Family Night Ideas

Too much screen time?  

Time for a family night!

Here's some ideas to get you started:

• #38 Write a story together. Have the kids illustrate the different pages and staple it all together to make your own book.
• #37 Gather a pile of favorite books and read together for longer than usual.
• #36 Build a masterpiece out of marshmallows and toothpicks. Build the tallest tower you can.
• #35 In a dark room, use a flashlight to make shadow puppets on the wall. Have everyone choose a shadow puppet character and make up a story together.
• #34 Prepare a giant, family-sized ice cream sundae in one big bowl. You can guess what to do with it.
• #33 Airplane fun. Park near an airport and watch the planes take off and land. At home, construct your own paper airplanes and have a flying contest.
• #32 Bubble Mania. If your kids are old enough to know not to run in the street, take a walk around the block while blowing bubbles so they can run behind and pop them. The backyard works just fine too.
• #31 Backwards Day! Everyone put on your clothes backwards. Take a backwards walk around the block. Eat dessert first, then dinner.
• #30 Bake cookies together from scratch. Let the kids help measure and mix. Enjoy them warm out of the oven with a glass of milk.
• #29 Give everyone a flashlight and turn off the lights for a game of flashlight tag or an imaginative adventure.
• #28 Dollar Store Treats. Give everyone a dollar and pair up. Go to the dollar store together and pick out a special gift or treat for your partner...keep it a secret until you get home.
• #27 Make pizzas together and watch a favorite childhood movie together (we just showed the kids "The Dark Crystal." They were a little scared but they loved it.)
• #26 Computer Time. Get on the computer together (pair up if you have more than one computer) and play some educational games on pbskids.org.
• #25 Safety Night. Have the kids count your smoke detectors. Make and practice a fire evacuation plan. Go over emergency phone numbers and procedures.
• #24 Map hunt. Help your kids create a map of your house, When it's finished, make it more fun by hiding a "treasure" and using the map to help find it.
• #23 Have a breakfast for dinner night, jammies required.
• #22 Teach the kids to play basic charades by printing out some clip art pictures of things for them to act out (various animals, vehicles, jobs...). Maybe start by allowing them to act with sounds and then play round 2 without sounds. Parents have to act too!
• #21 Have a family slumber party: everyone in their jammies, yummy after-dinner treats, pillow fights, story-telling and all.
• #20 Wash the dog in the backyard with the hose. Let the kids do all the hosing and sudsing.
• #19 Pull out all the puzzles and have a puzzle-mania night.
• #18 Make playdough together. (For a great recipe, click here.) Spend some time playing with your creation as a family.
• #17 Garden together: plant new flowers, pull weeds, teach the kids to help make your yard look pretty.
• #16 On a pretty evening, spread out a blanket for a picnic in the backyard.
• #15 Look through family photo albums together.
• #14 Dig out the craft supplies and make cards or Valentines together.
• #13 Mad Scientist Night! Find some simple science experiments to do with the kids (see my Feb 5th, 2010 entry for some ideas).
• #12 Teach your kids to play with their food. Give each child an apple, some toothpicks for arms and legs, and marshmellows and chocolate chips for facial features. Put some peanut butter in a small ziplock bag and cut the tip of one corner off to create a frosting-tube to use as a "glue" for the marshmallows and choc. chips. Play with them and be creatvie before you enjoy your tasty snack.
• #11 Serve a dinner that's a lesson in taste (See more detailed description here). Pick foods and arrange them on plates (salty plate, sweet plate, sour plate, and bitter plate). Have everyone try the foods on each plate and guess the category. Then have everyone share what was their favorite item from each plate.
• #10 Snuggle up and make up stories together. Older kids can take turns adding a sentence to the story. Younger kids can fill in the blanks: "Once upon a time, there was a ______ and his name was _______."
• #9 Treasure Hunt. Team up, hide a special treasure with your partner, and give clues to help the other team find it. Take turns keeping it going until you're treasured out.
• #8 Sit down together and build a giant city out of Legos or blocks. Play some fun music while you build.
• #7 Bundle everyone up and go on a walking tour of your neighborhood Christmas lights. Finish the night with hot chocolate.
• #6 Go on a scavenger hunt for a particular color (things that are blue...) or letter (things that start with 'M'...).
• #5 Game night! Play board games or card games together.
• #4 Fancy Dinner. Bring home a favorite meal, light a candle at the dinner table, put on some soft music, and enjoy each other's company.
• #3 Earth night. Pick up garbage on the beach or in the park while taking a long walk.
• #2 Build a fort out of pillows and blankets. Make hot chocolate and snuggle up together to read some favorite books.
• #1 Attend Chick Fil-A's family night together