Family fun nights can be great opportunities to connect with your kids and create fun family memories. We’ve been wanting to make family night a regular part of our week, but lack of funds, ideas and planning have thwarted us so far. But no longer!
Here are 17 ideas for fun and frugal family nights that will work for all ages:
1. Games! Board games, puzzles, charades, Pictionary, or active video games! If needed, two games can be going – one for littles and one for bigs.
2. Movie Night. Snuggle up on the couch or in living room tents with some popcorn or other special snacks.
3. Picnic/Silly Dinner: Eating interesting foods or eating food in interesting places is always fun for kids. Try a picnic on the floor, meals in muffin tins, or something just wacky.
4. Get Outside. Go for a walk, go to a park (even with older kids!), play ball, go for a hike, or go for a bike ride.
5. Go for a drive. Fall is a great time for a long drive to look at all the colors.
6. Family Videos. Watch them or make them!
7. Family Pictures. Bust out the photo albums or computer and just browse through the pictures. Kids LOVE looking at pictures of themselves and their parents as babies, or of all the adventures you’ve had together as a family.
8. Plays and Puppet Shows. Create a play or puppet show and put on the performance together. You might want to record that too!
9. Treasure Hunts. Make an elaborate treasure hunt that takes your family all over the house or even the town. Geocaching is another fun activity along those lines to look into.
10. Read Aloud Time. Pick a book or series appropriate for your kids’ ages and make an event of read aloud time, complete with special snacks, pjs, and hot chocolate.
11. Serve Together. Volunteer at a local charity or your church. Visit an elderly person or shut-in and then go out for ice cream. Bake and put together care packages for families dealing with illness or celebrating a new baby.
12. Sing Together. Learn some worship songs together and sing them. Now’s the time to start practicing Christmas carols! At least it is if you have littles like we do.
13. Theme Night. Have a party around a theme. Buy or make decorations, pick a menu, play music, and do activities around your theme. Theme ideas include seasons, holidays, books, other countries, hobbies, toys, and so on.
14. Build Something. Have a night of building things! Pinterest is great inspiration for this. Little catapults, cardboard box castles, legos, magna tiles, straws, PVC pipe creations, etc.
15. Just Play. Family night is a fun time for parents to join their littles in play time. It’s even fun for older kids! Spend some time with play dough, paints, obstacle courses, pretend play, or hide and seek.
16. Make Cards. Write letters and make cards for soldiers, distant relatives, college kids, pen pals, and anyone else you can think of! The art of letter writing can be carried on in your home!
17. Karaoke Dance Party. Can you just imagine? It will be awesome! This is something I’m going to have to do soon with my family. We even have the dollar store toy microphones to use.
With a little creativity, a family of any size and with a wide range of ages can have a memorable time!
What are your frugal family night ideas?
This article was written by Tauna at Proverbial Homemaker.
