I was recently speaking on a panel to other women who too are trying to manage the chaos with work and life. I shared one of my life hacks that spurred a discussion. As a busy woman with a family and a business, I do indeed schedule family fun activities. It is shocking coming out of my mouth because I used to pride myself on being spontaneous and fun and always going with the flow. Somehow, though the older I get (or perhaps, it has something to do with the four kids and their busy schedules), the busier I get and there aren’t as many opportunities for spontaneity. This way, it happens and we have so much fun and memories are made. I know that if it wasn’t scheduled, it definitely wouldn’t happen. Of course, the goal is to still have spontaneous fun because who doesn’t love that but also to use our calendar for other fun scheduled activities.
As a result of this newer philosophy, we really try to make it a point to do one family fun activity a month. Now, I’m not as boring as I sound, but this does generally ensure we get to do an activity with all six of us. And it doesn’t have to be a huge production or big cost (often times, the best times are free)!
Here are some easy family fun activities you can do:
- Go to the dog park (yes, this counts as an activity) as a family. It is fun and of course, way better if you have a dog. We recently rescued our dog, Roxy, and she loves the dog park.
- Go to the circus or zoo or museum or aquarium
- Do a family challenge. My oldest daughter is a gymnast so she had us do the Family Gymnastics Challenge a year ago. Now that was hilarious and not too pretty but certainly fun and memorable and free.
- Do a fun run or 5k. There are so many to choose from, you can’t go wrong. If you haven’t tried a color run, the kids will love that one.
- Go to a sporting event. It doesn’t have to be a professional game either. You get great seats and an amazing experience if you do a minor league event or college.
- Go for a bike ride on a local path or boardwalk. My daughter is disabled so we’ve used one of these trailers until she was 12 (she doesn’t quite fit well anymore.
- Rent a surrey bike and ride on the boardwalk.
- Go to Skyzone or one of those places where you all jump around. Mom and Dad are in the mix too, of course.
- Have a picnic, go out to dinner to a fun new restaurant
- Go into the city closest to you and explore
- Have a family March Madness Bracket and the winner gets to pick where to go out and celebrate
- Have family movie night. Rent a movie, make popcorn, eat junk food (or not)
- Family game night
- Go ice skating or roller skating and parents need to get on skates. The kids love that.
You get the idea. The hardest thing, no doubt, is getting you all together. But if you can, do it. I know how difficult that is (believe me) but that is what makes it so memorable. We often have to divide and conquer in life to just manage our family of six. Many activities are challenging to do with Ellie and her special needs but we have found enough things that can be experienced as a family! I hope you’ll join in the fun and make some memories too and remember to take lots of pictures.
I also apply this philosophy to date nights with my husband, Brad. You may remember this blog I wrote on monthly life dates. Try it, you’ll like it. I also love seeing my girlfriends and business friends but if we don’t put it on the calendar and treat it like a priority, it again doesn’t happen. Some also believe in scheduling white space (that’s another blog though). We have found that this does work for us and the key to success is finding what works for you and your family.
