Are you looking forward to more family time? If you’re used to spending time with the family, but everyone’s been so busy lately, you may want to find more creative ways for family fun. With the holidays coming up, you may have more time to do just that. However, whether it’s Thanksgiving, winter break, summer break, or a weekend, you can use these activities for fun with the whole family. Here are some ideas for a fun family hangout anytime.
Go Camping Using Your RV
Have you and the kids ever gone camping? What about a road trip? When you rent an RV, you can do both! RV travel has become more popular in the last few years, and there are many different models available to suit your needs and preferences. You can get a small RV that can be hitched onto a vehicle, or you can get one as large as a bus. So whether you have a small family with a couple of kids or a big gang worthy of a TV show, you can rent an RV that could fit all of you together so you can have a road trip and camping experience of a lifetime.
Before you set out on this nature-based family hangout, make sure you get your RV maintenance. Whether you own your RV or plan on renting one, get it checked out to make sure it doesn’t break down at the wrong time. Make sure you get an RV that has enough space to fit everyone. Some RV’s have different amenities that you can consider. Most RVs have sleeping quarters, so the family doesn’t have to worry about a hotel. You could do light cooking, enjoy movies, and so much more.
When you go camping, you’re going to need equipment for some adventure. Camping means you can go fishing, hiking, kayaking. Sit around your open fire, toast marshmallows, and tell stories. Do you and your family love capturing photos? What better reason to do so than being around all the beautiful wildlife? So bring your cameras, your fishing rods, and kayaking boats, or at least find a place where you can rent them along the way.
Make Self-Care Fun With Kids Fun
Kids should understand the importance of self-care at a young age. Self-care can involve proper rest, going to the doctor, eating healthy, and various relaxing methods. So why not turn a family hangout into a self-care lesson?
Before you take your kids to the pediatrician, you can make the experience more fun for them by watching some kids’ videos related to doctors or healthcare. Go on YouTube for old videos on Sesame Street related to staying healthy or going to the doctor. You can even play doctor at home so the kids are less intimidated if they’re scared to go to the doctor for the first time. The whole family can all get involved, with some pretending to be nurses, doctors, and patients. That way, when the children go to the pediatrician, they’ll be prepared for what’s in store.
Go to the Spa
Depending on the age of your children, a spa day or a week can be a great family hangout. There are spa services that provide hydrotherapy and aromatherapy, which can relax your muscles or even lower your blood pressure. A medical spa is a great place to go for facials, body contouring, hormone therapy, and IV drip therapy. Do you have a teenager that’s having skin problems? If so, you may want to bring them in for microneedling services at your local medical spa. It’s the ideal opportunity for the whole family to try different skin treatments. At the end of the session, everyone can show off their new look.
Spas are the perfect solution when you need to relax or improve sleep. According to the Sleep Foundation, people should get 7 to 9 restful hours of sleep each night. So if you or a family have been having problems getting adequate sleep, spa services may be able to help you all so you can relax in peace. When children can sleep better, it can help them do better in school as they’ll be able to avoid fatigue and have better cognition and memory.
Be aware that most spas have age restrictions when it comes to bringing kids. Most have policies where you can’t bring kids that are younger than 16. So if your children are in upper teens, spas are easier to have as a family hangout option than if they’re little kids.
If you have younger children and you want to get them in on the benefits of a spa day or a week, call the spa you’re interested in to see if they have family packages. Family packages are available at certain ones. Even if you don’t find a standalone spa that can accommodate younger kids, you can always find a family resort with spa service for you and your partner while the kids can go off and play somewhere.
Start a Collection Hobby
Children often like to collect certain things. Your child may be into rocks, stamps, or certain figurines. So why not turn your next family hangout into an opportunity to start a new collection? You can help their child with their existing collection hobby. For example, if they’re into collecting rocks, why not go to the beach or the local park and have a scavenger hunt for all the different rocks you can find? You can discuss with them and see what you can teach each other. The family can have a competition to see who can find the most different rocks in an hour.
If your family doesn’t have an existing collection hobby, you may want to start by buying coins. Buy coins online or visit your local pawn shop to see if there are any collectible coins available. Consider infusing a pawn shop hopping journey into a road trip to make it even more fun!
Do Fun DIY Projects
What better way to have a family hangout than some do-it-yourself projects? Whether you work inside or outside the house, there’s something for the whole family to do together. Why not start outside before winter gets too deep? It would be a good time to look over your outdoor furniture and see what you can do. Before you invest in an outdoor furniture repair service, see if there’s anything you can repair with your kids. For example, if something merely has a worn down surface, you can get some staining or some paint and paint the furniture over. Do something as simple as using coffee to stain wood and get some finishing to seal it in. It’s a great way to teach children how to repair or recycle things instead of throwing them out.
There’s nothing like waking up in the morning and hearing the birds singing. Why not attract them even further by building a birdhouse or feeder? Constructing a bird habitat is a great way to have a family hang out on the weekend. You can make it as basic or intricate as you like. There may be some materials in your backyard you can use to easily construct one, or you can look for a kit online.
Family hangout time is a great way to teach your kids basic woodworking skills. You can start that on a small scale with your birdhouse, but you can kick it up a notch by building a bookcase together. After you build a bookcase, paint it and seal it. You can have them build one for their bedroom so they always have a place to store all their books. A simple bookcase can easily be made in a day. Most importantly, they can have a sense of accomplishment and pride that they built a bookshelf with you. Knowing how to work with wood is a useful skill they can use throughout their life.
Decorate The House
There are always interesting ways you can decorate the house. However, with the holiday season on its way, there’s no better time to decorate your home than now. So you can plan your Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations together. You can assign the kids a room to decorate, or you can have a decorating party. While you can use your existing decorations, the family can still go shopping for some new holiday decorations. If you don’t want too much clutter, have your children each pick out one new decoration you could use each year. Or you can also have Christmas decorations as part of your do-it-yourself project time. Encourage the kids to make their own at least one or two ornaments to put up around the house or on the tree.
Regardless of the time of year, flowers and plants are always a great way to decorate the home. The family can go to a downtown flower store to pick out some beautiful flowers that can look good inside the abode. It’s also a great way for children to learn more about flowers, their names, their origins, and how to care for them.
Stay At Your Outdoor Living Space
Do you have an outdoor living space to enjoy? It’s so it’s the perfect spot for an easy-going family hangout. The family can put some food on the grill and have a mini cookout. After all, most kids love a good hamburger or hot dog.
Sit around a bonfire and toast marshmallows as you tell stories. If you have a swimming pool, everyone can relax around the pool or get some aerobic activity by way of swimming. Do you have some good swimmers in the family? Why not have a swimming lap competition to see who’s most likely to go to the Olympics? Depending on the size of your backyard, you can even do some bird watching. Simply relaxing together as a family in your own backyard can be a memorable and exhilarating experience that you could do anytime and doesn’t require any prep.
Go Out for A Road Trip
Why not take the family hang out on the road? If you don’t feel like driving an RV, just do a real road trip by way of your car. When you take a road trip, you can keep it local or go through several states. You could do so over the weekend or wait for the holiday break to make a long trip. Whatever you decide, just make sure you do proper planning so you don’t get lost or breakdown in the middle of the road.
Make sure you have your appropriate car insurance and liability coverage, especially if you’re going through different states. Take your car in for servicing and get any necessary auto repair needed. If you don’t want to take your regular car, you can always rent one just for the trip. Buy adequate road trip supplies like a cooler, some blankets, and a paper map. Do you plan to go on a road trip to an area you’ve never been in before? Try to plot out your route so that you don’t get lost and you’re aware of any food places, gas stations, and hotels along the way. Plot out places you’d like to stop, like museums or other excursions. A road trip can be a great mini-family vacation that the kids will always remember. Don’t forget to take photos and videos to have memories to share.
As you can see, you have many options when it comes to a family hangout. You can make your family bonding time fun or relaxing. Get away from it all and hit the road in your car or RV. Keep things simple by staying home and enjoying your outdoor space or with some do-it-yourself projects. Whatever you decide, you and your family can have fun no matter what time of year it is. After all, your children will grow up so fast, and before you know it, they may be planning a family hangouts for you! As the year comes to an end, don’t forget how valuable your family is, and take advantage of those holiday breaks to do more fun things.
