It’s common for families to spend time together for special occasions like holidays and birthdays. In our fast-paced world, we spend weekdays working and the weekends are for chores and running errands. We fall into our beds each night exhausted. Soon we are realizing that we are missing opportunities to be with our loved ones. One of the reasons we don’t spend time with them is the belief that we need to do exciting things when it comes to planning out family time. When all honesty doing just about anything can be fun. So try these simple things to spend more time with your family.
Do chores together
There’s always something that needs to get done. If you make doing chores into a gram that can be fun. And they will get done faster so then you can have “real time” to play. Cleaning, cooking and fixing things around the house can all be done quicker when everyone pitches in.
Read together
There are few things so relaxing as someone reading to you. Adults and children alike will love this nightly or weekly activity. Some of my fondest memories of my girls when they were younger were when they were reading books with me. In fact, I have the sweetest picture of my middle daughter Mikaela reading with my dad.
Choose a book that is appropriate and that everyone will like. You can either take turns reading out loud or have a designated person read it. Have everyone get in their pajamas an hour before bedtime and then spread out on a big bed and relax. You will build memories, show kids how much fun it is to read, and fall fast asleep. You can also build a theme night out of this planning your dinner around something in the book you are reading and even creating a craft to go along with it.
Plan a monthly adventure
There are usually loads of places locally that you and your family can enjoy spending time. Walking trails are great. Parents can load up the bikes for the kids and the parents can walk. Some more great choices are museums, parks, and the zoo. And these adventures don’t have to be expensive. Take a picnic or tailgate instead of eating out. Find coupons and special offers online to the zoo or amusement parks. Look into buying a zoo membership because most zoos have a reciprocal agreement with other parks across the country.
Set one night for Family Time
Do you remember those commercials that encouraged parents to have a game night each week? Yeah, it was probably trying to sell us board games, but still, it’s not a bad idea! Come together to find a night that works best for everyone. Make it a priority that no one can miss it. Sure, you can play board games, but you could also play video games or physical games. And virtual physical games played on a Wii are great fun and a sneaky way to get a little exercise in. Even if there’s a bit of resistance at first, you’ll find that once everyone gets used to the schedule, they really look forward to it.
So tell me how do you spend time as a family?
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