101 ideas for family fun and adventure

Last week for my 40th birthday I asked you all for only one thing – ideas for fun and adventure – to help my family create our fun bucket list for the year. In my attempts to stop being an observer and start having fun with a capital F, I wanted to create a resource of ideas for when we want to try something new or go further away than the usual stomping grounds. I think with the following list of 101 ideas we should all have a fabulous and fun year ahead!

 

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Fun at home: 

1. Make old fashioned lemonade

2. Dig in the garden – play with dirt

3. Plant and tend to a veggie patch or herb garden

4. Have a movie marathon with pillows and popcorn

5. Play video games together

6. Sit outside and blow bubbles

7. Play fetch with your dog

8. Have a camp fire night and stay up late!

9. Draw on the concrete outside with chalk.

10. Bake or cook together

11. Building forts or huge sheet cubby houses

12. Family movie night with everyone’s favourite treats

13. Sit down and watch the kids shows with them – learn about their favourite characters

14. Play board games

15. On a hot day, have a water fight – buckets, sponges, water pistols…

16. Kids in charge of the parents for the day (or an hour)

17. Start a ‘family book club’” – pick a book each week and take turns reading aloud

18. Have a “Very Merry Un-Birthday” party

19. Play shops in the house where each child has their own store to tend

20. Family karaoke – at home or at a Japanese restaurant

21. Turn the music on loud and have a big family dance!

22. Make a train & chug around the house together

23. Arrange kitchen chairs to make a train/boat/car and make up silly songs as you “go”

24. Set up a tent in the living room and turn it into a pirate ship complete with signs, flags, hats, snacks and themed games

25. Pick a really big puzzle to work on together

26. Bug catching in the backyard

27. Collect and press flowers to save / craft with

28. Build with lego together 29. Play backyard cricket (or other sports)

30. Practice cartwheels

31. Try hula hooping

32. Learn magic tricks together and put on your own show

33. Create a puppet show  

“Children are happy because they don’t have a file in their minds called ‘All the Things That Could Go Wrong.’” ♥ Marianne Williamson

 

   

Any time, any day:

34. Take silly photos of each other, print and display them

35. Make up silly songs in the car

36. Create a story together – taking turns (oral or written)

37. Tell jokes – learned ones or make up your own  

Local activities: 

38. Have a numbers scavenger hunt. Ex: one seashell, two sticks that look like “letter y’s” etc

39. Go to the local swimming pool

40. Going for walks with the dog

41. Berry picking

42. Bike riding

43. Go on a hunt pine cones (or acorns etc)

44. Check out an art gallery exhibit

45. Check out a local nature or garden centre

46. Visit a local museum

47. Visit botanical (or other) gardens

48. Go on a torch walk / spotlighting (with a flashlight) at night in your backyard or neighbourhood looking and listening out for local / native animals you can find

49. Jump and roll down sand dunes or hills

50. Take a walk/pram ride at night before bedtime and catch up with your kids

51. Try a new park or playground each month

52. Visit an outdoor movie theatre

53. Go for nature / bush walks

54. Go for a  walk – in the rain!

55. Play tourist in your own hometown and try out different local attractions

56. Play what’s the time Mr Wolf and other childhood games as a family at the playground

57. Go on a ‘treasure hunt’ -make up a list of things you want to find or see and then go off on a big adventure

58. a bike ride in a new area

59. Try geocaching (treasure hunt using GPS)

60. Take a ride on public transport (tram, train, bus etc) to wherever you end up!

61. Download a stargazing app for your phone or ipad and take it for a night walk to check out the stars

62. Visit a market – give everyone a small budget to buy things they choose

63. Go on a photo scavenger hunt looking for things in the shape of all the letters of the alphabet

64. Visit your local library for books, DVDs, CDs and often activities  

“Go for it now. The future is promised to no one.”—Wayne Dyer

 

Spend a little money:

65. Visit a rock climbing centre

66. Play putt putt / mini golf

67. Buy canvases and paint and create together – use your fingers for extra fun

68. Go to a “drive in” movie

69. Buy a yearly pass to a local wildlife or theme park or zoo – no pressure on each visit to see it all

70. Visit an observatory

71. Go fishing – hire poles if you don’t own them and buy some bait

72. Try horseback riding or a ride in a horse-drawn carriage

73. Head to a craft store and buy some scrapbooking supplies to create a family memories book  

If you live near (or can visit) rivers, lakes and beaches:

74. Head to a Marina and watch the boats, the people, daydream and relax

75. Hire a dingy and go fishing

76. Climb rocks along the edges

77. Collect shells, seaweed and whatever else you can find and make sand sculptures

78. Dig race tracks for toy trucks brought from home

79. Collect shells and nature finds to make crafts back at home

80. Kayaking or canoeing  

Food related fun:

81. Have a BBQ

82. Have a “no utensils” dinner and eat something messy (like spaghetti)

83. Prepare a fun “muffin tin” meal

84. Have a themed night at home with food and music, even games (ie cowboy night, pretend to visit a certain country etc)

85. Harvest foods from your garden and prepare them together

86. Surprise the kids at bedtime and take them out for ice cream in their PJs

87. Fish and chips (or other foods) picnic on the lounge room floor

88. Buy a new food to try each week

89. Have a “pizza and movie party” just for your family  

Outings further afield: 

90. Go on a short road trip and flip a coin to decide whether to turn left or right at key points and just see where we end up in a set amount of time (ie 30 minutes)

91. Go on a day-long road trip – look at a map and find a destination within a 150 km / 100 miles radius from your home.  Leave early in the morning, bring a packed lunch, and return later that night

92. Visit a working farm (for a day trip or a weekend stay)

93. Go on a camping trip

94. Find “pick your own”  places to visit and see how much local food you can find

95. Visit local festivals in surrounding towns and cities

96. Attend a music festival – a favourite type or try something new like opera in the park

97. Plan your next holiday together – put some ideas in a hat and pick one out randomly to decide where you are headed

Holiday activities:

98. Attend carols by candle light

99. Get the kids in their PJs and stay up late driving to visit neighbourhoods with great Christmas light displays

100. Bake and decorate cookies and deliver them to your friends and community

101. Have a massive snowball fight  

 

Click here to download : Printable Version of 101 ideas for fun and adventure  

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Once I started putting this together memories came flooding back of things we have done in the past (like the Merry Un-birthday party we had one year when my mother was visiting and wanted to celebrate with her grandkids). If reading this list triggers more ideas please share them in the comments – who knows I might just create more lists in the future (seasonal? holidays?).

 

My plan is to create a bucket list for my family to choose from (they are in charge and I have to say yes to everything). You could create some form of bucket list or simply print the list out and highlight what you want to do, or tick off things as you do them.

 

Whatever you do – have fun! Don’t worry about looking silly or not knowing how to do something. Act like a child and just “have a go” and let them good times roll.

 

 

Find your simple,

Deb

 

And since it is Tuesday why don’t you head over to Jess’ place and see what other bloggers have written today …

Tagged as: family fun, holidays, printables