101 Weekend Family Activity Ideas

This article originally appeared on AllProDad.com and reflects their mission and beliefs.

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A character from an old movie once said, “99 percent of your time and effort goes into three basic things: your house, your work, and your family. And all three of them pull on you in different directions. If you put all of them together the three of them want more than you’ve got to give. Your family are human so you think you can get some leeway. You think they’ll bend.”This phase of life is highly demanding and we can have a tendency to give our loved ones our leftovers rather than our best. The time we have with our children is short.

Whatever it is that may pull you away from your family, make sure you’re scheduling family activities over the weekend. Doing things together creates opportunities to bond and share deeper thoughts about life. If you are a single dad with limited time taking advantage of every moment is extra important. Here are 101 weekend family activity ideas to help you get started:

1. Family bike rides
2. Game night
3. Neighborhood walks
4. Sports training
5. Yard work
6. Laundry day
7. Volunteer in the community
8. Family movie night or marathon
9. Read a book together
10. Wash the cars
11. Family slumber party
12. Create a scrapbook
13. Set up a lemonade stand
14. Have a garage sale
15. Walk (if possible) to a local ice cream place
16. Attend church together
17. Go rollerblading
18. Create “busy bags”for the kids to play with on road trips
19. Create a home version of a popular game show
20. Walk the dog or the neighbor’s dog
21. Bake cookies
22. Make Christmas ornaments
23. Play flag football
24. Play video games.
25. Create homemade birthday or holiday cards
26. Take a dance class
27. Take a karate class
28. Search for constellations/stars
29. Go on a family picnic
30. Have a family barbecue
31. Create emergency plans (fire escape)
32. Create a first aid kit
33. Take an etiquette class
34. Create a family tree
35. Create a history timeline
36. Create and practice a family play
37. Test drive cars
38. Go visit open houses
39. Cook a new recipe that is challenging
40. Learn a home repair
41. Start a collection (coins, rocks, beads, etc.)
42. Make a grocery list and shop
43. Create a family cookbook
44. Have a no rules night
45. Have a conga line
46. Work on a puzzle
47. Play miniature golf
48. Create a list of local “kids eat free”locations and days and eat at one
49. Create a family handshake
50. Create a family mission statement
51. Complete a science project
52. Label all the things in your house with a new language you want to learn
53. Have a bubble blowing contest
54. Have a water balloon fight
55. Have a push-up contest (dad has child on his back to level the playing field)
56. Watch a movie and critique it like professional critics
57. Take a local mission trip (visit homeless shelters and give meals)
58. Go bowling
59. Play laser tag
60. Have a home “professional”photo shoot (kids act as the “professionalsâ€)
61. Write a family song or rap
62. Have a rap battle
63. Watch reruns of old shows that were popular when you were young
64. Go to a museum
65. Visit a local splash park
66. Go on a nature hike
67. Have a scavenger hunt
68. Visit the library
69. Go ice skating
70. Go to the barber shop together
71. Play hide-and-seek
72. Create a time capsule and bury it in the backyard
73. Have a family flash mob
74. Clip pictures of a dream home
75. Perform magic tricks
76. Collect and paint rocks
77. Visit a fire station
78. Go to a professional sports game
79. Collect leaves
80. Play foursquare
81. Have a Zoom, Google hangout or Skype call with out of town family
82. Play capture the flag
83. Have a family dinner out
84. Start a garden
85. Cook a meal together
86. Play kick the can
87. Go shopping (non-grocery)
88. Take things to Goodwill
89. Have a formal dinner at home (complete with servers, menu, dressing up, etc.)
90. Play Uno
91. Have a karaoke night
92. Collect seashells
93. Go fishing
94. Hang pictures in the house
95. Paint a bedroom
96. Listen to old school music (make the kids sing and dance along)
97. Have a family house party (kids play family DJ)
98. Watch old/classic movies
99. Fly kites
100. Set up recycle bins and recycling system
101. Make snow or sand angels
102. Bonus: Create your own list of 100+ things to do with your family

Sound off: What are some of your favorite activities to do with your kids?

This article originally appeared on AllProDad.com and reflects their mission and beliefs.