Top 30 Fun Activities To Do With Kids

Today, with all the personal electronic devices, it is so easy for families to disperse into their own cyberspace and completely lose touch with reality. It can certainly be a challenge to find ‘real time’ true family interface and that is why I suggest setting aside at least one day a week as “family day“. If you are finding that evenings can seem long and boring when trying to keep the whole family engaged without devices, here are a few ideas for fun activities to do with kids. What’s more fun than gathering the whole family for some family fun? After all, these are the times you will remember when they move out. And let me just tell you, time flies by! There are only 940 weekends from the time your child is born till he or she reaches 18- enjoy them!

You’ll Love These Fun Activities For Kids

Whether you want to get outside of the house with your children or do fun things right in your living room, there are plenty of great options. From everyday activities like board games to a creative idea like a treasure hunt, it is always the perfect time to have fun with your kids! Young kids and older kids alike will enjoy this list of things to do as a unique opportunity to play with their parents.

1. Take A Family Visit To A Museum Or Planetarium

How about an educational and fun trip for the family to a museum or planetarium? These types of facilities are notorious for offering discounts to families and large groups. You could possibly even hit up a science museum (like in my photo above) if your family is looking for a more interactive outing. Any way you spin it, museums and planetariums are great ways to inspire and intrigue your family all while they’re having good, old plain fun.

2. Take The Family Bowling

Family bowling is an excellent way to just let loose and bring the family together. Together, your family can enjoy in some fun competition while chowing down on hot dogs and potato chips. Many facilities that cater to family fun offer lots of services such as the bowling alley, an arcade, food and drinks, and so much more. Bowling with the family can get the entire family involved in communicating and having fun. Even though we don’t do it that often, bowling is one of my fun activities to do with kids and it is one of my favorite family memories from when I was a child.

3. Enjoy A Matinee Movie with Your Family

Another great family activity is an outing to a matinee movie. Matinees are movies that are shown during the day, and they’re typically discounted. You can even create your own matinee at home. Alternatively you could organize a fun trip to your local theater to see a comedy that everyone will enjoy.

4. Visit A Local Park

There’s really nothing better than spending time with your family at parks or even lake areas. Spending time in a relaxing outdoor setting can really loosen your family members up and provide a calming experience. Parks and lakes offer beautiful scenery. Many have playgrounds so the kids can even have fun playing on the slides, monkey bars or swing sets!

5. Take A Short Road Trip

There’s something about going for drives that kids love. The perfect way to embrace this is to take them on a small road trip. Maybe you could plan a trip to go see a relative that lives in a neighboring state, or you could take the family to spend a day in a nearby city. The kids will love the car ride and the anticipation of finding out where they are going. Everyone gets to enjoy the new scenery as well as all of the fun activities that will take place while on the road trip!

6. Canoeing

One of our family favorite fun activities to do with kids is canoeing because it is so out of the ordinary. We set off like explorers down the river and see things from a whole different point of view. We love spotting turtles, herons, and fish as we paddle down the river.

7. Fancy Tea Party

A fancy tea party is a great way to make some memories! There are two ways to do this.

You can book an appointment a local hotel that offers tea service. That is a great activity for older siblings. It is a fun way for them to practice their manners and be rewarded for good behavior.

Alternatively, you can hold a fancy tea party in your home. You can all get dressed up in fun, fancy clothing. Then sit down to a real afternoon tea or a pretend tea party. Younger kids might enjoy inviting their favorite stuffed animal or doll. You kids will have a great time watching you play pretend with them. It is great quality time and it is one of the best ways to inspire their imagination. Tea parties are always lots of fun!

Fun Activities To Do At Home With Kids

Engaging in activities with kids is beneficial for various reasons. Activities provide quality time that strengthens the parent-child bond. Spending time together fosters a sense of security and trust in children. Many activities are educational, helping children learn new skills and concepts. In addition, activities stimulate curiosity and a love for learning.

8. Backyard Camping

Setting up a tent in the back yard can be huge family fun. Getting the tent built as a family is a good bonding experience. Furthermore, it makes a fun place to hang out and read or for the kids to play fort. Even if you don’t have time for a full fledge getaway, laying your sleeping bags down outdoors can be special. A night under the stars can be so much fun for the whole family. You can even use the internet to learn more about the constellations, and print out maps of the sky and try to match up what you see. You can also research when the next meteor shower or astronomical event such as an eclipse is due, and plan an event with your family.

Doing things as a family has constantly been proven to be the best way to bring a family together and keep it strong. Children especially remember those types of times as being great experiences. Consequently, they will often reminisce and hold onto those fond memories for the rest of their lives. One of the best parts about organizing fun activities to do with kids is that they don’t have to put a dent in your pocket book. It doesn’t take an extravagant vacation to bring a family together. A lot of the best family activities can still take place even while on a budget!

9. A Family Game Of Charades

Charades is a popular choice for activities to do with kids. Nothing is more hilarious than watching each other act out the name of that latest Justin Bieber pop song or crawl around while pretending to be an animal. Charades is a great game to bridge the generation gap and provide tons of raucous laughs in the process and it’s completely FREE. No board, no dice, think freeform, old school style. Don’t forget to give the players a quick tutorial on the charades universal hand motions and make sure someone is standing by with a camcorder to catch all the hilarity.

10. Trivia Time

This is an especially fun activity for older children. With tons of different trivia games available, you can buy one or make your own. Be sure to accommodate all ages on this one by using the internet to source a variety of questions. With subjects ranging from questions about everyday knowledge, geography, history and even totally obscure questions, trivia will provide an inexhaustible source of challenging family fun and be good for your brain as well. We like to do this one on road trips a lot and my husband makes it like a game show. We make sound effects if they get the right or wrong answer. Out of all the fun activities to do with kids, this one is always a hit because they love to compete. If you need trivia ides, here is a list of 50 questions.

11. Put on a Family Theater Performance

Calling all thespians. The American family could stand to learn a few things from the Von Trapp family. I’m not saying you need to go find some fedoras and sport some lederhosen! Even the idea of a family talent show can bring out the best in your family members and sometimes the worst, but that’s all part of the fun! Whether it’s singing a melody together, telling bad jokes, improvisational skits or swallowing swords, talent shows are a blast especially when each family member tries to out do the previous act. My sister and I used to memorize parts from books to act out for our parents.

12. Prepare A Meal As A Family

What’s a better way to break bread together than to make bread together. Homemade pizza night is a super economical, fun and delicious way to kick off family night. Get everyone involved by encouraging them to make their own individual pizza with whatever topping fits their fancy. Let everyone make a root beer float. It is fun to be involved in making something together.

13. Scavenger Hunt

This is a classic game but a very special one. It usually involves some planning and prep time on the side of the adult so it is extra special for kids of all ages. I bet you remember any scavenger hunts from your own childhood with fondness. As a result of this activity, your kids are sure to know just how much their parents them. You can chose the play areas and make it an outdoor hunt or an indoor hunt. Setting boundaries helps keep them on track while they search for clues that will share the next clue. Eventually, they will find a small prize such as card games or a hula hoop.

14. Free concerts.

Most communities will host free concerts in public parks or halls. To find free concert entertainment near you, check your local papers or online.

15. Poetry or literary reading.

Poetry readings are often held at pubs, clubs and cafes in most cities, so find out about your local poetry scene and head off for a free night out to get to know other creative people in your area, and all you would have to pay for is your drinks if you have any. If you check out your local book stores you may find visiting authors booked in to read from their latest books, which you can also usually get them to sign for you too.

16. Book club.

You may be able to find a local book club to join while you’re at the library or book store. Alternatively you can also start your own friends and family book club. You can share books and share your experiences of reading the books, expanding your reading without buying all of the books yourself.

17. Play a sport.

If you join your local sporting club you will be getting a regular dose of exercise and entertainment each week for a minimal cost. You can also check out your local areas for sporting grounds where you can set up a game of football, soccer or cricket on a school oval on the weekend, or find a park with a basketball ring.

18. Board games and puzzles.

You probably have a cupboard full of games, plus you can get out a pack of cards, and ask your friends to bring their favorite games for a group games night. You can take turns to host the night (or the afternoon) with a group of friends or family and put together some snacks and drinks and unique fun each time. Or set aside a table in your home and start a puzzle, you can come together as a family to work on it on weekends or spend time together after dinner or whenever there is free time in your home. A jigsaw puzzle is fun for the whole family.

19. Craft projects.

There are endless ways to get creative with craft projects at home, and you can search the internet for projects to suit you and your kids, and find activities and projects especially suited to their age group and interests. You can also usually make your craft projects out of items you already have in your home.

20. Free festivals.

Check your local paper for free festivals for fairs in town. You will probably have to spend money on some of the attractions or games but you might still be able to go a more frugal route for your family entertainment.

10 Bonus Fun Things To Do With Kids Of All Ages:

• Have a dance party- getting silly is surprisingly fun!
• Let the kids teach you how to play their favorite video games!
• Learn to play musical instruments together.
• Science experiments are loads of fun and there are so many great ideas online.
• Read a good book aloud together and talk about it afterwards.
• Create a masking tape obstacle course.
• Learn some magic tricks to wow each other with.
• Make a time capsule together.
• Enjoy a day at the beach.
• Have a family movie night.

Families That Play Together, Stay Together

It is hard to compete with the draw of friends, computers, mall excursions and all the other exciting things that captivate our young people. These are precious times that require parents to keep a watchful eye out for kids but not be overly protective. Making family time a priority while at the same time, making it enjoyable for everyone is a challenge worth undertaking.  Family time really is the best time so be sure to slow down and enjoy it!

Hopefully these easy ideas for fun activities to do with kids will help you on your way to making the home environment one that comforting, fun, and inviting. Overall, family activities make for wonderful memories that everyone can reminisce on for the rest of their lives. Family activities are imperative to keep everyone closely knit. Additionally, they make for wonderful stories and memories that can be shared with future generations. There’s nothing like spending great times with your family! Don’t forget to work family activities into your schedule and count them as an important part of your family values. What is the best part of doing activities with your children? If you have any kids activities you’d like to see added to the list, reach out on social media @familyfocusblog!

Related Posts:

10 Great Children’s Museums Off The Beaten Path

How To Have A Family Meeting

Family Goals Worksheet