** The 82
FUNNEST POSSIBLE FAMILY ACTIVITIES for Families with Young Children **
1. Camp out in
the backyard. Roast mini marshmallows over a candle and add a chocolate chip
and teddy grahams for “s'mores.”
2. Feed the birds
at First Dam or Willow Park.3. Paint rocks, then display them somewhere in the landscaping.
4. Schedule (and go on) a tour of the fire station.
5. Collect leaves and make “angel faces.” (Lay a leaf on a piece of paper, use the side of a crayon to rub outward on the leaf-points to create a silhouette, then move the leaf and create a face in the space.)
6. Send newly created “angel faces” to grandparents with a note.
7. Have a four-square tournament. (Chalk the four-square field, 12'x12', on your driveway.)
8. Volunteer for public space cleanup activities. Or pick a park and grab some grocery bags and conduct your own family litter-pickup activity.
9. Create a simple labyrinth in your yard, with rocks, sticks, or a twisty mowed pathway. Let kids explore the path.
10. Have a picnic on a blanket in the front yard.
11. Have a picnic on a blanket in the front room.
12. Create a treasure hunt – bury some dollar-store “treasures” in the garden, then leave clues (or create a treasure map) for the children to find them.
13. Put on a magic show for the neighborhood. Or your pet dog.
14. Use old clothes, coats, hats, etc. to create a dress-up store. Then have a fashion show.
15. Play Uno.
16. Decorate a picture frame with rocks, sticks, toothpicks, or other treasures glued on.
17. Put on some glowsticks and have a dance party in the dark.
18. Bake a dessert together...maybe even let the kids break the eggs this time...
19. Spend the day at Bear Lake or some other waterfront spot.
20. Explore the grounds at the Logan Tabernacle.
21. Have picnics at 10 different parks during one month.
22. Go fishing at 1st Dam.
23. Make a kite and go fly it. Or buy a kite and go fly it. Or watch someone else fly a kite while you lounge on the grass and eat fruit snacks.
24. Take a class at The Rock Haus.
25. Geocache.
26. Go skating. Or, budget-friendly version, wax the kitchen floor and put on socks and go sliding.
27. Make a puzzle out of a (colored) coloring page glued onto construction paper.
28. Create a puppet troupe out of old socks, some yarn, and some googly eyes. Put on a puppet play behind the couch.
29. Build a blanket fort and read books in there.
30. Have a water balloon fight.
31. Designate a “Backward Day,” where you eat dessert first and get “dressed” into PJs.
32. Eat a dinner entirely made up of finger foods.
33. Watch a parade. Or, if there isn't a parade, advertise and put on a parade for your neighbors, complete with decorated bikes and thrown candy.
34. Make paper snowflakes. Or flowers. Or leaves. Hang them in the window on string garland.
35. Gather up toy cars and have a “car-wash” in the bathtub.
36. Make homemade ice cream in a ziploc bag.
37. Recycle your crayons. (http://www.localfunforkids.com/crafts/2010/12/17/teach-kids-about-recycling-with-melted-crayons.html)
38. Create a jellyfish in a bottle. (http://bhoomplay.wordpress.com/2011/09/09/diy_jellyfish_eng/)
39. Have your own in-house science fair with some simple science experiments. (http://www.localfunforkids.com/crafts/2011/2/20/an-easy-science-experiment-that-might-seem-like-magic.html)
40. Make homemade play-doh. (http://www.fun4kidsinbuffalo.com/2010/12/diy-make-your-own-playdough.html)
41. Use masking tape to create a giant car track or maze on the family room rug.
42. Make koolaid taffy. (http://www.dvo.com/newsletter/monthly/2012/august/funtimes.html?CID=aug_news12)
43. “Paint” the snow with colored water in spray bottles.
44. Fingerpaint a masterpiece that's the length of many yards of butcher paper. Hang on the front of the house, on the side of the garage, or down a hallway.
45. Play flashlight tag in the dark inside.
46. Make sugar cookies...and sample most of the dough. With what's left over, bake some actual cookies and decorate them with icing & sprinkles.
47. Play “duck, duck, goose.”
48. Family bike ride.
49. Build a tower out of legos, blocks, or whatever else...as high as you can. Requires working together so it won't fall over.
50. Rake leaves into a pile for a run-and-jump. Or a hide-and-seek.
51. Draw bike “roads” with sidewalk chalk on the driveway.
52. Play freeze tag.
53. Walk around the block, see how many circles (or squares, or blue things, etc.) you can find.
54. Visit the fish/animals at PetSmart or animal shelter.
55. Sibling sleepovers, with sleeping bags and all kids piled into one bedroom.
56. Have a water gun fight.
57. Check the yard for bugs and insects; draw what you see.
58. Color some monsters on cardboard, then throw beanbags (or shoot water guns) at them.
59. Make ice boats (toothpicks stuck into ice cubes...or some larger ice shape) and float them in the sink or a puddle or a lake.
60. Use old sour cream cartons or plastic cups and stack them into different shapes.
61. Find some interesting rocks (or boring ones) and paint them. Create a family, or a scene, or a garden, or a zoo.
62. Make a snowman army out of marshmallows, chocolate chips, and toothpicks.
63. Decorate a window with something bright and seasonal – flowers, flags, leaves, snowflakes – using construction paper, tissue paper, coffee filters, etc.
64. Picnic at Merlin Olsen Park with swimsuits and play in the canal.
65. Use cookie cutters to make shaped Jello jigglers. Eat 'em up.
66. Play tag.
67. Go on a nature walk, up the canyon or around the neighborhood. Collect “treasures.”
68. Use masking tape to tape out hopscotch on your carpet. Play!
69. Visit Stokes Nature Center.
70. Make popsicles out of real fruit juice in ice trays with toothpicks.
71. Work together to host a “fancy family feast,” complete with individual homemade menus, candles, fine dishware, and best manners.
72. Pick a favorite topic, or character, and go to the library. Find and read five books about them.
73. Go on a tour of Aggie Ice Cream. Samples!
74. Make rainbow cupcakes (vanilla batter + food coloring). Frost them in different colors for a surprise.
75. Visit the American West Heritage Center.
76. Make a tissue paper flower (tissue paper twisted together + pipe cleaner “stem”). Make lots of flowers, combine them into a bouquet, and give it to a neighbor.
77. Go on a picture scavenger hunt of common neighborhood sights (e.g., chimney, bird bath, red flower, truck). Cross off, or color, each picture as you spy the real thing.
78. Play Candy Land, Hi Ho Cherry-O, or some other classic kids' game.
79. Build houses out of toothpicks and mini marshmallows.
80. Play balloon volleyball over the couch...or out in the yard. Best on non-windy days...
81. Make oobleck. (http://www.housingaforest.com/dancing-oobleck/)
82. Have a variety
of contests using hula hoops: jumping through, jumping in and out, running
& catching, traditional hula-hooping, etc.
** The 81 FUNNEST POSSIBLE FAMILY ACTIVITIES for Families with Teens **
(...you can tell your teens that's the official title, in the very unlikely even that they don't believe you...)
1. Volunteer at the local soup kitchen, food pantry, or Bishop's Storehouse.
2. Visit a few people at a retirement home. Sing songs to them to brighten their day.
3. Set up an interactive video game tourney for the family, with prizes like “loser makes winner a batch of cookies,” “winner sips lemonade while watching loser mow the lawn this week,” etc.
4. Go hiking up Logan Canyon, Green Canyon, Blacksmith Fork Canyon...limitless possibilities around here.
5. Go camping...either tent it up or find a place with cabins. Somewhere where electronics can be limited and nature (and family time) can be thoroughly enjoyed.
6. Pull out a board game. Dust it off if you have to. Add in some popcorn and put your own phone away.
7. Use the yard! Play a game of ultimate frisbee, touch-football, keepaway soccer, etc. Set up a starting line and have a long-jump contest.
8. Wash everyone's car, inside and out.
9. Set up a photo scavenger hunt at the mall (or a random store).
10. Create a fake budget and, in teams, try to find the best dinner/outfit/BBQ/sports setup, etc.
11. Plan & plant a garden together...even if it's for a neighbor instead of yourselves.
12. Go to the Jump Zone.
13. Have a family movie night, complete with movie theater boxes of candy and a few kernels of popcorn swimming in melted butter.
14. Check out an old workout video from the library (the earlier, the better...anything circa 1985) and follow it. (Bonus points if you can get through it without laughing!)
15. Bake (or buy) something tasty and do a couple of doorbell ditches/ring-and-runs.
16. Play volleyball at the park.
16. Play volleyball at the park.
17. Tie-dye something to wear (shirt, socks, shorts, headband). Then everybody wears his/her creation while going to ice cream.
18. Go to a sporting event – university, high school, middle school, city league, etc.
19. Play capture the flag in your neighborhood. Invite teens' friends to supplement teams.
20. Play night games, like kick the can or sardines.
21. Choose a type of cuisine that the family has never tried before (e.g., Thai, Portuguese, etc.), and eat out. (Optional: Read up on the culture before dining out, to enhance the experience.)
22. Check out the stars; as a family, find as many constellations as possible. Make some up!
23. Have a build-your-own-pizza night, with every topping imaginable...
24. ...then follow up with a build-your-own-ice-cream-creation dessert time. Or just skip straight to dessert.
25. Take a class together – pottery, horseback riding, or karate.
26. Play a classic card game, like Uno or Rook. By candlelight or flashlight, to create ambiance.
27. Decorate photo frames (mod podge scrapbook paper or paint or glue stuff on), then frame favorite family photos for each teen's room.
28. Watch classic movies or a movie you loved as a teenager.
29. Do headphone-karaoke: Have singer put on headphones and turn up the music quite loud so they can't hear themselves, then have them sing along (to the music only they can hear) while everyone else listens. Take turns. Very entertaining.
30. Plan a special meal for the coming month and cook it together.
31. Create customized thumb-print stationery...then write someone (or several someones) a letter.
32. Head to Bear Lake for the day.
33. Pick a theme and check out some related books at the library. Read and share information about the topic with each other over dinner.
34. Go fishing. A coordinated campout is optional but highly recommended.
35. Rent a canoe and explore the Valley's marshes.
36. Play“flashlight limbo,” where two people with flashlights face each other and shine their flashlights at each other, creating a line for others to limbo under.
37. (Get a professional to accompany you and) Go rock climbing.
38. Geocache.
39. Warm up around a campfire. Roast some marshmallows.
40. Trace a silhouette and display it.
41. Make a family home movie. Watch it with gourmet popcorn.
42. Decorate for, and then throw, a neighborhood dance party.
43. Dog-sit.
44. Have a water balloon fight with high stakes, like losers treat winners to Aggie ice cream.
45. Make (and eat) a themed dinner, such as only orange foods, finger foods, round foods, etc.
46. Everyone learn a magic trick and put on a magic show for the neighbors...or simply amaze and astound each other.
47. Make homemade ice cream.
48. Go swimming.
49. Paint a piece of furniture together.
50. Play flashlight tag in the dark outside. Neighborhood boundaries.
51. Go on a family bike ride...including up and down some hills.
52. Make a collage (together or individually) out of photos and words cut out from magazines. Frame/display.
53. Set up a bike skills test on the driveway, with cones, chalk lines, etc.
54. Go mini golfing.
55. Create custom homemade milkshakes – any flavor you want!
56. Run/jog/race around the block.
57. Take digital photos of nature then have a slide show on your TV screen when you get home.
58. Play catch in the backyard.
59. Learn to juggle.
60. Sleepover in the living room with sleeping bags and spooky stories.
61. Do some MadLibs.
62. Have a water gun fight. (Mom gets the hose, though.)
63. Visit grandparents – maybe a surprise visit?
64. Drive somewhere, anywhere, just for some family togetherness time. Listen to a book on tape during a long road trip. Mysteries are great for this!
65. Make origami boats and have a race at the Lundstrom Park canal.
66. Build card houses...the fancier, the better.
67. Make your own delicious caramel apples.
69. Create a Family Yearbook (shutterfly, blurb, mixbook, snapfish, etc.).
70. Pick huckleberries (or some other yummy berry/fruit/produce).
71. Do a corn maze.
72. Play catch.
73. Make a masking tape bullseye on your carpet, have a family tournament with beanbags or balls.
74. Donate blood together.
75. Trampoline Whipped Cream: Each person gets a can of whipped cream; have a whipped cream war while jumping. (On hot days: Add sprinkler & goggles to keep the cream out of your eyes.)
76. Go bowling.
77. Spend a Saturday morning going to yard sales. Give each person $5 and see who can find the best treasure.
78. Cold cereal at sunrise...or cold cereal at sunset. Go to a favorite spot and bring along bowls, spoons, your kids’ favorite cereal, and a jug of milk.
79. Ice cream sculpting.
80. Go sledding late at night when there is a bright moon.
81. Have an eat-out progressive dinner. Go to one restaurant for appetizers, another for the main course, and a third for dessert.
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