Lyndsey Family Activities: 20 quality family time activities that won’t break the bank!
You want to spend time with your family, and build strong bonds between you, your partner, and your children. Sometimes it’s hard to break the habits of every day routines. Many times it’s hard to recognize that some of your daily activities can become a fun bonding moment for your household. Family time activities don’t need to be about spending money, going extravagant places, or even be planned in general. You can spend quality time with your partner and your children, just by intentionally involving them in a positive way. There are many benefits to spending quality time together doing family time activities, for more information on the benefits, check out my post Quality Family Time: What’s so great about it and how do we do it?
With all that being said, sometimes it’s great to plan activities to get each other involved and engaged in a meaningful way. For that reason, I have compiled a list of 20 inexpensive ideas to create family moments together. Check out the list of quality family time activities below. I created this list with financials in mind, and have provided ideas that can let you enjoy your family without spending time worrying about the cost.
20 Ideas for Family Time Activities
Click on the activity listed below for information and ideas! This list is a quick summary, you will really want to check out the detail of each recommendation. Remember, the key here is to be intentional. Some of these ideas may sound like an every day item for you (or they may not). We all parent differently, and every family is different. If you are being intentional about bonding with your family, all of these are great ideas for quality time together.
- Have a family game night, or day
- Go to the park
- Go to a community splash pad
- Ride bikes
- Take a hike or nature walk
- Have a craft day
- Bake something together
- Play a sport together
- Go to the library
- Create a crafty storybook together
- Take a trip to the beach/lake/river
- Build a blanket fort and watch a movie
- Have a family movie night
- Have a dance party
- Go bird/animal watching
- Read a book or book series together
- Have a picnic
- Go camping
- Have a bonfire
- Create a scavenger hunt
Some product links in this post may be commission linked. This does not affect your price any any way, but will provide commission to me if items are purchased.
1. Family Game Night (or day)
Get your snacks, your competitive edge, and your game face ready! Family game days can be a blast when you are all participating. It allows you the opportunity to learn about each other, talk to each other, and involve each other in a meaningful way. The other great thing about a family game day, is you can take this how you want to take it. You can have a game day inside, or outside. You can play board games, card games, active games or yard games. The choice is up to you! Check out the wonderful ideas for a family game day below.
Family Board Games
Get your family together for a fun day of board games. This doesn’t have to be something extravagant, and you can use the games you already have. Or you can choose to get new ones, whatever you prefer! The point is to get everyone involved, and to have fun together. And, don’t forget the snacks! Family game days are so much better when you have snacks!
Supplies:
- Your preferred board games (see a list of my recommended games below)
- Your family
- Time
- Snacks
That’s it for supplies! That’s why game days are so great and inexpensive! There is little prep, planning, or cost.
What To Do:
Grab some board games. Let each member of the family pick a game, and also pick some games you agree on (amount depending on how long you plan to play). Put together some snacks and munchie foods that the family can snack on while playing. Alright… I totally understand your thoughts if you have toddlers or young children, so keep your snacks less sticky or messy!
Try to choose games that are fun and light, this way it is easier to engage in conversation and talk with each other. Make sure to put the snacks on the table to keep everyone engaged and playing.
My Recommended Games:
The below games are for varying ages. For a list of great games for each age, check out The Best Board Games for Kids (By Age) here.
You can find a lot of different board game ideas here: Family Board Games.
Check out my post for The Best Board Games for Family Game Night (by age) here.
Family Card Games
Get your deck of cards ready, and your winning attitude! It’s time to play some family card games. You can use just a standard deck of cards, or you can opt for card games that have specific setups or card decks that go with them. Again, like in the board games, don’t forget the snacks! Nothing is better than sitting around the table, chatting, engaging, and eating some delicious snacks!
Supplies:
- Deck of cards, or your preferred card games (see a list of recommended games below)
- Your family
- Time
- Snacks
That’s it for supplies! That’s why game days are so great and inexpensive! There is little prep, planning, or cost.
What to do:
Choose the card games you want to play. Let each member of the family pick a game so everyone is engaged and feels involved. Put together some snacks and munchie foods that the family can snack on while playing. Alright… I totally understand your thoughts if you have toddlers or young children, so keep your snacks less sticky or messy!
Try to choose games that are fun and light, this way it is easier to engage in conversation and talk with each other. Make sure to put the snacks on the table to keep everyone engaged and playing.
My Recommended Games:
Slap Jack (instructions)
Go Fish (instructions)
Hand and Foot (instructions) ***this is a family favorite, requires 5 decks of cards
Crazy Eights (instructions)
There is a list with instructions for many different card games using regular decks of cards here: Learn To Play Bicycle Cards.
Check out my post for The Best Snacks for Game Nights here.
Active Games
Active games can really be what you make them, and depend on the size of your family. Do you remember those games you used to play in elementary school? The ones that were always so much fun to play, and sometimes you secretly wish you still could. Or, is that just me?
These types of games can be great ideas to have some fun with your little ones! It will get them active, and get you actively engaging with them. Depending on the size of your family, you can create simple, smaller games, or large games. In case you have forgotten, check out a reminder of these games below.
Active Kids Games:
- Hopscotch
- Tag
- Hide & Seek
- Simon Says
- Red Light, Green Light
- Twister
- Capture the Flag
- Create a Treasure Hunt
- Water Balloon Fight (Reusable Water Balloons)
- Snowball Fight
Most of these games require little to no supplies or prep work. If you have forgotten the rules, or how to play, take a look at my post for Best Active Kids Indoor and Outdoor Energy Busting Games here. These games can make for a great afternoon of family oriented fun and play! My suggestion, GET INTO IT! Have fun! Let loose, and play like a kid!
Yard Games
Yard games are my favorite. But, I love being outdoors. Summer is most definitely my favorite season, and if I could have barbeques and be outside all day, every day, I would! Yard games are so much fun because they get you and your family outdoors, playing, and active. This not only helps to encourage family bonding, but also creates healthier habits for your children. If you don’t already have yard games, there are links below. Obviously, without the games on hand there would be some cost associated with this one.
You can pair your yard games with a barbeque style dinner, outdoor snacks, or ice cream to make it even more exciting. Play the games in teams. You can team up, parents against kids, or pair parents with the younger kids. However you want to do it works, just have fun!
My Suggested Games:
There are lots of great yard game ideas here: Yard Games.
Take a look at my post on creating an Outdoor Tic Tac Toe Board here. You can also purchase these at my Etsy shop if you are interested: Perfectly Imperfect – Life with Lyndsey Etsy.
2. Go to the Park
The park is a great, free activity for you and your family. If you have a park close enough, you can even ride your bikes there together! Not only do parks have enough space, and typically fun equipment, for children to get their energy out, they also provide a great place to sit, relax, and enjoy the outdoors. One of our favorite family time activities, that’s quick enough even for a week night, is to pick up dinner from a deli sandwich shop and head to the park after work. The kids can eat, and play to get some of their energy out before bed time.
This way, we have a quick solution for dinner, a chance to catch up with each other after a long day, and can watch and help our children play. There are some additional recommendations for ideas at the park below.
Additional Ideas for Long Lasting Fun!
A lot of parks have larger outdoor areas for fun play! This is definitely a bonus if you have a smaller yard, or trees in your yard that prevent thinks like kits and rocket launchers. This can be a fun treat for the kids, and something you can join in on!
- Bring a Kite for the kids to fly, or a Kite for each person
- Take a Rocket Launcher, Rocket Copters, or toy airplanes to fly
- Use an easy to transport game like Velcro Toss and Catch to play with each other
- Bring a sports ball like a football or soccer ball to play with, or a frisbee to toss back and forth
- Bring bubbles!
Usually, during the summer time, I keep a couple of these items like a toss and catch game, soccer ball, and frisbee in my car for spontaneous trips! Stay tuned for my post on the parents ultimate guide to car or trip preparedness.
3. Go to a Community Splash Pad or Pool
If there is one thing that holds true through the generations, most kids tend to love water! Not every kid, don’t get me wrong, all kids are individual and unique in their own ways. But, as a general statement, most kids love the water! Also, this might just be me, but I love the water too! Sometimes the beach can be too hectic for regular trips, especially with small kids when both parents work. I love the beach, but some days it’s nice to do something that feels a little less “big”.
Find a community splash pad or pool to take the kids to. Bring some water toys if you want, maybe a floating device for you (if you go to a pool, it would be really inconvenient at a splash pad). Have a relaxing day at the splash pad or pool. Let your kids play, and GET IN AND PLAY with them. For ideas on what you could bring along (if you want to bring anything) see the list below.
Splash Pad Toy Ideas:
Pool Toy Ideas:
4. Ride Bikes Together
Riding bikes together can be a really fun and healthy idea for family time activities. Riding bikes gets you and the kids low impact exercise, and helps to create healthy habits for you and your kids. This gives you the opportunity to explore nature, have a scenic ride, communicate and engage in an activity together. All of these things will create memories for you and your children, and strengthen your family bonds.
Make sure to bring water, snacks, and I would suggest a first aid kit if your kids are just learning. You can put these items in a small cinch sack on your back, or find cargo rack for your bike, like this one: Bike Cargo Rack. With younger children that cannot ride, there are bike trailers that you can hook up to the back of your bike. My daughter loves hers! This is what we use: Bike Trailer for Kids. If you are not familiar with bike paths, or do not bike regularly, it may seem hard to try and figure this out. I have given some suggestions below on how to find bike paths, and plan a route ahead of time.
Resources for Planning Bike Routes:
- Try googling your local city/town name with “local bike map” at the end. This will likely yield results of all bike maps for your area.
- If googling doesn’t work, stop into a local bike shop and check to see if they have bike path maps available.
- Use Google Maps. Type in your starting point and destination. Before starting your route, select the bike option underneath your starting end ending destinations. This will lay out the best bike route, show how many miles, and give you estimated times based on average biking speeds.
5. Take a Hike or Nature Walk
EXPLORE! It’s time to explore, and let your kids explore. Get outdoors, enjoy nature, explore your surroundings, and take a hike. This is another healthy habit family time activity that gives you time to bond, talk, engage and is low cost to free. There are so many nature and hiking trails all over the US. There are probably multiple trails in your area that you weren’t aware of, or you can take a short drive to find some.
Make sure to bring water, snacks, and I would suggest a first aid kit if your kids are young. You can put these items in a small cinch sack on your back. If you don’t know where to start to find a hiking trail, I have given you some tips below.
Suggested Supplies to Bring Along!
- Water
- Snacks
- Bug Spray
- First Aid Kit
- Sunscreen (depending on trail)
Resources for Finding Local Hiking/Nature Trails
- Use a trails website like AllTrails or TrailLinks.
- Use Yelp. Type “Hiking Trails” in the search box, and then enter your location.
- Use local municipality websites, or National Park or Forest Services and State Park Services
- Use search engines like Google. Search “Hiking Trails near (insert area)”.
6. Have a Craft Day
Break out the paints, glitter, glue, cutouts and craft supplies! It’s time to get crafty. If you have younger little ones, I have found when it comes to crafts, the messier the better! Provide them, and yourself, creative space to get messy, get crafty, and have fun! If you have older little ones, creating an actual craft project can be a great way to accomplish a craft day. If your little ones are younger, allow them to use their creativity and imagination to think up what they want to create. This will keep their attention on the craft longer, without the feeling of having “strict” rules to follow.
Crafting can inspire creativity, imagination, and make your kiddos use the creative parts of their brains that don’t get used every day. This can relieve stress, promote imagination and creativity, and help them build creative thinking and solution skills.
If you are concerned about the mess, use plastic painting covers like these ones: Plastic Dropcloth. You can cover your table, floor, or crafting area and let your littles go wild! Try holding onto random items you might throw away normally (paper towel rolls, old magazines/junk mail, packaging, scrap fabrics or old clothes/sheets/blankets, etc.).
Our Favorite Craft Supplies
- Colorful Pipe Cleaners
- Multi Colored Pom Poms
- Puffy Paint
- Craft Glue
- Googly Eyes
- Colored Tape
- Assorted Craft Beads
- Glitter
- Popsicle Sticks
- Ribbon
- Paint Brushes
- Construction Paper
- Cardboard Sheets
- Foam Sheets
- Stickers
- Paints (we love acrylic paint)
- Markers
These supplies can make such a variety of different things! Your kids can really choose whatever they want to do. Bonus, go out in your yard and pick up some rocks, pine cones, leaves, or whatever else that they can incorporate in. Don’t go crazy if you can’t! Use supplies that you have on hand, or spend $10 in the Walmart Craft Isle. The point is inexpensive and fun, so don’t go overboard to regret it later on. I get my kids craft supplies at every Christmas and Birthday so we can stock pile things!
Additional Craft Ideas from Great Sources
Popsicle Stick Bird Feeder from Made With Happy:
Coffee Filter Butterflies by Organized Island:
Outdoor Tic Tac Toe Boards by Perfectly Imperfect – Life with Lyndsey:
7. Bake Something Together
Baking is a tried and true family time classic. Who remembers baking cookies with Grandma or Mom? I know I do, and it created some really fun memories! The best part, they were going to bake those cookies weather they spent time with me doing it, or not. You might not be a baker, you can just cook something together as well. I know I am not a baker, but boy oh boy do my kids love to decorate desserts!
This is one of our standing holiday traditions. I don’t always have time to bake a million cookies for Christmas, or make home made desserts on holidays, but I always make it a point to get a cheap cookie decorating kit and let the kids create their own holiday sugar cookies. They love it every time!
With that being said, you don’t have to decorate cookies. You can seriously just get a box cake or box muffins for $2 – $3 and make them with your kids. They love to help, and the easier the better! If you have older littles, start teaching them how to make things from scratch! It’s a really good skill to have.
Bake Together Ideas:
- Muffins
- Cakes
- Cookies
- Bread
- Jello in shape molds
- Cupcakes
- Decorate sugar cookies
Here is a recipe for easy cake pops or cake bites, that your kids can help coat and design!
The best strawberry lemonade cake pops:
8. Play a Sport Together
This one is pretty strait forward. Play a sport together! This doesn’t mean you need to join a recreational sports team together or anything. This just simply means you can go out in your yard, or to a community park/field area, and play a family sport. You can play individually in single person games like “HORSE”, or you can make up teams to play against each other.
This can be a really fun idea to get your family active together, and working together in a critical and constructive way! This type of team building and bonding can be unbeatable.
My Suggested Sports Ideas:
- Beach volleyball
- Soccer (make goals out of cones or rocks if you need to)
- Play catch (with a football or baseball)
- Play H-O-R-S-E in basketball
- Golf together (or just go to a driving range, which is usually free if you have your own golf balls)
9. Go to the Library
The library can be such a great place to take your kids for a fun activity. The best part, libraries aren’t only about finding great books to read, which you can do together. The library also typically provides fun kids activities, fun family activities, reading areas for younger kids, and so much more! If you haven’t looked into events at your local library, this is your sign!
Many local libraries will have a calendar of events on their website, or a Facebook page you can follow for updates and upcoming events or activities. Get your family involved in the community in a simple, easy and effective way!
10. Create a Crafty Storybook
This one might sound a little odd, but it is so much fun! This can be for kids of all ages, and you can make it whatever you want to make it. Use paints, crayons or markers, glitter, picture and magazine cutouts with glue, stickers, quotes, whatever you and your kids want! You can simply just take some regular printer paper or construction paper and start making your story. If you want something a little more official, you can get blank book that are pre stapled or bound like these: Blank Books.
Storybook Ideas:
- A story about your family
- A story about an adventure
- A story about animals
- A story about **insert childs favorite topic here**
- A story about making friends
- A story about travel (this is my favorite)
The story about travel is my favorite because you can have your kids create a book about a trip they would love to take. Let them be creative, but if they keep it within reason, you could use this storybook to recreate their storybook trip for a family vacation at some point. How much fun would that be! Your kid would be so excited to live out their story.
Supply Ideas:
- Whatever you have in your house!!
- Add nature items they can collect in your yard
- Use old mail or magazines to cut out pictures and shapes
- Get old magazines from your local library before they are recycled (cutout pictures, quotes, shapes and more)
- Scrapbooking Supplies
- Pencils, pens, markers, paints, crayons (whatever you have)
- Glue
- Use paper cutouts to create “reveal pages” by gluing only one side down
- Old clothes, blankets, or fabrics that you would get rid of (use cutouts for texture)
Make sure you join your kids in the creation of their story. You can each make a storybook, or you can create a single storybook together as a family. The point is spending the time together, and being creative together. Take some time to unwind and use your imagination!
11. Take a Trip to the Beach/Lake/River
There is nothing better on a hot summer day than spending time relaxing by a body of water, cooling off and having fun! Going to the beach, lake or river can be the perfect warm day with your family. Pack up some toys, snacks, and drinks, and head out for a wonderful day. Bring a frisbee, football, volleyball or something you can play together as a family (if you’d like to). Or, you can just spend the day relaxing, swimming, or watching the waves come in. My son loves to watch boats go by, so sometimes on colder days we will go to a channel and watch the boats drive by instead of swimming. He loves it!
If you feel like beach days are a pain, you are likely trying to bring too much stuff! Take a look at 10 Items You Need In Your Beach Bag: Make Beach Trips Easy, for ideas on how to minimize your packing and make your trip as easy and effortless as possible!
You can also bring along a fishing pole, a bucket and some bait. Turn your water visit into a fishing trip that your family will love! If your family doesn’t enjoy fishing, then just keep it to the water activities.
12. Build a Blanket Fort and Watch a Movie
Building a blanket fort can be so much fun! Everyone can contribute, and it will turn out different EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. To make it even better, get your family together and watch a movie in your blanket fort! You could even bring in some snacks and such. If you don’t want to watch a movie in your blanket fort, you can read a book together instead, or tell stories.
A blanket fort is a great place to tell a family story together. You can have one person start the story, and each person adds one sentence at a time going around in a circle. You have to feed off of each others last sentences and continue the story.
If you are watching a movie, use a laptop or tablet to play a family favorite movie while you spend time in your newly built blanket fort!
Tips For a Successful Blanket Fort:
- Use the backs of chairs or sofa’s to hang your blankets over to create space underneath
- Use lightweight sheets on top and heavier blankets on the floor for “cushion”
- Add pillows to the floor for more comfort
- Use clothespins to hold blankets and sheets in place
- Use twine or string with clothespins to hook onto shelving or furniture to expand your fort “territory”
- Use books or heavy items to hold down the edges of your fort and create tension in the blankets
- Use Christmas lights to decorate your blanket fort (if you want added fun and décor)
Turn the lights off or low to create a theater or “camping” experience for your movie, and have fun!
13. Have a Family Movie Night
A family movie night can be so much fun, if you make it that way! Gone are the days of the exciting Friday night where you get to go to the movie store as a family and pick out your rental movie that you’ve been waiting to see for so long. Also, gone are the days of realizing on Wednesday that you never returned those movies (and we can’t be too mad about the avoided late fee’s now a days). Find a fun and creative way to make a movie night special in your home.
At our house, our kids don’t get candy very often. On movie nights, we let the kids eat dinner downstairs in the living room at a kids table, and have candy and popcorn while we watch movies. If we have a longer movie night, we will take turns choosing which movie we want to watch so everyone can have input!
If you are looking for creative and fun ideas for making movie night more exciting, check out the post below on a fun and easy movie night snack tray from Our Journey to Home!
Fun Movie Night Ideas:
- Have a “theme” for your movie night
- Make “movie tickets” and hand them out
- Make a bed for the kids on the floor with lots of pillows and blankets
- Use a Projector with Screen for an outdoor family movie night
- You can get these for a reasonable one time price on Amazon and have lasting fun all summer! Projector with Screen
- Choose a movie series that has multiple movies and make it a once a month event to look forward to.
14. Have a Dance Party
Sometimes dancing just feels good! It’s time to “Get up offa that thing” ~ James Brown, and have a family dance party! Dancing, or moving around in general, releases endorphins in your body that can help you relax, and relieve stress. This is a great way to spend time together, get active together, and create a happy environment. Plus, you can show off your best dance moves to your kids (I’m sure they will appreciate it very much).
If you have younger kids, they will be thrilled to have a dance party of any kind. You can make it a competition and have a “dance off”. Or you can just dance together to a fun playlist. If you have older children, you can look up trending dances on YouTube and try to learn them together. I assure you, it will be a big laugh for you and your family!
Ideas For a Dance Party
- Spotify and Apple Music have playlist’s called “Family Dance Party” that has great music selections
- Create a dance party playlist on your YouTube account, and let each person add to it gradually as they find songs they love.
- Have a “dance off” and make it a competition for who creates the best dance
- Look up YouTube videos of trending dances and try to learn them together
- Have a glow stick dance party, and tape glow sticks to your clothes in the shape of a stick person. Dance with the lights off to see the glow stick figures move!
- Lay out a runner rug or blanket and make a “dance aisle” that you stand around while each person takes turns dancing down it.
15. Go Bird or Animal Watching
I don’t know if this stays true for most kids, but my kids LOVE watching animals. My daughter absolutely loves birds, and my son is all about bunnies! We are lucky enough to have enough space and trees around us that we can sit on our deck, in our backyard, and watch the animals for hours if we wanted. My daughter loves pointing out all the birds, butterflies, and practically anything that flies. My son likes to watch the rabbits and chipmunks in our yard.
If you don’t have a yard where you can sit and watch the animals or birds, you can also find a park, nature trail, or reserve where you can sit and watch the birds or animals. If your kids are older, they may find interest in discovering what birds or animals they are seeing, and learning about them! You could get a book or two about bird watching, or the type of habitat you are in or going to, and the animals in them.
Books for Bird or Animal Watching (some examples)
- National Geographic Backyard Guide to Birds in North America
- Smithsonian Handbooks Birds of North America
- Bird Books by Region
- Swamp Life of the Southeastern USA Folding Pocket Guide
- The Field Guide to Wildlife Habitats of the Eastern United States
It can be a good idea to bring a pair of Binoculars with you, to spot birds or animals that might be farther away!
16. Read a Book or Book Series Together
This used to be one of my favorite things that we would do as a family. During the evening, my mom would read a book to us before bed. She would read a chapter or two, depending on how long the chapters were and how suspenseful the book was… We would read whole books series this way. I specifically remember having my mom read the entire Harry Potter series to us, and it was great to listen to her read, and really get into the story or series.
I have started reading the Magic Tree House book series with my son, and he loves being read to! My daughter won’t listen nearly as long, but she is also a little too young for creating the story in her head. There are so many great book series’ out there that are so much fun to read as a family! We would get snacks together, all sit in the living room, and listen to the book together (while my mom read it… the sacrifices of being a mom).
This activity doesn’t have to be a series, these are just a great idea to keep the family time going. This can be a single book, or a few books that each member of your family chooses!
Book Series for Kids to Teens
- The Magic Treehouse Book Series
- Harry Potter Book Set
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid
- How to Train Your Dragon
- The Prince Warriors
- Percy Jackson and the Olympusz
17. Have a Family Picnic
The thing I love most about the idea of a picnic, is that it can be whatever you want or need it to be! It can be elaborate, or it can be simple. A picnic could be eating dinner outside in your yard, or you can pack it up and go somewhere. You can incorporate a picnic into other activities like taking a nature walk, going to a park, or going to the beach. One of our very simple ideas for a picnic is picking up deli sandwiches from our favorite local restaurant and taking it to the park so our kids can eat dinner and play. This is the perfect activity for an easy weeknight meal, and a weeknight activity that doesn’t have to be super long.
Making a picnic can be as simple as throwing together a few sandwiches, some fruit and veggies, and some bags of chips. It can also be elaborate with wonderful crafted foods and homemade salads and pastas. Make it what you want, or what you can. Spend a lot of time, and bring some games to play. Spend a little time, and make it your dinner for the night.
If you are looking for some great picnic food ideas or recipes (or even inspiration), check out the post below.
18. Go Camping
Camping is another activity that can really be what you want to make it. Camping can be VERY expensive, but it can also be very affordable! It all depends on how elaborate of a camping trip you want to take. Also, you don’t have to go somewhere to go camping! You can your kids could go camping in your living room, or camping in your backyard! This is really whatever you want to make it!
From what I can remember, as a kid, our camping trips were always on the elaborate side. We had a motorhome. My dad would hook up and outdoor shower, we definitely weren’t “Glamping”, but we also didn’t stay in tents (well unless we chose to). You don’t have to have expensive equipment to have fun camping. Really, all you need are tents, blankets and pillows, chairs, toiletries, firewood, and something to eat. If you plan on cooking food, you will want a grate for your fire, or to bring along a portable grill. There are many more items that you can bring to make the experience more exciting, more comfortable, and more fun, but this is just a quick overview.
Tips for Camping
- You can camp in any national forest (unless noted otherwise)
- Use the USDA Forest Service Interactive Visitor Map to locate national forests in your area
- Look at campgrounds in your area (depending on how much you want to spend)
- Some campgrounds have availability to rent cabins if you don’t have tents (although this can get expensive)
- Bring a portable propane or charcoal grill for cooking
- You can cook foil dinners easily over a fire with a grate
- Make sure to bring bug spray and sunscreen
- Take lots of water!!
Camping can be very intricate if you are out in the wilderness, or going for a period of time. If you aren’t familiar with camping, check out this beginner’s guide to camping below:
https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/camping-for-beginners.html
19. Have a Bonfire
Bonfires, or campfires, can be a really fun activity for you and your family. It’s super simple, cheap and easy to plan. You don’t need much prep time, so you can choose this as a last minute activity. If you don’t have firewood available at your house, you can typically find firewood easily at gas stations, department stores, and campgrounds! If you aren’t great at starting a fire, there are fire starter aids that will help out immensely! Using something like these Kingsford Fire Starters can be very helpful.
Fun Ideas for Bonfires
- Tell ghost stories around the fire
- Make s’mores (Telescoping Marshmallow Roasting Sticks)
- Roast hot dogs (Telescoping Marshmallow Roasting Sticks)
- Make hobo pies (Cast Iron Campfire Cooker)
- Make a colorful fire (Fire Color Changing Packets)
- Use a Bluetooth speaker to play music (JBL Waterproof Portable Bluetooth Speaker)
20. Create a Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunts can be fun for kids and adults alike. It all depends on what you put into the creation of your scavenger hunt. For younger kids, you will want to keep it simple, as they do not have the attention to detail that older kids may have. For younger kids, you can make a simple list of a scavenger hunt in your backyard, or for a nature walk. You can use my pre-made scavenger hunt list/template from the post below.
For older kids, it might be fun to create a scavenger hunt for around your area. Pair off into teams, and drive around to take pictures of the items on your scavenger hunt list. See who can be the first team to complete their hunt.
Some ideas for this type of scavenger hunt would be:
- A pink house
- A tree you can’t fit your arms around
- A boat in the water
- A sign that contains the word “it”
Just think of random ideas that would be possible to find at different places, and begin your scavenger hunt fun!
Conclusion
Overall, family time is about spending time with each other, making memories, and getting to know each other better each time. It doesn’t matter how you spend time together as a family, as long as you are promoting healthy and happy relationships between each other, building trust, and bonding. You don’t have to spend a bunch of money to plan family time. Your presence, your patience, and your laughter are the best things you can give to your family. Make time for each other, and spend it uninterrupted without distractions.
I hope you have enjoyed this article, and have found useful ideas and information. Let me know in the comments if you tried any of these ideas!
What are your family’s favorite activities to do together?
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This is great for summer break! Thanks for sharing the refillable water balloons- I had never heard of those. My son is big into water balloons 🙂
Thank you! That’s what I was hoping, rainy day and sunny day ideas! My son is big into water balloons too, and the reusable ones are fantastic! Plus, it doesn’t leave the little rubber shells all over the place!
Great ideas! I pinned this post so I won’t forget any of them. We have done many of these through the years but I see a couple I want to give a try with my grandkids.
What a comprehensive collection. I have picked some ideas from your post, and I can’t wait putting them into action. Thanks for sharing these activities with us, I think many families will benefit a lot of from these ideas!
Thank you so much! That was my hope. I appreciate you stopping in and I hope the ideas you have found lead to great memories. Please feel free to share a story or picture of how it went. 🙂
Lots of fun things to do – yard games, a park, splash pool, bike riding, crafting, beach, lake, camping – all things we’ve done with our grandbabies.
That’s great fun! It’s so great that you are super involved with your grand kids, how old are they?
Oh, honey, they’re grown now.
You came up with a great list of fun things to do. We’ve done family crafting days both with the immediate family and with a more extended family group. That’s always been a fun activity. The kids love it when I color with them. I love it too as I get some coloring time which is restful and relaxing and it counts as quality family time. 🙂
Thanks for the great ideas!
Laurie
That’s great, and thank you for the feedback! I like coloring too, but I actually have found more joy out of painting. I am not sure why, I think I just like how smoothly the paint glides onto the paper. Crafting is so much fun, especially when you get more people involved and get to see more ideas and creativity.
My adult children with kids of their own spend a fortune everywhere they go because despite taking part in free activities, such as the park and walks in the woods, they buy food out every single time.
Thanks for linking with #pocolo
We tend to be half and half. It really depends on the day, but if we get food out, we try to make it somewhere less expensive. We will get some deli sandwiches for the park sometimes, if it’s a week night and we are trying to cover dinner and something fun to do. I think it’s all about moderation, planning, and knowing what you can afford.
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Great reminders of just how easy it is to have fun together!
Thank you! Sometimes it’s easy to make time together feel overwhelming, when it can really be so simple.
[…] 20 Inexpensive Ideas for Quality Family Time Activities […]
[…] 20 Inexpensive Ideas for Quality Family Time Activities […]
[…] 20 Inexpensive Ideas for Quality Family Time Activities […]
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