day
Use your phone or an old video camera to capture a whole day with your family. Then you may watch it back and even transform it into an amusing family film if you like! It will be interesting to look back on this moment in time after many years have passed and remember what a wonderful day it was, as well as how you lived at the time.
Dance Party
Make a playlist of everyone’s favorite songs to throw a huge dance party! Have fun and go crazy just shaking out all of your problems. You’ll also get a great workout from it!
Yoga/Pilates
When it comes to exercises, Pilates and Yoga are fantastic ways to improve flexibility and fitness. Begin with basic postures and practice daily until everyone is comfortable with learning more advanced positions. Always keep these activities in moderation, and they can help you attain a healthy body and mind in no time at all. This site might be helpful if you are a beginner: https://www.yogabasics.com/practice/yoga-for-beginners/
Picnic
This may take place indoors or outside, depending on your circumstances. Bring food, drinks, snacks, pillows, and blankets with you. Then create a lovely little picnic area in your home or backyard! Picnic meals are always a lot of fun and much more restful than sitting down to a formal dinner at a table.
Make Cards/Write Letters
Letters and cards may be quite meaningful to elders in nursing homes and troops overseas. Make some handmade cards with uplifting messages or compose kind letters and send them out to senior residences and military bases as a way to raise spirits and spread love to those who may feel lonely or down. You can use these links to send your cards: https://www.operationgratitude.com/express-your-thanks/write-letters/
Fashion Show
Let the youngsters dress up in some of your old clothes and make the most outrageous costumes they can. After that, the parents may pretend to be fashion show judges and score everyone’s outfits. Judges might even want to wear their own distinctive clothing for added enjoyment!
Write A Story
This may be achieved in a variety of ways. You may use a white/chalkboard to add phrases while people take turns adding one term at a time. You can also write everything down and bind it into a homemade book if you prefer. If you’re looking for something to get your creativity started, try filling in mad-libs!
Tie-Dye
Tie-dye is a lot of fun and an excellent outlet for creativity! Tie-dying just about any piece of clothing is possible, and there are several ways to tie them and dye them! You’ll have a fantastic memory whenever you put on whatever you produced once everything is complete! Check out “5 easy tie-dye instructions — plus, 4 tie-dye patterns to try” here: https://www.care.com/c/stories/3341/5-easy-tie-dye-instructions-and-4-tie-dye-pat/
Learn To Sew
Sewing is a skill that can always be useful. Even the ability to fasten a button might be the difference between an unpleasant circumstance and a simple remedy with no fuss. Basic stitches are also beneficial in any future fashion emergencies.
Build Models
Order a model aircraft, robot, or automobile and build it as a family. Model construction is an excellent method to learn about how things connect and how to collaborate as a team.
Family Video Games
Multiplayer possibilities in many modern video games and systems make family fun a breeze! The Wii has some of the greatest games and features for this, but any system will do if you play one single player game at a time. Keep it lighthearted and have fun! Games are made to be played for the purpose of having FUN rather than simply winning.
Check Out Old Photo Albums
Studying family history is a wonderful method to keep the memories and customs alive. If your children have a face with the tales, grandma’s cookie recipe will be that much more special. Pictures are worth a thousand words, and they also preserve the memories of the past.
Make A Scrapbook With New Photos
Make a new album for your family’s future by taking photographs and putting them in it! You may even try out scrapbooking to make it more meaningful and organized. In their own way, everyone has the opportunity to fill out a page with their own style and create their own little memory notes beside each photograph.
Life-Sized Drawings
To begin, get a large piece of poster board and have someone lie down on it. Then you may use their figure as a template to trace around. Everyone can then collaborate to fill in the template and create a life-sized portrait of the family member!
Karaoke
Karaoke is a lot of fun, and having it as a family event will certainly bring plenty of laughter. You could even have a contest to see who can sing the silliest song/voice combination… Interpretive dancing is extra points!
Look For Four Leaf Clovers
It’s virtually unheard of for clovers with four or more leaves to exist. Searching for them in the garden might take a long time! Every time you discover one, it’s always exciting and gratifying. You may also try searching for other things; such as mole hills, cobwebs, or dandelions!
Make A Critter House
A birdhouse might also be home to a variety of other animals! Chipmunks, squirrels, mice, and other little mammals may all reside in birdhouses. This is an excellent method to keep these little guys dry and secure during the rain or cold weather that might be approaching your region.
Follow An Online Tutorial
From cake decorating to wreath making, and everything in between, you can create anything you want with these crafts! Just find a novice video of something amazing and see if you have the necessary materials on hand to give it a go! It may be lots of fun to compare your completed product to the video. This is not always a solo effort. It may be a team effort to complete one major project, or each family member can work on his or her own small job! This is an excellent way to see how everyone approaches the same issue from a different perspective. Use this as an opportunity to demonstrate individuality to your children and help them understand that everyone has a different way of doing things.
Play In The Rain
Rain may be a deterrent to going out and doing things, but it can also be an opportunity to play in puddles and mud. Just make sure the weather isn’t too cold or there is no lightning around when you do so.
Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunts are great for getting the brain and body working. Scavenger hunts can be set up in a variety of ways! It’s possible to theme it by color, size, location, and more! If you have older kids, set a time limit; but make sure that younger siblings don’t feel compelled to “win.” Family scavenger hunts are about having fun and spending time together, not about competition.
Paint Rocks
Everyone should go find a nice rock in the garden. Following that, you may use your creativity to see whatever you choose inside the rock. You might paint your rock so that it resembles whatever you determined it looked like in the first place. A lumpy stone, for example, might resemble a frog; therefore, you may paint legs and eyes on it to complete the picture.
Quiet Time
When you’re running late, it’s a great opportunity to give the kids some quiet time. They can think, play alone, and take a break from you!
Here are a few ideas to try for quiet time:
1. Puzzles
2. Word search
3. Reading
4. Educational worksheets
5. Extra chores
Helpful Links:
http://www.wordblanks.com/mad-libs/adventure/story-generator/amp/
http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com
http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/WordSearchSetupForm.asp
https://www.parenting.com/child/10-best-educational-websites-kids/
There are so many things that families can do together to have fun. It doesn’t always require money or elaborate planning. Just spending time together and enjoying one another’s company is really the best way to have a great day!
