Hello
Friends,
12 FAMILY FUN NIGHT IDEAS
To tell you the truth, it is
not as regular as I want it to be (every week), but having the intention of
dedicating one night a week to a family fun night, means it happens more often
than it would otherwise.
A
family fun night does not have to be complicated or expensive. Spending time
together can be easy and frugal.
Below are a list of family fun ideas to set
your mind turning. I hope this list can be a place of reference for you to
enjoy your own family fun nights. And even more than a place of reference, I
hope it will be a springboard for you to think up many more ideas uniquely
suited to your own family.
This list is meant to offer simple ideas. If it gets too complicated, the
chances of the family night happening dwindle significantly.
Many of these ideas can be used alone, but
it's also fun to combine a few. Often we will do a short family devotional,
followed by a board game.
HAVE A FAMILY
DEVOTIONAL
Simply reading and discussing a bible story
is enough. When our kids were younger, we would read from a Bible story book and then have
the kids act out the story. It was a fun way for them to connect with the
story, Acting it out seemed to help them remember it too.
Other books such as Our 24 Family Ways or Picking Melons and Mates, might be helpful to rotate
in.
PLAY A BOARD GAME
(OR CARD GAME OR DOMINOES, OR . . .)
·
Qwirkle
·
Risk
·
Clue
·
Blokus
·
Dominoes
Games for kids under 5 years old:
(Some
of these games have small parts and are not intended for children under 3 years
of age. Check appropriately).
CAMP OUT IN THE LIVING ROOM
You might not get much sleep, but you'll
make a lot of memories. Drag out the sleeping bags and set them up in the
living room. Have some snacks, tell stories, play a few card games, and call it
a night.
CAMP IN THE
BACKYARD
Want to go one step further than a camp out
in the living room? Head to the backyard! Set up the tent, roast marshmallows
(if possible) and generally have a good time pretending you are n the
wilderness.
LISTEN TO AN
AUDIO BOOK TOGETHER
My family has enjoyed listening to a few
awesome audio books together. The kids usually get out some paper and draw
pictures while they listen. Sometimes my husband throws a ball back and forth
with the youngest one while the book plays.
This is a great alternative to watching
movies and is an excellent way to use your imagination.
Select a book, pop some popcorn, and you're
all set. You can find lots of great audio books at the library.
HAVE A FAMILY
DRAW
A family draw is a great way to get creative
together as a family. You can draw individually (but together) or work on a
family project. I share all the details for how to have a family draw in this
post: How to Have a Family Draw
READ A BOOK TOGETHER
Reading together is a bonding experience for
families. It can be challenging when you have little ones, but it doesn't hurt
to try. Select books you think the kids will enjoy.
The
Chronicles of Narnia are always exciting.
If the kids are old enough, try passing the
book around and letting each person read a few pages. Make it more exciting by
turning off the lights and use candles and flashlights to add atmosphere!
Here's a great example of how one family enjoys
reading as part of a Family fun Night – they read the Ransom of Red Chief every year.
HAVE A COOKING
NIGHT
This one is pretty simple: get in the
kitchen together.
Have a pizza making party, where all the
ingredients are on the tables and everyone gets to create their own pizza.
Decorate cupcakes, or try creating an international dish, or perhaps bake
up something you've read about in one of the stories you've been reading (For
example, if you've been reading Paddington Bear, learn how to make scones and
marmalade!).
HAVE A MOVIE NIGHT
This is straight forward, I know. BUT, how
often do you actually sit down and watch a movie WITH your kids? I know I often
use the time they are watching a movie to get things down. But, wow, do they
ever love it when I snuggle up with them and actually pay attention (and not mess
around on my phone or the computer).
OUTREACH NIGHT
Spend a night working on ways to reach out
to your community or the world at-large.
Some ideas:
·
create
a care package to send to a missionary
·
make
care packages for the homeless
·
write
letters to those in the military
·
write
letters to people who need encouragement
·
visit
a nursing home
·
make
blankets for critically ill children (see Project Linus)
HANG OUT AROUND
THE FIRE PIT
Fire pits have a tendency to add a happy
atmosphere and fun to any gathering (and a little stress if you are the mother
of young children – just being honest here!).
Roast hot dogs and marshmallows, sing songs,
tell stories, have a discussion, plan a trip. Anything goes.
HAVE A CRAFT
NIGHT
Similar to the family draw, a craft night is
a great way to get creative together.
To make it easy, go to the craft store
and buy some packages of craft kits, that way the crafts are ready to go
(like this tile art kit or fashion headbands.
I personally enjoy making things that are
useful, rather than stuff that creates more clutter. If you like that too, then
you might like to check out my tutorial for how to paint mugs.
Keepsake crafts, like this canvas handprint wall set are
fun too. Scrapbooking might be fun as well. If you want to go simple with
scrapbooking, try Project Life.
FAMILY FUN NIGHT IDEA SHEET
Click here to download a family night idea sheet. Print
it out and keep it in your homemaking binder or wherever is convenient for easy
reference.
The Family Fun Night Idea Sheet is a one page list of
all the ideas in this blog post and 24 more found in Family Fun Nights: Part 2.
It is intended as a way to give you quick ideas or get you thinking about what
is possible for family night.
Stacy Karen
Stacy is a DIY obsessed, healthy living advocate. A preacher's wife and mom of three, she loves to encourage others to live a natural lifestyle.
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