Your Parenting Resource: Fun Activities For The Whole Family

Sometimes you just need something fun to do with your family to put some laughter back into your lives! Below is a list of activities that are quick to begin, simple to do, and guaranteed to bring smiles and joy to your loved ones. When you're feeling stressed by daily life, just stop by here for an idea to recharge your family!

1. Have a water gun fight!
   
   
   Fill up the water guns, head outside, and don't be afraid to get wet! Yes, Mom and Dad, you too!
2. Have a Scripture Rally!
   
   Gather the family together and, beginning with the youngest member, take turns saying a single Bible verse. Each person tries to say a different verse. When a person cannot think of any other verses, he is out. The winner is the person who can say the most verses!
3. Bake cookies.
   
   Sure it can be messy, but worry about that later! If you need something super simple, peanut butter cookies can be made from 1 cup peanut butter, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup flour. Stir thoroughly and bake on un-greased cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes. For some extra excitement, stir a bag of chocolate chips into the dough or press a chocolate kiss into each cookie just after taking them out of the oven.
4. Have a camp night.
   
   Drag out the sleeping bags and camp lanterns. Push the chairs and coffee table out of the way, and set up 'camp' on your living room floor. Turn out the lights, turn on the lanterns, and have some fun! Tell stories, sing songs, whatever the kids can think of!
5. Tell a story 'in the round.'
   
   Mom or Dad, begin a story but only tell a little bit. Stop and let one of the children tell a part. Then the next one, and so on. These stories become hilarious!
6. Pop popcorn the old-fashioned way!
   
   No microwaves for this one. Put a little oil in a big pot, set it on the stove, pour in the popcorn, and wait. The kids love this! Hot air poppers are great too.
7. Have a Scripture Memorization Contest!
   
   Write 1-5 Bible verses on a sheet of paper, one sheet for each family member. Hand out the papers and set a date for one week later. Each family member works alone throughout the week to memorize the verse(s). At the end of the week, have a meeting and see who can say the entire verse! The kids might just beat Mom and Dad! (If any of your children are too young to do this alone, you could make teams instead. Mom teams up with some of the little ones, and Dad teams up with the others. Can the teens beat the teams?)
8. Games!
   
   
   Charades: Someone thinks of a person, action, phrase, etc.--such as swimming--and acts it out with gestures and facial expressions, but no words. Everyone else tries to guess what he is doing.
   
   
   Blind Man's Bluff: (Move any dangerous furniture out of the way for this one.) Blindfold one member of the family. Now he has to try to find the others, while they keep running away from him. No talking, and try not to laugh! For older kids, this can be even more fun if you play after dark and turn the lights out.
   
   
   Picture This: Similar to charades, only you draw the person, action, or phrase instead of acting it out. The larger piece of paper you can use for this, the better! Of course, Mom or Dad can help younger kids think of something to draw.
9. Family Projects:
   
   
   
   To see an example of how our family turned an immediate need into a fun family activity view our Grotto page!

If your family has any activity suggestions share them through our simplecontact form and we'll be sure to include them here!