Family Fun

10 Fun Family Exercise Ideas

October 15, 2019 By Orlena Kerek

When I was young, my dad used to take us swimming every Sunday. Sometimes we swam up and down. Sometimes we played in the shallow end. And, sometimes he threw me in the air and squirted me with water.

I have amazing memories of swimming as a child. Now as an adult, I’ve returned to my “swimming roots”. It’s my hobby, sport and “energy giver”.

It’s one of the tools I use to help me feel fit and fabulous.

Doing these fun family exercise ideas is a fantastic way to get off the sofa and create memories for your kids. It will also set your kids up for life if they develop an activity habit. They won’t even think they’re “doing exercise”, it will just be “having fun”.

Spend some quality time together with your kids and get in shape when you try one of these fun and simple family exercise ideas.

10 Simple Family Exercise Ideas

Roller Skating. Such fun! I learnt to roller skate at the age of 37, using my double buggy for support. Now I can whizz up and down, keeping up with my kids! Well nearly!

Trekking aka Walking. Simple but fun. I had a friend at school whose family did “letter boxing on Dartmoor” in the UK. The modern equivalent is geocaching. A simple walk will do. My kids love collecting sticks in the wood. We don’t get far but we have fun!

The possibilities are endless here are 10 more fun walk ideas for families.

Swimming. Pool or sea depending where you live! A fun way to exercise for everyone.

Friday Night Disco. Celebrate the end of the week with a family night disco. Put on your favourite tunes and twist and turn. Another family favourite. We even bought a glitter ball for extra sparkle!

Games in the Garden or Park. You don’t need heaps of space to do some outdoor games. Kick a ball around or play some playground favourites such as “Grannies Foot Prints” and “What’s the Time Mr Wolf?”. If you can get to a wood, our favourites are hide and seek and rin tin tin.

Cycling. If you have young kids you can use a bike seat or tow bar. We have cycle routes near us. (I’d be too scared to take my kids on a busy road!)

House/ Garden Work. Get them started young! House work and gardening is great exercise and a fantastic way to build team spirit. Kids will take pride in the work that they contribute.

Skipping. Either with a rope or elastic. Both are cheap and a great way to have fun and burn up some energy.

Go to the Beach. We love the beach in the winter when we can play frisbee and ball. And in the summer when we can swim.

Pack a Pic Nic. Combine a walk with a pic nic. Explore somewhere new and include some activities simple activities.

More Adventurous Family Exercise Ideas

There are heaps of adventurous activities that you can try out (depending on where you live and the age of your kids.)

These activities normally cost more.

Kayaking/ SUP
Sailing
Skiing/ snow boarding
Horse riding
White water rafting
Tree activities (fine a centre that has ropes and activities in the tree tops)
Rock climbing (find a climbing wall near you)

Pick Something You’ll Enjoy

Remember that the aim is fun and connection. It doesn’t have to be expensive (unless you want it to). Just simple, easy fun and activity.

You May Also Enjoy One of These Family Activities

The Best Family Fun Ideas

Discover a New Playground for Outdoor Family Fun

Tips for Hiking With Young Children

50+ Fun Scavenger Hunts for Kids

Do you want to do even more activities as a family?

Join our fun Facebook community, Creative Family Fun for Busy Families, for daily activities that are great for kids and families. We’ll chat, share, and have fun. It’s a safe and private place to share ideas for family and kids activities.

I’d love for you to join me! Just click the link below, request to join, and answer the questions (they’re easy, I promise). Come join the fun! Join the Creative Family Fun for Busy Families community here.

Printable Family Summer Bucket List

June 3, 2019 By Terri Thompson

I must have blinked. That’s the only explanation.

One day I was taking first day of school pictures. And the next… my kids are bringing home backpacks full of all their stuff from school. Yep. It’s time for summer.

And guess what, I have no idea what we’re going to do!

So, it’s time to create our family summer bucket list.

Plan your family summer bucket list with this fun printable. Use your own ideas or use some of our suggestions for summer fun!

Why should you create a summer bucket list?

There are a few reasons why I love creating a bucket list for summer. First, it’s a great resource for ideas. That brainstorming session you had to create your list is so useful when everyone is sitting around bored. Don’t know what to do? Check your list!

Plus, it gives everyone a chance to provide input. Maybe your kids were hoping for some specific activities this summer. This gives them a chance to tell you their wishes for summer fun. And you can record them and make sure everyone gets to do something they were wishing for.

I always think of our bucket list as a source of inspiration for the summer. It’s not a requirement at all. In fact, I don’t think we’ve ever had a year where we crossed off everything on the list!

Family Summer Bucket List Ideas

So what are you going to add to your bucket list?

Here are a few ideas:

Go to the beach
Make a blanket fort
Have a picnic
Go camping
Make root beer floats
Build a photo album
Catch fireflies
Have a water balloon fight
Tie dye shirts
Plant a garden
Make s’mores
Feed the ducks. But, don’t feed them bread! Here’s a better option for duck food at Playground Park Bench.
Watch fireworks
Go fishing
Go to a drive in movie
Roller blade
Make ice cream
Ride a ferris wheel
Build a sandcastle
Go on a hike
Make suncatchers, like these easy painted suncatchers!
Bury a time capsule
Volunteer (Here are some great ideas if you want to help your local animal shelter).
Go on a boat ride
Run a 5K
Visit a museum

And if that’s not enough ideas. Here are 200 more fun ideas for your summer bucket list!

Record Your Summer Bucket List Ideas

Now that you’ve come up with your fun summer ideas, you need to write them down.

I’ve got just the thing for you, a cute watermelon-themed summer bucket list printable.

Just save and print. You’ll find space to record 10 ideas and also a printable with all the ideas I listed above. If you have more than 10 ideas, just print multiple copies!

Get your Watermelon Summer Bucket List here.

Are you ready for some summer fun? We are!

Awesome summer fun resources:

In addition to all the fun ideas listed above, you could also add one of these fun outdoor activities to your list. Play ring toss, ladder toss, laws darts or more! So much fun!

Get more family fun ideas here:

Spring Family Fun Ideas to Do in May

May 9, 2019 By Terri Thompson

I don’t know about you, but it can be quite difficult to come up with simple family fun ideas, especially ideas that are inexpensive (or even free).

My mind always goes to ideas like a trip to the movies, or to bowling, or dinner at a restaurant. They’re all fun ideas but can end up costing a lot of money. You can’t do these all the time, so you end up skipping family time.

So what can you do? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a list of inexpensive and simple family fun ideas that could be done any time? I think so.

Luckily, I’ve got just the list for you – some Spring Family Fun Ideas you’ll love!

Enjoy some simple and fun quality time with your family this May with these Spring Family Fun Ideas. Print off the list and go have some fun together!

Here are some ideas for the month of May. The weather is warmer and daylight lasts longer so you can spend time together outside. These ideas are perfect for springtime and May, but many can be done at anytime of the year.

So, print out your list, hang it up, and plan some family fun time.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

Spend some time with your family this spring with these simple family fun ideas for the month of May. Print out the idea list and have some fun!

Spring Family Fun Ideas for May

Go bird watching

Grab a bird book and go on a bird-watching hike. Choose a park or a nice hiking trail. Watch, observe, and listen. If you don’t already have a bird guide, you can borrow one from your local library for your hike. You can find some more family bird-watching tips at this post, Family Bird Watching Club.

If you’re looking to add a great bird field guide to your family library, I’d recommend either the Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America or The National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds: Eastern Region or Western Region.

Have a favorite food dinner

Have a dinner consisting of each person’s favorite food. Don’t worry if they don’t exactly make up your ideal meal. That’s part of the fun! Pizza, peas, and ice cream sound perfect.

If your kids are old enough, let each person in the family prepare their favorite. You can have fun in the kitchen and at the dinner table!

Look at the clouds

Lie on your backs and find pictures in the clouds. What do you see? Can you make up stories about the pictures you find?

Turn this simple cloud watching time into story time and bring along a copy of Little Cloud by Eric Carle to read.

Create a family mural

Tape a large piece of paper to the wall and create a family mural.

You can cut off a large piece from a roll of paper to make a large enough mural the whole family can work on together.

Draw separate images or work together to make one larger image.

Play with balloons

Have a balloon party!

Play “keep it in the air”, where everyone works together to keep the balloon from falling on the ground, or play a game of living room volleyball.

You can also rub the balloons in your hair to try and get them to stick to the wall or ceiling. Warning: this activity can cause a lot of laughter!

Take a picnic to the park

Have a picnic at the park and spend the evening playing together on the playground.

If you enjoy picnics with the family, invest in some tools like a nice personalized picnic blanket and an insulated picnic basket so it’s easy to head out anytime you want.

Bake cookies

Bake cookies as a family. Make a family favorite recipe or try something new like these Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies at Kitchen Counter Chronicles.

If you make too many, package some up to deliver to friends or neighbors!

Go on a twilight walk

Go on a walk at twilight.

Look and listen. Do you hear different sounds at this time of day than you do in the middle of the day?

Pay attention to the sky and watch the change from daytime to nighttime.

Take silly pictures

Get out a camera or a smart phone and take silly pictures of each other.

You never know, you may find a new masterpiece that need to be printed and framed.

You could even make some of these simple Craft Stick Picture Frames to display your fun picture.

Have a dance party

Crank up the music and have a living room dance party!

It’s a great way to get moving, blow off steam, and have a lot of fun together.

Print out your spring family fun ideas and have some fun.

In order to make things easy for you, I’ve put all of these ideas in a simple printable list.. Print it out, stick it to the front of your fridge with magnets, and use it for family fun ideas all month long.

Get your printable May Family Adventures here.

Schedule your spring family fun time.

In order to make sure that we fit in some family time each month, I’ve found that it can help to schedule a couple of activities for the month. It doesn’t have to be set in stone, but if you plan on going on a bird-watching hike on Saturday, scribble it on the calendar and let the whole family know. They’ll look forward to it and so will you, which makes it less likely that you will skip it.

Which of these ideas are you going to add to your calendar this month?

Family fun activities I recommend

It’s so easy to have some family fun if you keep a few outdoor games around. Grab one and head outside for simple fun!

Here’s some fun ideas:

Ladder Toss Game

Ring Toss

Lawn Darts

Or one of these other ideas below.

Join our community for even more family activities

Discover a New Playground for Outdoor Family Fun

May 1, 2019 By Terri Thompson

Are you often trying to find ideas for outdoor family fun?

I don’t know about you, but I struggle with this all the time.

I check out community resources and think about some of our favorite locations and other family fun ideas we’ve done in the past… that is, IF I’m actually thinking of things ahead of time.

Normally, though, the weekend sneaks up on me. Almost every single week. I have nothing planned and we end up spending all weekend at home. Sound familiar?

Don’t get me wrong, it can be nice to have a relaxing weekend at home. But, sometimes, we just want to get out and do something fun. That’s when you need a few go-to, easy ideas in your pocket that you can do anytime.

One of those ideas that we’ve done on occasion is to discover a “new to us” park.

Go on a fun and inexpensive family adventure by discovering a "new to you" park together. You'll be able to get outside and have fun together.

Disclosure: This post is written in support of the 7th Annual Kids to Parks Day from the National Park Trust. All ideas and opinions are my own. There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

What is a “new to us” park?

Basically, a “new to us” park is any park that we’ve never visited. Simple.

It could be a park in your hometown or one in a neighboring city. Just find one you’ve never visited, because part of the adventure is discovering someplace new.

Where can I find a “new to us” park for outdoor family fun?

Luckily, thanks to the internet, it’s easy to find a new park.

To start, you can simple search for “parks in [insert city and state]” and very often you’ll easily find some results. When we moved to a new city last summer, I did this soon after we unpacked. I easily found all of the parks in our new town and we had tons of fun checking them out.

Another way to find new parks is to just pay attention while you drive. Make a mental note or jot locations down on a piece of paper if you pass a fun park. I discovered one on our last road trip in a nearby small town that we’re going to have to check out soon.

You never know what you might discover!

We’ve found some absolute gems by just picking out a random park on a map. We’ve discovered farm theme playgrounds and petting zoos.

Some parks have gone above and beyond with unique playgrounds and open-ended toys. One such playground in a local nature center had a bin full of kid-sized shovels and an open invitation to dig. Awesome!

But, even if you discover a a very typical style playground, you’ll still have tons of outdoor family fun. Explore, play together, laugh, and enjoy your family adventure.

How can you make the most of your outdoor family fun at the park?

There are so many things you can do to make the day even more special.

Pack a picnic lunch and eat together before playing. Many parks have picnic tables you can use, but pack a blanket just in case they don’t. You’ll always find a grassy area to spread your blanket.

Have a scavenger hunt. There are tons of ideas online that you can print, or you can do something simple like this scavenger hunt we went on in our backyard that could be easily adapted for any park.

Bring along some fun outdoor toys. Bring a Frisbee, a football, or a beach ball along. This is especially fun if you happen to find a park with big open grassy areas.

Explore the neighboring areas. If you’re visiting a park in a nearby town, see if there is anything else fun to do. Are there nearby nature trails for a walk? Or maybe there’s a fun ice cream shop for a treat? Explore and have fun.

And, most important of all, relax and realize that no matter how good or bad the park is, the most important thing is time together with the family. (If the park is truly terrible, just pack up and find another park. You can always go to a tried-and-true favorite.)

Have fun exploring a “new to you” park together? It’s great fun, inexpensive, and the best part is that you can go on this family adventure again and again any time you want some outdoor family fun.

Have some outdoor family fun and adventure by discovering a new park together. Get outside with this fun and free family activity!

Fun Toys to Bring to the Park

If you want to add to the fun on your family adventure, you can bring a simple toy to play with while you’re there. Here are a few fun ideas:

Do you want to do more activities with your family?

Top Family Movies on Amazon Prime

April 15, 2019 By Terri Thompson

We don’t always plan ahead for family movie night.

Sometimes, it’s a last minute idea and there’s just not any time to go and find a great family friendly movie.

So, now what? Well, just head over to one of your streaming services and take a peek. For instance, here are some of the best family movies on Amazon Prime right now.

What are you going to watch for your next family movie night? You don't need to look any further than these top family movies on Amazon Prime.

Note: The age suggestions came from Common Sense Media. Please use your own discretion when choosing a movie. You know your family best!

Note: These fun family movies are available with your Amazon Prime subscription as of April 14, 2019.

Best Family Movies on Amazon Prime

There are so many reasons why I love my Amazon Prime subscription. One favorite part is the movie and TV selection.

So, you don’t have to look any further for your next family movie night.

Here are my family’s suggestions of Prime movies you may love for your next movie night.

Fun Animated Family Movies

Charlotte’s Web (rated G, ages 5+) – This choice is the classic animated version of this beloved book. It’s been well-loved through the years and is a lovely choice for even the youngest kids.

Sherlock Gnomes (rated PG, ages 6+) – This fun, animated comedy is actually the sequel to Gnomeo and Juliet, but luckily it’s not necessary to see the first movie. It’s fun, a bit wacky, and both adults and kids will like it.

The Dark Crystal (rated PG, ages 7+) – This Jim Henson fantasy as been loved through the years. The story is fantastic, but it can be intense as times so it may not be the best choice for kids under 7.

All Dogs Go to Heaven (rated G, ages 8+) – This classic animated movies is full of music and fun. It’s the story of a dog sent back to earth from Heaven who learns how to love.

The Secret of Nimh (rated G, ages 8+) – This movie about a mouse trying to save her son is full of nostalgia for me since I loved both the book and movie as a child. This choice, though, is not suitable for any child that gets frightened easily since it does have some scary scenes.

Live Action Family Movies

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (rated G, ages 6+) – If you’re looking for a fun classic movie to share, this one’s a great choice. It’s full of music, fantasy, adventure, and fun. I love it so much I also recommended it as one of my Top 10 Musicals for Families.

Hotel for Dogs (rated PG, ages 7+) – This comedy choice is a fun and safe choice for younger kids (and especially dog lovers) that your older kids will also like. And, if you’re looking for a great read-aloud, the book that this movie is based on is also delightful.

The Baby Sitters Club (rated PG, ages 9+) – This fun movie based off of the popular book series would be a fun choice for a mother/daughter movie night. It’s a nice, light-hearted story of friendship.

Wonder (rated PG, ages 10+) – This movie, based off of the book of the same name, is a wonderful choice for families to watch together. This story of a boy with facial deformities entering school for the first time will teach kindness, empathy, and acceptance. It’s a heartwarming choice that can lead to some fabulous conversations with your kids.

Fiddler on the Roof (rated G, ages 10+) – Clocking in at almost 3 hours long, this is probably not the best choice for a family with kids under 5. But, the story and music are wonderful and I consider this a must-see musical once your kids are older.

What’s the last movie you’ve watched on Amazon Prime?

All the best family movies on Amazon Prime.

Get Amazon Prime to make family movie night easy.

If you’ve got Amazon Prime, it can be so easy to have a fun movie night. They’ve got so many family friendly movies, including all the ones listed above available via streaming (in addition to other great benefits). You can sign up for Amazon Prime via this link.