Whatever time of the year, summer or winter, school in or school out, families often struggle to think of new activities to do together. Whether they’re already in a routine of everyone doing their own thing, or have simply run out of ideas, it can be difficult to find an activity that will involve and interest the entire family. If you are trying to figure out some activities to do with your family that will keep them all active and bonding, here is a list of both indoor and outdoor activities you can try for any time of the year.
Outdoor
Paddleboarding is a fun option to add to your list of activities to do with your family. For younger children, it’s a controlled way to experience water sports for the first time while in the safety of their parent’s care. For older children who are a little more comfortable around water, it’s a great way to get outside and spend time with their family. It’s also a great way for the entire family to get some exercise without really realizing it. If you’re going to be spending time around a lake with your family, you consider looking into paddleboard rentals for a great family-friendly activity.
Fishing is another option to add to your list of activities to do with your family. This is an activity that all members of the family can easily get involved in. Small children will need supervision and help, but they can still be just as excited as adults when the first fish tugs on that line. Involve the family as you stock up on fishing supplies. Let each member pick the color of their fishing rod or what design they’d like to use for their lure. Depending on the type of fish you catch, you may be able to stretch out the activity to teach your family how to prepare and cook the fish you catch. A fun and delicious activity wrapped up in one.
If your family is the sporty type, you may consider taking them golfing. This is another of the fun activities to do with your family that will get everyone outside breathing fresh air and moving around. Depending on the skills and ages of your family members, you may try out a real golf course. You can teach your children a new skill and patience as well as this is sometimes a difficult sport to pick up at first. If you’ve got a big course to trek across, don’t forget to checkout custom golf cart options at the sports store before heading out so you’ll have space for all of your family members. For the less sporty families, mini-golf is a great family-friendly option. You can find both indoor and outdoor courses.
If you’re looking for activities to do with your family that involve some real physical activity and exercise, hiking is a great option for you. Depending on where you live, going hiking can become a day trip as you travel to and from the location, giving you time to chat with your family and make more memories as you travel. You may even consider bringing some friends or extended family on the trip. If you’ve got a big crew and need to have space for hiking materials as well, look into a van rental to ensure you’ve got all the space you need. Make sure to read up about different hike options. There are quite a few sites and apps where you can read experiences and see pictures from other hikers. This will also help you as you look for a family-friendly hike.
A very popular family activity, especially during summer, is camping. This is an activity that can have options for all members of the family based on where you camp. It’s also a great way to get your kids away from screentime and breathing fresh air. If you’ve got smaller kids, camping with a camper or RV may be a good option to ensure that everyone gets a good night’s sleep. However, if you’re going for a fully authentic experience, tent camping is where it’s at. You can also involve your family in stocking up on snacks, games, and other items you’ll need for the trip. If you’re one that likes to have a big bonfire to sit around and tell ghost stories, you may look into pallets for sale in your area to have plenty of wood to stoke your fire.
A great option for activities to do with your family is take safety courses together. This is a great way for parents to ensure that their children are taught proper practices for different situations while also having a fun time together. Families with older children may consider taking a firearm training class together to ensure that their children know what to do when they encounter a firearm or to prepare them for self-defense if needed. Families with younger children may consider water safety courses such as parent-child swim lessons to ensure that their children have learned the skills necessary to be safe and have fun at the pool, lake, or beach during the summer.
If you’re looking for family-friendly outdoor activities to do around your home, a great option is planting a garden as a family. This is a great way to get your entire family involved in something that will affect each of you. For example, growing a vegetable garden together will mean more to your children than taking a family trip to the grocery store because they will have helped with their own hands to grow the food and will appreciate it much more when it’s on their plate for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Many families enjoy going for a group bike ride when the weather is nice. It’s also a great way to ensure that all members of your family get some active time during the day. It’s recommended that adults be active every day and get at least 150 minutes of physical activity during any given week to stay healthy. If you’re trying to stay active, involve the rest of your family as well. You may be surprised how much fun you end up having together.
A fun outdoor summer activity your family could do is to have a picnic together. Whether it’s in your own backyard, a local park, or on a beach, this is a fun way to spend some time together talking and breathing in the fresh air. This is even more fun if your family cooks the meal together beforehand.
Indoor
If you’re looking for indoor activities to do with your family, music-related activities should definitely be on your list. Whether that’s learning a new musical instrument together, having a dance party, or singing together, music can really bring a family together. Depending on the interests of your kids, you may even consider looking into an online musical theatre class that you can all be involved in, or you could create your own. Write a short musical together, give each member of the family a role in the musical, write some songs, and perform it for your friends or family.
Another great indoor activity for your family is taking informational classes together. Similar to taking outdoor safety courses, informational classes to help you as you strive to teach your children new and important skills for their lives. This could be a class by a recycling company about how recycling and different environmentally-friendly choices positively impact the world. If you have older children getting ready to leave your home for college or work, you could take courses together where they can learn important skills such as tax information, being financially smart, or even how to be successful in job interviews.
A great idea for indoor activities to do with your family is crafting. Crafting is great for people of all ages and is something each member of your family can enjoy. Younger children would love a paint night with the family or making necklaces or bracelets with beads. Older children may enjoy participating in a woodworking activity or learning a skill such as embroidery. These crafts are not only fun but can also be used to decorate around your home, and just like growing a garden, if your kids have been involved in the creation of the decorations, they will be even more excited to participate.
You should never underestimate how much fun a family movie night can be. Many families set a specific night each week where they will get together with some popcorn, yummy snacks, and watch a show or movie together. While parents are often trying to ensure their children don’t get too much screen time, a family movie is a bit different in that it’s a time for families to create memories together. You can even make it more fun by setting up a blanket fort or dragging mattresses out into the living room to make an even comfier space.
If you find that your family has to spend more time indoors, you may as well learn some new hobbies and skills together. There are quite a few online resources for free classes and videos on how to learn new skills. You may consider taking a course on how to build a piece of furniture together and then actually doing it as a family. You could also look into some courses by jewelers about how to create different pieces of jewelry that you can keep or send to loved ones. Learning a skill together will bring the family together as they will have more joint interests to discuss and participate in together.
Another fun option to add to your list of activities to do with your family is cooking meals together. While parents are usually the ones to cook and prepare meals, getting each member of the family involved will allow them to be more appreciative of what’s on the table. You could reserve a night each day of the week for a family member to choose what meal will be cooked and then have each member work on a specific part of the meal. This is also helpful if you’re trying to get your family to eat more healthy things. If they have been involved in making it, they may be more interested in tasting it.
A family great night is one of the top things you should add to your list of activities to do with your family. Game nights are a great way to get every member of your family working together, laughing, and having a great time. There are so many different options for family-friendly games, from board games to card games. You may even try to invent a game as a family. This allows family members to work together and have more in common.
While there are a lot of active activities to do with your family, there are also some great more relaxing options you could try out. One is to have a reading day as a family. If you have a local library in your area, they may have reading programs of book suggestions lists for your family to look into. You could even check out a few copies of the same book and read it together, then sit down and discuss the book as a family once you’ve finished it. Reading is a great way to get the minds of each of your family members working and dreaming.
In Conclusion
While it can easily seem like you’ve run out of activities to do with your family, all it takes is one new idea to light the spark and be more active together. Try out some of the suggestions on this list if you’ve found that your family doesn’t have anything to do together. From active, to informational, these ideas will bring your family together and help you to create some valuable family memories and stronger familial relationships.
