I love being at home with my family, but after days of staring at one another and the walls of our home, it gets a little old. What about shaking things up with a fun family activity? I think we sometimes forget all that we have available to us. My answer is to always make a list.
20 Activity Ideas to do at Home for the Whole Family
I'm so glad to have this list in my back pocket because let's be honest... I could use the activity ideas on weekends and other school breaks. Nothing on this list is ground breaking, and I'm sure you've done a lot of them. But having a list to fall back on when everyone is bored will be so helpful!
Outside your home
Have a weed a thon: The garden needs to be weeded anyway (if you're in an area without snow) so why not make it fun? Show everyone what a weed is and how to pull it out. Then set a timer and see who can pull the most weeds. Winner gets to choose the next activity.
Do an ABC hunt: Walk around your yard and find things that start with each letter of the alphabet.
Exercise competition: See who can get the most steps, do the most push ups and sit ups, do the most burpees, or jump rope for the longest streak. Make a flower crown and the winner gets to wear it!
Chalk art: Spend time in the driveway or on the sidewalk with sidewalk chalk. Draw colorful pictures and write messages of encouragement for your family and for your neighbors.
Do a Bike/Car Wash: Pull out the buckets, the soap and the hoses and give all of your bikes and cars a good wash.
Inside your home
Car racing: You could use a track like this one, to race cars, or race them on any hard floor. Have your kids set up obstacles. Use masking tape to draw a course to drive cars around. Make a bracket and race to see who can win the whole thing.Nerf Guns: Nerf guns are fun to play with. You could shoot at targets, you could shoot at army guys or you could play a game of tag by aiming at one another - side note we have a rule that shots must be from the waste down.
Just Dance: We still have a wii, but we don't use it very often. My kids pulled out Just Dance the other night night and had a total blast dancing and getting some energy out.
Make Cookies: Making cookies is always a crowd favorite. Get everyone involved in measuring and adding ingredients. It might be messy but that's ok.
Spring Cleaning: I know most of the members of your family will not think this is fun., although I totally think spring cleaning is a blast! To make it more fun, you could make it a competition by seeing who can clean the baseboards the fasts, who can do the most organizing or who can beat the timer with their task. The winner gets to choose what treat to make for dessert.
Play Board and Card Games: We usually play board games on Sunday nights. Our favorites are Telestrations, Scatergories, Apples to Apples, Tri-Bond, Heads Up, Catch Phrase, Phase 10 and Uno. We also like old school Slap Jack, War and Go Fish.
Build a fort and read: Pull out bed sheets, blankets (with clamps from the garage) to make a huge fort. Add Christmas lights and pillows. And snacks, lots of snacks. Then spend time reading fun books.
Do a Puzzle: How long has it been since you've done a puzzle as a family? Probably quite a while. Whenever I ask my kids if they want to do a puzzle, they say they don't. But I always find them working on it after I've gotten it out. I like to set up a card table in our living room to do the puzzle on so we can still eat at our dining room table.
Do Art Projects: Get out the paint, coloring books, crayons, watercolors, construction paper, glue, pipe cleaners, googly eyes and anything else you can think of and let everyone make masterpieces. Even my teens like coloring in large, detailed coloring books. You don't have to be artistically talented to have a good time with art projects.
Do a Craft project: Now we're talking. You knew I would add crafting to this list. You and your family could make Personalized Pillow Cases, color Rainbow Rice, or make a Book Page Photo Holder. A Girl and Glue Gun has a craft camp with tons of great ideas, like yarn rainbows which we loved making!
Peeps taste test: While I was at the grocery store for a supply run, I threw a bunch of Peeps into my cart. At home, we unwrapped them all and set them out to eat. We loved tasting and rating all of the different flavors. My favorite was rootbeer float, my son liked fruit punch, my daughter liked cotton candy. We all disliked the sour watermelon and blueberry. With the leftovers, you could make Flavored Rice Crispy treats. If you don't have access to peeps you could do cereal, crackers, or fruit.
Secret service: Draw names and have everyone perform secret acts of service for each other. Make beds, fold their laundry, write a nice note etc. Spreading good will at this time, especially among family members is a definite mood improver!
Send notes to friends and family members: Draw photos, print a nice message, write a heart felt note to friends and family, near and far. Send it via the mail for the receiver to get a nice surprise.
Play Minute to Win it Games: You may have to adjust some of the games, based on what supplies you have available. Getting everyone off their phones and laughing together as they play this little games, is so much fun!
Here is a printable of all of the ideas
Staying at home doesn't have to be miserable. In addition to the ideas I have listed, Nesting with Grace has a list of great home ideas too. Try any of these 20 Activity Ideas for your whole family to have a good time enjoying one another's company.
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