Spending quality time with family is undeniably beneficial. According to Highland Springs, a mental health and specialty clinic, devoting time to family improves your mental health, builds resilience, teaches problem-solving, and even has the potential to promote overall health and longevity.
…And those are just the benefits to you. Your children are likely to pick up important life skills by learning by example, develop a stronger bond with you and your partner, and adopt healthier emotional and behavioral responses in face of life’s challenges.
Quality time does not have to be a chore. Having fun with family is more than possible, with a little creativity and planning ahead! Here are some ideas to get you started.
1. Take Part in a golf cart Parade
It may sound like your idea of a fun time to rent a golf cart and simply drive it around. Even the most patient child may quickly tire of that pastime. Make the experience fun for everyone in the family by taking part in a golf cart parade.
This experience brings the family together in two ways: first, buying and making the decorations for your golf cart and, second, by participating in the parade as a family.
(A quick note: Golf carts and golf cart parades are most common in states with consistently warm, balmy temperatures. If you live in New England or the Midwest, schedule an opportune vacation during colder months to share this experience with your family.)
You can decorate your golf cart with balloons, streamers, tinsel, foil fringe garland, lights, posters, signs, cardboard cutouts, flowers, wreaths, and more. Get creative! Encourage your kids to actively take part. Take them along to the store or shop for decorations online together.
2. Go On A Road Trip… And Camp While Doing It!
The costs associated with road trips add up quickly. Curb costs and keep your family as safe as possible during these uncertain times by camping as you make your way from one destination to the next. That’s not the only perk of choosing to camp overnight. With an RV, for example, you don’t have to give up the convenience of a private toilet and electricity.
Carefully choose from lists of RV parks to tailor your experience to your tastes. For example, some RV camping is entirely free. An online search, popular RV magazines, or even books devoted entirely to RVs can help you find these coveted spots.
Luxury RV parks, on the other hand, may have considerably more amenities than free alternatives. Luxury RV parks may have swimming pools, cabana-style structures, and chairs for lounging by the pool, hot tubs, clubhouses, gyms, splash pads for kids, and more. “Luxury sites almost always have full hookups, shade trees, satellite or cable services, and Wi-Fi,” Outdoorsy adds.
A third option for RV parking is what is commonly referred to as boondocking or dispersed camping. Whether you are taking zero chances with social distancing or simply prefer to enjoy the outdoors in private with your family, state and federal parks, remote campsites, and other lesser-known locations can provide the perfect spot for boondocking and enjoying the relative calm and peace and quiet while having fun with family.
Travel across the country, enjoy electricity, and an indoor bed with camping at your preferred RV park. When your family is done traveling for the year (typically in the thick of winter), find RV storage units that meet your needs. That may include a large, flat parking space for semi-permanent storage or a spacious, enclosed unit to fully shield your RV from the elements.
3. Redecorate
Redecorating your home may not immediately come to mind when brainstorming ideas for having fun with the family. It may surprise you to learn how much kids enjoy having a direct hand in picking out decorations for their bedrooms.
Ask kids what color they want their room to be, and encourage them to actively participate in the process. Think areas where broad swaths of paint with a paintbrush will work. Of course, save the trim and tight areas for you and your partner or spouse. If possible, avoid using toxic paint remover around your child.
When picking out a few decorations, toys, or small furnishings, use the process to create a sensory learning experience for your children. For example, challenge your child to choose a color and pick three to five things that color. Challenge them to pick out items by size, like something the size of an apple or something as big as a beachball. Tell them to pick out something soft and something smooth like paper. Use your imagination. Whatever ideas you come up with, try to use the experience to teach your children colors, shapes, textures, and/or establish comparisons to everyday objects.
Of course, if your child or your children are somewhat older, tailor the activity to their age. For example, if you have a teen who is a particularly talented artist, consider encouraging him or her to paint a mural on one of their bedroom walls. Help them pick out the paint, cover the furniture and carpet, and paint the background or simple shapes that do not require their artistic talent.
However you transform redecorating from a chore into a shared experience having fun with family, embrace creativity, innovation, and your home’s new normal. Donate old items you will no longer use, and find appropriate storage facilities for any sentimental items you are not immediately using.
4. Go To A Petting Zoo
Have your children had opportunities to see exotic animals and/or exotic pets? If your answer is no, what are you waiting for? Just about all children love animals, and a petting zoo or an exotic pet encounter is the perfect opportunity for having fun with family.
At these zoos or animal encounters you and your family may have the opportunity to see reptiles, birds, amphibians, primates, kangaroos, potbellied pigs, teacup pigs, llamas, alpacas, and more. You may even have the opportunity to interact with the animals to a certain degree. For example, you may be able to share the experience of holding a snake for the first time (while appropriately supervised by trained staff members) with your partner and children. That means not only having fun with family but also creating new memories that could very well last a lifetime.
Increase your children’s likelihood of retaining memories of quality time spent with family by talking about it and/or discussing how the experience made him or her feel. One of the reasons we forget memories over time is simply not returning to that memory or thinking about it very often, according to Very Well Mind. Going through this process and creating and reinforcing new memories also creates new neural pathways — something that is important for your children’s developing brains and important for you and your partner’s adult brains.
5. Get A Pet
If your children and/or partner cannot get enough of the animals at the zoo, it may be time to get a pet.
Of course, do not make this decision lightly. Pets are a life-long (theirs) commitment. Even so, if you and your family are up to the task, a dog can encourage you to exercise and help teach your children responsibility. Dogs need to go on a walk regularly. Make it a family affair! Some dogs even enjoy running with their owners. Start at a slow jog to test it out and the whole family will be able to take part. Assign children small chores surrounding your new dog’s care — chores like feeding them dry food or filling up his or her water bowl. For more ideas, read articles about how to introduce a new dog to the family or head over to Amazon to peruse books on the topic.
Of course, it’s not all about chores and getting some exercise. Owning a dog ensures having fun with the family for years to come. Chances are, Fido will be more than willing to play catch, tug-of-war, and join you and your family on any dog-friendly vacations and adventures you may have.
6. Take A Segway Tour
Another way to soak in the great outdoors and to stay at a safe distance from other people in the coming months is to take a segway tour.
Contrary to popular belief, a segway ride is often straightforward, just about effortless, and safe for people of all ages. Segway tours are most suited for preteens, teenagers, and adults, and anyone under the age of 18 will need to be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Look into any weight or height restrictions before your booking your tour. As for the mechanics of segways themselves, they’re deceptively simple to operate. Segways are self-balancing. It’s very, very rare for them to tip over and slowing down and coming to a stop is as simple as gently leaning back.
Yes, having fun with family can be as simple as stepping onto a segway. Not only are segways a unique way to experience a tour, but they’re also speedy and convenient. It’s a much quicker way to get around than a more traditional walking tour, and they feature may of the same themes or sights. For example, in many tourist destinations, you can hop on a segway for a ghost tour, historical tour, movie or theatrical tour (cities like Los Angeles and Savannah, GA offer tours where movies are filmed or where celebrities live).
You will be required to wear helmets for the duration of your tour to keep you and your family safe. While many companies offer helmets onsite, consider purchasing or bringing along any fun bicycle helmets your young children may have. That way, they will be able to complete the tour in their favorite unicorn or shark helmet.
If your children enjoy the experience, consider taking a day to rent and enjoy electronic scooters as well.
7. Spend A Day (Or Days) On The Lake
Another creative idea for having fun with family is to head out to the lake. Whether you own a boat or will be renting a boat and a boat trailer, a boat and a day or several days on the lake opens up all kinds of possibilities for you and your family.
Tubing is a blast for kids of all ages — from young children to teens — and you and your partner can safely observe from the comfort of the boat. As long as your child is wearing a life vest, the tube is securely attached with a tow line, and you are remaining an appropriate distance away from other boats, they will be perfectly safe. That leaves you and your partner the freedom to relax and watch your children smile and laugh as they do their best to hold on.
Skipping rocks, fishing, blowing bubbles, lighting sparklers, eating popsicles, and having a picnic are just a few more ways you can have fun while out on the lake and/or staying at a lake house.
Make time for the adults, too. Relax with coffee before they wake up in the morning. Enjoy a campfire and a few beers when the children go to bed. Play card games or watch a movie after your kids call it a night.
Having fun with family takes many different forms. Spending quality time together can be genuinely entertaining. Make lifelong memories and think of new and innovative ways to do it. That can mean anything from taking a segway tour, decorating children’s bedrooms or a golf cart for a one-of-a-kind golf cart parade, or grabbing your RV out of RV storage to embark on a multi-destination camping trip this spring, summer, or fall.
“American families get just 37 minutes of quality time together per day,” according to The New York Post. Also according to the NY Post, “One in four say that the lack of family quality time away from chores, work, school or TV is a real problem.” Do not become a statistic. Set aside plenty of time for family, fun, and relaxation. Start with the ideas above.
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