I absolutely love this blog topic! In fact, in my blog drafts folder I have a post all about a fun tradition that our family does called “evening activity”. After dinner and chores, we take turns picking an activity to do together as a family. There are a couple rules- it can’t involve screens (there are certain exceptions to this rule), everyone has to participate, and it has to be free (again, there are some exceptions and on rare occasions we will spend $).
I know many people will say that is just not possible for their families, and I totally get it. We go through seasons of being able to do an evening activity every day, and then go a month or more without doing a single one. But I do also want to point out that we have very intentionally chosen to not sign our kids up for any extracurriculars at this time in their lives, which leaves most evenings free at home.
So, our favorite activities to do together as a family are:
- Reading aloud
Sometimes I read picture books aloud to the kids, but within the last year we have really started to get into chapter books. Our goal this summer is to get through the entire Chronicles of Narnia series. We just finished the 3rd book, so I’m guessing we won’t accomplish that goal-but we might get pretty close!
- Hiking
Every single person in our family LOVES to hike. We are always up for a hike. Surprisingly, our area of Ohio has quite a few good hikes and we have enjoyed exploring so many trails around here.
- Adventuring
Ok, I realize that this is kind of a broad and made-up activity. But if our family could wake up in the morning and choose one thing to do, it would almost always involve some kind of outdoor adventure. We don’t do this much, because it usually costs money- but one of our favorites is tubing/kayaking. Although we haven’t done any of these, I can absolutely see mudding, four wheeling, hot air balloons, sky diving, etc. in our future.
And on the flip side of this, we also just love to be working together and outside on our property. There is always an adventure to be had there!
- Movie Night
Ok, I had to put this one in there. It’s not *my* favorite thing to do together, but everyone else in my family absolutely loves when we sit down with our dinners in front of the TV and just watch a movie.
- Local festivals, parades and events
If there is a local festival, parade, or event…we will be there! We love exploring local areas and going to fairs, fall festivals, gardens, etc. And if Theo was writing this blog post, he would say that it’s not *his* favorite thing to do together, but the rest of us love it. Ha! Isn’t marriage always a little give and take?
I’m so excited to read the other blog posts and perspectives on this one! What would you say are your families top 5 things to do together? Remember that it can be so simple- as simple as family movie night!
We spent a lot more time together as a family than most others we know as well, making an intentional effort not to sign our kids up for activities that had time commitments at night (of course now with 2 working and driving that is a bit different) but we still manage to eat altogether as a family more nights than not and I just love it. I miss reading aloud together so much!!
It really does feel like a lot of work, but I am thankful that our kids will have a lot of memories together. I know as they get older they will want to be involved more in sports and friends, so I’m holding tight to these days! There are some things that I will not miss, but I know that I will miss reading aloud to them!