When I first became a mother I was always told to cherish the time while you can because they are only little for so long, and boy was that the truth! I feel like I’ve blinked and our oldest is a toddler and our youngest daughter is already calling me mom.
We attended a friends high school graduation party this past week and all I could think about was when the time would come that I would be the one throwing the party for my kids. If the first two years have went this fast I can only imagine how it’s going to feel when I’m seeing them walk off the stage with their diploma! So I’ve skipped a few nap times and let them stay up a little longer than usual every now and then to squeeze in some extra quality time together, with two kids it can be harder to get that one on one time. They aren’t going to remember the 2 hour nap they took but they’ll remember our pirate treasure hunts, weekly fort Fridays, and our camp outs in the living room. I’ve shared our favorite family activities that we’ve done this summer to help cherish the time with them while you can!
30 Family Activities
1. Treasure Hunt (Geocaching) – This is a fun activity my son calls ‘Treasure Hunting’. If you haven’t heard of Geocaching you can find more information here. But what’s nice about this activity is that it’s FREE and they are usually found everywhere! Just check out their site and enter your zip code. Make sure that when you do locate a Geocache to read the information before you go to find it because they will state if the area is family friendly or not. You will navigate to the Geocache with either their free app or GPS and once we find the cache box our son will always take out one item and replace it with another!
2. Free Movies – In our area we have what they call ‘ Movies in the Park’ during the summer where at the locacl park they will feature a kids movie for the night where families can go for free to watch along the river. If they don’t offer anything like this in your area most cinema’s offer a discounted day during the week where the admission is half off.
3. Family Picnic – Enjoy some time outdoors with the family at the park.
4. Car Cruise – My son’s favorite and it’s free!
5. Beach Trip or Local Pool – Spend the day at the beach or a local pool if you’re not close to the beach.
6. Local Fair – See what local fairs are going on around you. They’re usually inexpensive and always have things for the kids to do at any age!
7. Play Date – Have a friend over with their kids and enjoy the day together!
8. Dinner – A lunch date or dinner with the family at your favorite spot!
9. Movie Night – Pick a family movie from Red Box or Netflix and call it a movie night!
10. Family Craft Night – Pick a craft that the whole family can enjoy. We just did this one where we colored pasta, learned the different colors, and made fun pasta necklaces for the whole family.
11. Camping in the Backyard – Have a fire and make smores out in the back yard. If you don’t want to spend the night outside you can always camp out in the living room!
12. Children’s Museum – Most museums have specials that go on from time to time so check before you plan this one.
13. Zoo Trip – Our zoo has discount passes if you purchase from Giant Eagle or as a group. So check to see if there’s any specials before you plan this.
14. Scavenger Hunt – This can be used with anything, like a bug, noises, or shape scavenger hunt. We just did a car scavenger hunt that we made ourselves because our son is a huge car lover. If you prefer to have one already made, Pinterest offers tons of options.
15. Water Balloon Fight – Great for the hot summer days.
16. Fort Friday – Daddy started this family favorite that our son looks forward to every Friday!
17. Dance Party – Usually we do this if my son wakes up on the wrong side of the bed. I will blast his favorite song ‘ Ring Around The Rosie’ Or ‘ Mickey Mouse Clubhouse’ theme song and we dance, always works!
18. Late Nights – Let them stay up a little later past their bed time for some one on one quality time.
19. Walk or Hike – A free activity that they kids can enjoy outdoors, like hiking at a local park.
20. Drive In Movie – Most drive- ins are pretty inexpensive and you usually pay for a couple movies for the night. Our local one has a set price on a car load for two movies. Even though we usually never make it to the second one!
21. Baseball Game – Again check out your options to purchase discounted tickets, there’s usually a ton of options! This makes a great family night out!
22. Playground – A free activity that your kids will always enjoy.
23. Local Library – Check out your local library for free kids activities. Our local library holds one every week where the kids get together to make crafts and have story time!
24. Glow Bowling – We LOVE glow bowling and it was a huge hit for our first time with our toddler.
25. Water Park – If you have a local water park these a fun idea because there’s usually something to do for all ages.
26.Theme Park – Our community does a community day every year at our local theme park so there’s always a chance to purchase cheap tickets for the day!
27. Hide n’ Seek – Perfect for those boring rainy days!
28. Playing Dress Up – Dress up isn’t just for the girls. We like to use our hulk gloves and superhero capes for our superhero dress up nights!
29. Petting Zoo – If you’re not looking to spend the day at the zoo, a small petting zoo can be just as fun. And they usually have pony rides available for the kids.
30. Making Our Own Garden – Because kids love to get dirty, include them in on your gardening this summer. They will love to watch what they planted grow!
Today , we have over 15 other bloggers bringing you The Ultimate Guide to Family Fun, full of the best family activities, games and much more including a giveaway with some amazing sponsors!
Forever Keepsake – Family Footprint Frame – The Realistic Mama
30 Family Activities – I Heart Arts n Crafts
Simple Ideas for Summer Family Fun – Lemon Lime Adventures
Backyard Tight Rope – Kids Activities Blog
Family Fun Art Project – Hand Made Kids Art
20+ Ideas for Family Time – Life Over Cs
Hiking together – P is for Preschooler
Family Scavenger Hunt – This Reading Mama
Family Movie Nights – Artsy Momma
Nature Scavenger Hunt Free Printable – The Jenny Evolution
Summer Sayings Board – Edventures with Kids
Playground Hop – Valley Family Fun
Hometown Ice Cream Tour – Study At Home Mama
Mother/Son Date Ideas – The Joys of Boys
Our Family’s Fun Weekly Buzz – Mama’s Happy Hive
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What a lot of really fun activities for the summertime. I want to do geocaching one of these days…sounds like a lot of fun. I love going to the beach, the woods, nature trails and bike riding.
Great ideas! Family fun doesn’t have to be complicated!
This is a great compilation… and proof that the best things in life are indeed free!
Love this list! I’ve been wanting to do geocaching as well! Who doesn’t love a treasure hunt?? 🙂
Those are all great ideas. My boys just got out of school, so we have a fun summer planned.
Great ideas!
My kids like to go on “dates” with us.. its their special time alone.. we like it also, its a break from everything else..
Love all these ideas! Thanks for being apart of the hop with us.
This is a great list, I can’t believe how fast mine are growing up!
We do many of these things on this list! I love doing simple things with our family!
Great activities! And you are right, we need to cherish the time when they still are young. Children grow up so fast!
These are all fantastic ideas even for older children! I missed so much getting to get out and do fun things with my daughter due to medical issues but I love this list!
My favorites were family craft night and fort Friday! Great ideas! Love it!!!
Great list! We love having dance parties with the kids around here 🙂
Great ideas. They’re perfect for my almost three year old!
Jackie, I love everything about this post 🙂 I’m too late to enter the giveaway.. I’m sure it was fab! I’m pinning this post for reference. Thank you for joining in our #PinUP Pin Party!!