As people get older, they tend to get busier. This is especially true when it comes to kids and teenagers. The older they get, the more they want to do, they have school work to do, and they have friends that they want to spend their time with. Throughout all of this though, throughout your career, and their blossoming life, you’ve got to ensure that you’re all still spending time together as a family.
In this article, we’re going to be taking a look at some of the things that you can do to spend time with your family, without making it boring. It might be hard to convince your kids to make time for this, but it’s important that you do. After all, family is important and you want to ensure that you are there for those you love. So, if you want some tips for your family time, you’re in the right place! Read on!
Have A Movie Night
The first thing that we’re going to recommend is that you have a movie night once per week or so. You can alternate who’s turn it is to pick the movie so that it’s fair, or you can all choose together and agree on a movie. The latter option is less likely to be successful without you staying up half the night because it took that long to make a decision! Of course, unless you all like the same kind of movies, because then it’ll be pretty straight forward.
You can make a little snack bar of candy and chocolate treats for everyone to munch on throughout the movie. We also recommend that you have a no phone policy during the movie for a number of reasons. One it helps people to remain more present, and two it is not nice to watch a movie and see different screens around the room.
Go On Walks Together
If you want to go out together but you don’t want to really do anything, then heading out for a walk is a fantastic idea. You can go on a regular walk or you can hike up a mountain depending on if everyone has the correct gear and is feeling up to it. This encourages exercise, keeps you fit and healthy, but you’re still all doing it together. The thing with this is that you should never force anyone hiking, force them out for a walk if you need to, but not up a steep incline because that’s just a bit harsh!
To make things a little nicer you can even pack a little picnic that you can have somewhere nice. Of course this is going to depend on the weather, but it could be a super cute day out that you all enjoy before getting back to the other things that you all do. It’s just some time in nature with the people you love, and that’s a lovely day.
Have Regular Meals As A Family
Then we’ve got the standard meals that you should be eating together. We completely understand that your family members are busy with their commitments, but you need to make time to eat together at least once per day. It doesn’t matter what meal this is, as long as you are sitting down to eat together.
You should try to make sure that one of these meals is dinner, just so that you have longer to sit and chat as well as eat. Plus, who doesn’t love a family dinner? It’s always nice to have home cooked meals, but maybe sometimes you can just have a chilled out evening. Have dinner and combine this with movie night for example, looking at the best pizza delivery deals so that you can all enjoy together without spending a small fortune. Just make sure that you’re getting something for everyone and nobody feels left out in the choices that are made.
Games Night
If playing games is something that your family enjoys, then perhaps you should think about having a game night once a month or so. You don’t want to do this too frequently or it might get a little boring, so instead you want to spread it out so that it’s always exciting. You can play a different game each time, or you can challenge each other to a rematch depending on what you want to do. It’s up to you entirely what you choose to do, so you can maximize the fun.
Depending on what game you play, you may opt to play a few different ones if they don’t last too long. For example, if you’re going to play twister or Cluedo then they don’t take too long to complete. Meaning you can either play a couple of rounds, or you can play both. However, if you decide on something like Monopoly that game can go on for years, so that’s likely all you’re going to have time for.
Games nights are awesome for health competition, teamwork in some cases, and generally bringing your family together for a little while.
Play Sports Together
If you want to inspire your family to be fit and healthy, maybe you can play sports together? It’s unlikely that you will ever all be able to play for a team together, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t play as a family. You can head down to the basketball court, choose teams and shoot some hoops. You can head to your backyard or your local park and play football or soccer together. There are so many different options so there really is no excuse not to do this.
Even if someone in your family plays for their school team or something, that doesn’t stop them playing with you as a family. Or, if you don’t want to go for the sport they play, choose something else. It’s good for variety purposes, and it’s good for keeping everyone fit and healthy. If you aim to do this once per week or so, it’s a fun time to spend together, and good for you!
Head Out To The Cinema
Sometimes a family trip to the cinema to see a new movie is just what the doctor ordered. We do understand that this isn’t something that you will be able to do often because it’s not exactly cheap, and then if you want to add in snacks and drinks you could end up paying a small fortune. But, it’s nice to do every once in a while we think, so it’s definitely worth it. If you wait until there is something in the cinema that you think everyone would enjoy watching and the experience would be enhanced by watching it on the big screen, then this is the best time for it.
Come Up With Fun Evening Ideas
There are going to be times where you’re not exactly sure what you want to do, and it’s okay to get creative. To be honest, there are so many options that your head may blow with all of them, but it’s good to have variety, right? An example of something you can do is have a ‘Come Dine with Me’ conception. One week someone cooks and they are scored, and this can span a few different weeks while everyone has their turn. At the end, the winner over the weeks gets a prize. If nothing else, at least dinner is sorted for a few weeks.
You can also come up with other fun evening ideas like themed evenings to keep things interesting. Come up with the theme with enough time for everyone to prepare, and we’re sure it will bring about some good laughs.
Just Spend Time Catching Up
The last thing on the list that we’re going to look at is to just spend time catching up. Sometimes the nicest evenings are the super chilled out ones where you don’t really do anything other than sit and talk about what’s been going on with everyone. It’s important to stay in the loop when it comes to your family, so pay close attention. Offer help where you can, listen where you’re needed to, and generally just be there. Sometimes it’s enough to just be in the company of those that you love, so keep that in mind.
Try not to be too disheartened if your teen seems to think this is lame, they will realize it’s not later.
Spending time with your family is something that you should always make time for. While it might not always feel like it’s a priority, you should always try to make it one. You’re going to thank yourself for doing this at some point down the line, when you have a family that is close knit. Yes, there may be times where you have to miss out on a couple of nights here and there, but you’ve got to ensure that everyone is treating this time together as a priority. Families need to stick together, spend time together and work on keeping their bond strong. Do it because it’s fun, do it because you want to.
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