60 Simple Ideas for Bringing Family Together
Scrambling to keep kids entertained? Try these screen-free activities to bring everyone closer wherever you go this season.
WHERE: At home
- Make your own sundae buffet
- Write old-fashioned letters to grandparents
- Rock a family band (no instruments? grab spoons and pots!)
- Craft collages from family photos, paint, old magazines…
- Break out the gaming classics (Candyland for littles, Madlibs for big kids)
- Hide-and-seek in groups of two
- Rummage the closets for an impromptu fashion show
- Pinkies up! Host a high tea and wear funny hats
- Start a family book club
- Dust off the cookbooks and bake a new recipe together
WHERE: In the backyard
- Build a fairy house with garden fixings
- Lay out blankets for a picnic dinner
- Star gaze
- Play architect with rocks and sticks
- Soak sidewalk chalk in water for a painterly effect
- Host an outdoor movie night
- Search for bugs
- Blow bubbles
- Splash in muddy puddles rain or shine (break out the hose!)
- Kick off a game of soccer (Women’s World Cup starts in June!)
WHERE: Around town
- Stop by a nearby Visitor Center and play tourist for a day
- Visit a museum and share your favorite exhibit
- Feed the animals at a local farm
- Paint pottery for each other
- Enjoy a county fair or flea market
- Get tickets to a local play
- Fly a kite in a local park
- Ride Go-Karts or play mini-golf
- Go roller-skating indoors or out
- Volunteer at a local food bank
WHERE: On the road
- Sing-along to your favorite songs or make some up!
- Start a travel journal and share highlights on the return ride
- Play I Spy (themes: colors, nature, cars)
- Break out an old-fashioned map
- Listen to an audiobook (take turns choosing)
- Create a fun family questionnaire (starter: what superpower would you choose and why?)
- Make friendship bracelets for family members
- Bring disposable cameras to take pictures from the car window
- Write a list of things to start a road trip scavenger hunt
- Tell stories (themes: scary, embarrassing, firsts)
WHERE: At the beach
- Build a sandcastle with roads and tunnels (pack toy cars)
- Make foot/handprints in the sand with the date and take a picture as a memento
- Hunt for buried treasure (hide seashells and other nature things)
- Bake a sand cake
- Play tag on sand—or in water with the good swimmers
- Pick up trash together
- Play a card game like Go Fish
- Draw sand tic-tac-toe or hopscotch
- Read a book together in a shady spot
- Book a surf lesson or boogie board
WHERE: In the mountains
- Find a bike trail you can all enjoy
- Hike in search of waterfalls
- Roast marshmallows around a campfire
- Zip-line!
- Go tubing down a river
- Rent kayaks or a whitewater raft
- Go horseback riding
- Ride a sky tram and take in the view
- Do yoga or meditate in the fresh mountain air
- Bring a library book to identify trees/flowers/plants