There are many different types of bonding activities, with the easiest being family dinners. As a Latter-Day Saint, we reserve one night a week to have a Family Home Evening. Now that Peanut is no longer in Allegro, we will have the nights on Monday evening. I am going to list some other ideas for family bonding activities that we have done:
- Annual Backyard Campout (or any other camping trip)
- NERF wars
- Family Walks
- Game Night
- Movie Night (at home – we make snacks and buy sodas)
- Reading at night (real bad right now with my work load)
- Visiting the Park
- Going on Picture Safaris
- “Tea” Parties (or whatever the child wants to serve)
- Staycation (we went to World’s of Fun and stayed in the cabins)
What are some different activities you have done as a family?
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What a wonderful project Heather! I love all your ideas and while I don't have children myself, I can't imagine any young family not benefiting from spending quality time together. Thanks for such an inspirational article!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love this project! I was afraid at first, but it really has challenged me to look at my life and how blessed I am with my children!
DeleteI love this idea Heather thanks for sharing, we also try to have at least one evening a week as a family evening. It's usually a Friday evening where we eat Chinese and watch TV together. My hhusband's family have a saying, the family that eats together, stays together and he's a big advocate of family eating as a time to reconnect with each other.
ReplyDeleteI agree with that saying. We absolutely love our dinner times. We feel "off" when activities prevent the family dinner.
DeleteFamily Home Evenings sound like great fun....and looks like you all enjoy yourselves a LOT. We used to (when the kids were still at home) have family movie/pizza night on Fridays, and go to festivals on weekends, as well as making sure the entire family was there to cheer on any member's sport or activity.
ReplyDeleteJust the smallest things are monumental to a child!
DeleteKeeping your kids engaged is so important. Sometimes all it takes is a little one on one time to nip a lot of behavioral issues in the bud. I didn't have my mini me until I was 31. Spending time with her is way cooler than going out to party in my book, especially since I got it out of my system while I was in the military several years prior.
ReplyDeleteThere are times I wished I had waited. *laugh*
DeleteHi Heather this seems like such great activities you had planned. Although i dont have kids yet i do have nephews and nieces that my wife and i commonly take to the beach and park. Get them moving and having a picnic is our favorite things to do
ReplyDeleteoh, yes! Picnics. We LOVE having picnics ... even if they are on the patio. :)
DeleteHi Heather. I think that parents really miss the boat on this and think in terms of a trip to Disney World. Here are my favorite childhood memories.
ReplyDeleteMy dad loading us up in the car and taking us to a playground in another neighborhood that was new to us.
Going on a family walk to see the turkeys at the farm a few blocks away (we lived in the suburbs) or stopping for a one-scoot ice cream cone.
My mom fixing a picnic dinner and then when my dad got home from work, driving up into the mountains to eat and hike around.
Having a backyard birthday party for my German Shepherd, Tom, with cupcakes and Kool-aid for neighborhood kids - and a cupcake with a candle for Tom who, after we blew out the candle, ate it in one bite.
You don't have to spend a lot of money to make memories for your family. These are the things they remember, more than standing in line for an hour for a 2-minute ride.
Thank you for adding to the list. I could not agree more! <3
DeleteHeather,
ReplyDeleteso nice to read about family bonding.. these days with so much tech gadgets it is very hard... but reading your article here and seen the images taken.. I may be wrong.. it is still strong thanks to great people like you and your husband and YES you lovely kids :-) Your wonderful projects with all your ideas bring a lot of memories, for certain many families will benefit from spending quality time together. Thanks for such for sharing.
_nickc
thank you! I am glad I could spark some great memories <3
DeleteHeather, when our 6th child was born, our oldest was 10, and we did *everything* together! Grocery shopping, library, church, family birthdays... everything. When our 7th was born six years after that, I'd started to slow down and stayed home more often with the baby and at least some of the older ones.
ReplyDeleteBut we've always been a close family. Even now, when our oldest is 32 and our youngest is 14, we still get together often for birthdays and "just because". Or one of our daughters will call us up and say, "Who wants to go to the city for dinner and a movie at the cheap theatre?" It doesn't have to be anything special.
Willena
I hope in 10 years our family will still be that way.
DeleteCool! This is the first time I'm hearing of the A to Z blogging challenge. I like it! I really need to do something like this to keep me accountable. My blog has been a little neglected lately. Wahh! :) Love all of your family bonding ideas. Sometimes the simplest things are the most fun!
ReplyDeleteSteph
I was SO afraid of this challenge at the beginning. I am one who likes to just post whenever. I am loving it! I definitely recommend trying it out at least once. It makes you think and get creative!
DeleteI remember growing up my dad and I LOVED fishing together. It was a fun activity that just took us out of the "city" for a while (I lived in a city of 50,000)
ReplyDelete