In our home, screen time gets limited quite strictly—especially with our older children who take most of their classes online. That pretty much uses their screen time each day! Many moms are probably using screen time just to survive long days right now (Trust me! No judgment!) and we just got freezing rain covered by about eight inches of snow! So…getting outside and working in the garden is not exactly an option for family fun night!
But having a family fun night is essential to connecting as a family and now, more than ever, we need some fun! So, what can we do that doesn’t involve screen time, involves social distancing (no sleepovers with friends!), and can be done inside? Is there anything?
Activity ideas are kind of like recipes. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I cook the same meals just because they are familiar and easy. It’s not because a million other recipes don’t exist! The options are there, but we just have to break free from the rut we might be in and kick “family movie night” to the curb! (Though there is definitely a time and a place for that old stand-by!)
Hopefully, these activities will get you thinking creatively so you can use what you have to make some lasting memories.
Five Screen-Free Family Fun Activities: (Good Rain or Shine!)
- Cook Together—
Work together to make homemade pizza! Now, I know what you’re thinking. That involves LOADS of patience. You’re right, but there are ways to make it easier on yourself if you have really young children.
While I was on bedrest, pregnant with my daughter, a friend of mine wanted to bring us a meal. Do you know what she showed up with? Frozen pizzas. My husband had been in charge of cooking, obviously, and we had eaten a lot of frozen pizza. But do you know what made this one special? She also brought small bags of various toppings: cut up onions, peppers, pepperoni, etc. and gave them to my sons (who were 5 and 3) and asked them if they could make supper for their sick mommy tonight. They were absolutely so proud of their pizza and that memory will stay with me forever. She didn’t have to do much work at all, but her frozen pizzas made a memory for my family far more than any of the other more elaborate meals people were kind enough to bring!
Obviously, if you have older children, help them make the crust from scratch and roll it out. One can do the crust; one can do the sauce; and others can help with the toppings.
For EXTRA fun: Let your kids stay up late and have a pizza party! We have served home-made pizza at midnight a few times!
- Host Your Own Family-Style Paint Night—
Pick up some canvases and acrylic paint (These can be found at even small stores like Dollar General), turn on a YouTube tutorial and work on your paintings individually. You can keep the big reveal a secret until the end, or show your work and laugh along the way! Be sure to have a few treats available too, which is the majority of the fun for younger children. (But I’m telling you—something magical happens when you give a child a canvas!)
For EXTRA fun: Have each family member paint a self-portrait!
- Play “Would You Rather?”—
You can choose from a list of questions you can find online, or you can ask your kids to come up with their own scenarios (which end up being far more disgusting than most that you’ll find online). Older kids play this game the best though. We include our youngest and she asks questions like, “Would you pick drinking grape juice or putting onions in your socks?” But she LAUGHS hysterically at herself, so it’s pretty worth it! If you have older and younger children, the younger kids can definitely participate; but if you only have young children, put this in your back pocket for another day.
For EXTRA fun: You can actually make them choose and do some of these scenarios—particularly with food. For example, “Would you rather eat peanut butter on a hamburger, or hash browns covered in sweet and sour sauce?” (Definitely use food/leftovers you already have in the fridge because no one wants to be cooking a bunch of new food for this!)
- Have a Theme Party—
As a family, agree on a theme. For example, pirates, mermaids, or a combination of themes if agreement is not going to happen! Remember, this doesn’t have to be a “Pinterest” party, but with a little forethought, you can have a really fun evening together! If you choose pirates, maybe you serve fish and chips for dinner and search for a pot of gold for dessert (it can be Rolo candy—nothing major). Everyone can come to dinner dressed as a pirate (or as close as they can get with what you have on hand—trust me! That is half the fun!). If you have time, you can play a couple of games related to your theme. (For example, “Walk the Plank”—a variation on “Hangman.”)
For EXTRA fun: Hang up a background (A solid-color sheet will do) and take “photo-booth-style” pictures with various combinations of family members!
- Take Family Dance Party to a New Level—
We purposely do not have a kitchen island because I like having an open space for dancing. (Yes, I have the “This kitchen is for dancing” sign and it’s TRUE in our house!) We have family dance parties a lot, so this is an old standby for us. But one night, my husband and I were re-living our glory days and trying to recall our swing dancing moves (Impressive right? No. We are self-taught and pretty much just wannabes.) Pretty soon, all of our kids were watching and of course, our girls were desperately wanting to cut in! So, yes, turning up the music and dancing the night away is great fun, but why not take it up a notch? You can learn a certain genre of dance—like swing dance; or you could learn full choreography as a family—even the macarena will do! Or, and this is my personal favorite, have each family member do whatever they want (my performances are ALWAYS hilarious interpretive dances). The point is to laugh—and you will!
For EXTRA fun: Ask each family member to show up to the dance party in costume!
There is one caveat to all of these activities. It is really important that the parents are in all the way—especially if you have “too cool for school” teenagers. My sons would be very reluctant to participate in these activities, or any sort of family fun night (other than eating and watching a movie), if my husband didn’t participate. Dads really hold a lot of the power here because when they join in, there is so much more laughter to be had!
Does that mean that if you have a husband who is tired and doesn’t want to participate, you can’t do these things with your family? Of course not! But just lower your expectations on participation a little if you have older kids. A great way to include the older kids is to say, “Hey, I really want to have a family fun night, but Dad is tired” (or maybe you’re a single mom and Dad’s not even there!). “The other kids will have way more fun if they see you doing it too. Would you do that for them?” When teens are included in the decision-making and asked to participate, rather than expected to, it goes more smoothly!
Are you ready for some family fun? Let me know in the comments which activity you chose and how it went! I’m not sure yet which one is on our list for tonight!
RElated: Family Fun Activities at Home
