Fun Family Activities can happen right inside your home. My favorite memories as a child are the simple ones, the ones that just involved my family having fun together. Above all, the most important thing is spending quality time with the people you love.
Here are 10 fun family activities that my own family enjoys.
1. Board or Card Games
One of our favorites games to play together is Trouble. Even my almost 2 year old likes to play, with some help of course. Putting the piece in the slot helps with those fine motor skills, and my other two get some practice with counting, taking turns, and being a good sport. Playing board games and card games have a lot of added benefits for your kids aside from spending time quality time with family.
2. Hide and Seek
Hide and seek is a timeless, and fun family activity. As your kids get older and better at hiding, the game becomes even more fun too. My kids are at an age where they giggle non stop and give away their position, but my husband and I always get some good laughs at their antics.
We like to play in teams, where my husband and I seek together (this gives you the chance to sneak a snack in while they hide. 😉 ). The last time we played hide and seek, my husband and I were hiding together in the shower. The kids ran past us at least a dozen times, and at one point we couldn’t hold in the laughter any longer, and they found us.
3. Puzzles
My oldest loves to do puzzles. Sometimes we do a puzzle together when the younger two go to bed. We have a snack and work on our big puzzle together, it makes for some great connection time. Although, puzzles with only a few pieces that are jumbo sized works great for the little kids.
Puzzles have some great benefits too. Fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, early math concepts like size and shapes, memory skills, and problem solving are just some of the benefits of doing puzzles.
4. Coloring
This one may seem obvious, and you may be thinking “what’s so fun about coloring?” But the fact of the matter is that kids love to color, and they will love it even more when you color with them. You can change up what you color too. Try coloring and drawing on a cardboard box, color together on a jumbo coloring page, color or draw on an individual page and them tape them together to make one big piece of artwork, etc. Coloring has a lot of benefits for your children too, plus the time you spend with your kids is what they will remember the most.
5. “Snowball” Fights
This is one of those fun family activities that requires some extra clean up, but make that part of the activity and it’s no problem. All you need is some soft play balls (we use the ones that go in a ball pit), balled up socks, or paper balls. The object of the game is to hit each other with the balls, and if you want to incorporate some more rules to level up the game, go for it! Once the game has come to a stop, have everyone help collect up the balls and put them away.
Playing “snowball” fight has some benefits too! Not only is it a physical activity, your kids can work on depth perception, hand-eye coordination, problem solving (avoiding being hit by a ball), and more. This is sure to be a popular one with your family.
6. Dance Parties
Dance parties are a fun family activity that require very little prep and no clean up. Put on your favorite songs and just DANCE! This is a great physical activity for the whole family. Dancing is known to help with stress reduction, heart health, and connection with the person or people you are dancing with. I suggest creating a playlist on your phone of your favorite dancing music so you can be ready to dance at any moment.
7. Pizza Nights
If your kids like to help you cook, this activity will definitely be a hit. You can pick up pre-made pizza dough, sauce, and all your toppings at the grocery store, and simply assemble at home. Or if you’d like to go the homemade route, you can do that too! We put everything in bowls so they are easy for the kids to grab, and let them top the pizza. Bonus: It’s oh so delicious!
8. Kid’s Restaurant
My kids love to pretend to take your order, and bring you food like they work at a restaurant. So why not make it real? Make a meal that they can dish out and serve to you easily, and let them take your order and serve it to you for dinner. (Try strawberry pancakes for a fun weekend breakfast version!) It’s like a little mommy and daddy date night! This activity gives your kids a chance to do something for someone else, and gives them a sense of independence. Take it up a notch and have them help do the clean up and dishes when your meal is done! Combine this with Pizza Nights, as shown above, for some extra family night fun!
9. Hot Dog Dinner On A Campfire
I don’t know about you but, there is just something fun and extra delicious about cooking on a campfire. Hot dogs are my choice when it comes to the campfire cooking with kids because they are easy. Just stick them on a long stick and let the kids do the cooking. Not only can you cook hotdogs for dinner, but s’mores are a must for dessert!
10. Backyard or Indoor Fort Camping
Camping doesn’t have to be reserved for weekend trips! It can be just as much fun to spend the night in the backyard. If you don’t have a tent, or its too hot/cold to camp outside you can camp inside under a blanket fort! In either case, this is sure to create some core memories for the entire family. Combine your home camping trip with a campfire dinner, as shown above, for some added fun!
In conclusion, spending time with your family is one of the most worthwhile things you can do. Building a connection and bond with your family is priceless. I hope to remind you that not everything has to be extravagant or expensive, your kids will just remember the times you spent with and invested in them. You’re doing amazing!
Which of these fun family activities was your favorite? Let me know in the comments below! And don’t forget to pin it for later!
