Family Outings

• Zoo visit. If your town has a zoo, make a family outing and play animal trivia during your visit. Visit Animal Trivia for simple questions to use.
• Bowling. Have a tournament where everyone bowls backwards, using a silly walk or in slow motion.
• Kite flying. Inexpensive kites can be found at discount or dollar stores, or you can make one from newspaper. Make Your Own Kite! offers helpful tips for making your own kites.
• Photography party. With a few disposable cameras (or cell phone or digital cameras), you and your family can have hours of fun. Choose a topic, such as doorways, people, clouds, then spend an hour or so taking interesting photos.
• Picnic in a park. Pack a picnic lunch and head out to a local park or pack a picnic dinner and have a picnic under the stars.
• Scavenger hunt. If there are several people in your family, divide into teams. Make a list of unusual items, and turn teams loose to locate the items from others in the neighborhood.
• Walking tour. Take a walking tour of your own city or town, as if you were visiting for the first time. Walking gives you a chance to see details you might not normally see during your daily routines.
• Park activities. Most community center, neighborhood parks and public libraries offer a variety of free activities for youth and families.

Fun At Home

• Family slumber party. Younger children, especially, love slumber parties – even if it’s with their family members. If sleeping bags aren’t available, sleep on the floor. Be sure to have snacks and games available.
• Baking cookies. Find several simple cookie recipes, and give each child a different one. Have them work together to make a batch of cookies, then let everyone test the different cookies.
• Movie watching party. Make movie-watching more fun by popping popcorn, turning out the lights or inviting in a few of your child’s friends.
• Greeting cards. With paper and colored markers, youth can make colorful greeting cards for friends, family members or seniors in the community.
• Collage making. Old magazines make great resources for making collages. Children can create a collage on any theme – careers, travel, friends – using words and images they find in the magazines.
• Papier-mâché animals. These are easy to make from materials you probably already have on hand. See Make Your Own Papier-Mâché for instructions.
• Paper airplanes. Youth of any age enjoy making paper airplanes. Check out BestPaperAirplanes.com for ideas and templates.
• Sock puppets. Socks make great puppets and give children the chance to use their imagination in creating characters and a puppet play.