October 18, 2009

Household Zen: 5 Cool (And Fun) Things You Can Do With The Family

family activitiesHey, thought this might be a cool article to read. The activities are really simple and you’re probably thinking, “well, I knew that,” but when was the last time you actually did one of these activities?

We lived in a pretty fast-paced, multimedia-connected world and sometimes forget how important quality time with loved ones is. So hopefully these might inspire you to bring back family night.

5 Fun Activities For You and Your Family

By Sherri Kruger from ZenFamilyHabits.net

My fondest memories are from those times spent with family. My husband, my sisters, my folks, my in-laws and more recently my kids.

Having fond family memories requires active participation from everyone involved.

Experiences don’t just happen you have to create them.

Here are five fun activities that you can do with your family or use them as inspiration to get you started.

1. Host a theme potluck dinner. Choose a food that is a hit with your family (Thai, Mexican, Chinese, Italian, etc.). Invite your whole family to attend. Ask each of  them to bring a different dish to fit the theme. Experiment with foods you’ve never tried before, you may discover a new family favorite. Have music, drinks and snacks to fit the theme. Set up games that might have originated in or are popular in the region your theme dinner is based on.  There are no rules to how this comes together. Have fun, use your imagination and encourage participation.

2. Host a family games night. Games certainly bring our family together. For as long as I can remember we’ve always played games at Christmas, summer holidays at the lake and most other large family get-togethers. How you do it is up to you.  Have one game for everyone to play like Pictionary, charades or Nintendo Wii. You could also set up a few tables and have different games for people to play and rotate through. You may want to make it interesting and have structured challenges or championships. It’s up to you. Again, have fun with it and make sure there is something for everyone.

3. Scavenger hunt. My husband and I have done a couple of scavenger hunts and they were so much fun. One was a preset list of items to collect from various locations around town. We had to get specific pictures with monuments and people. We also had to collect random items such as coasters, shells and matchbooks. There was a set time limit. We all met up again at the end and compared notes. The other was just the two of us taking photos. I made a list of items to take photos of (water fountain, a bridge, a train etc.) and we spent the evening walking around snapping what we could. After, we went for dinner and looked through some of the photos we took. It was great fun and didn’t cost a whole lot.

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