If you check your online national holiday calendars, you’ll see that August has been declared “Family Fun Month!” I am exactly the kind of person to take holidays like this to heart. I think it’s a great opportunity for meaningful family fun while there’s still some summer for everyone to enjoy! Whether your family is outdoorsy, indoorsy, or a bit of both, you’ll find some great ideas for novel family nights in my list of Family Fun Month activities:
Hold a Family Talent Show
Let each family member (including mom and dad) pick a talent to share with the family! It could be anything from sharing the perfect cookie dough recipe, folding origami, singing, putting on a dance routine, firing a Nerf gun at a target, or getting the cat to jump through a hoop.
Have a Karaoke Night
All you need is a YouTube video with lyrics, good speakers, something for a microphone and your living room transforms into a stage for karaoke night! Everything from setting up to singing the night away makes great family fun month activities.
Enjoy a Backyard Bonfire
It’s so easy to have dinner or dessert over a fire (so long as the really little ones don’t mind some help). Roast S’mores, peeps, hotdogs, gummy bears, starbursts, or even Pillsbury dough!
Take a Family Bike Ride
Find a park with a good track, a local bike trail, or a safe street and take the kids for a ride! Don’t forget to consider your kid’s stamina when you pick your destination, and remember, the kids will need the strength to ride back. My family loves to ride to a park about 10 blocks away. We fly kites, have picnics, and play frisbee before packing up and riding back home.
Have a Picnic in the Park
Picnics can be a great opportunity for family fun. Pack sandwiches and snacks as a family, bring games or plan activities! Additionally, three-legged races, monopoly, and bubble wars have all made for memorable picnics with my family.
Go Geocaching
If you’ve never been, here are a few great beginner tips for families!
Build a Fort in the Backyard
Basements, dining rooms, and other fort locations are just as acceptable! Try cozying up with a good book! My little ones love listening to tales like Peter and the Starcatchers or Inkheart. If you aren’t a reader, playing Audible or getting an audiobook from your local library are great options to hold storytime. In fact, the version attached here for Peter and the Starcatchers read by Jim Dale is my favorite to listen to!
Take a Road Trip/Vacation
Some of the best family bonding experiences I had with my siblings were on road trips. As such, I strive to give my kids the same opportunities. Spend some serious time together by taking a road trip! There are places all over the country worth visiting with your family, where adventures can bring you all together.
Do the Model Walk
Let the kids strut their stuff in a back-to-school fashion show! Create a runway down a hallway, play some music like “I’m Too Sexy” to set the mood and let their inner model come out! Plus, it’s a fun way to help your kids get confident in their new school clothes!
Fight Like Ninja Warriors
Take the whole family to a local trampoline park, and utilize their obstacle courses for some serious ninja training! Whether your kids are racing each other or just practicing their skills, everyone wants to be an American Ninja Warrior!
Go All Out for a Family Movie Night
Picking a movie is the hardest part when the family gets together for a movie night. Popcorn, M&Ms, Twizzlers, and Sodas are classic movie theatre treats that are easy to bring home. Plus, you get the added benefit on blankets and pillow nests on the floor!
Take a Day Trip
Do some research and find something family-friendly that’s worth exploring, within about five hours’ drive. You can fit in all the fun of a road trip before heading back home to your own beds.
Make Your Own Pizza Night
Gather up an array of toppings and make plenty of crust! Tonight everyone gets to make their own pizza! Whether your family makes one large pizza sectioned with multiple toppings, individual-sized pizzas stacked with toppings, or a large pizza with different toppings for everyone, pizza night can lead your family to hours of fun!
Make Homemade Ice Cream
All you need is ice cream salt, ice, a gallon-sized bag, a quart-sized bag, and a recipe for homemade ice cream. Put the custard recipe (any recipe will do!) into a quart-sized baggie and seal it. Pour ice and ice cream salt into the gallon-sized bag, then place the quart-sized bag into that and seal. Shake it up well until the mixture starts to thicken, then freeze for about half an hour and voila! Homemade ice-cream! The best part is that each family member can make their own flavor because quart-sized bags are great for small batches.
Looking for more great family fun month activities? Check out my other blogs here!