Vacation Days: Three Fabulous Family Activities Tips for the Vacation Bound Clan

Posted on February 21, 2012 by alanpierre

A family vacation is a very special event. Mom and dad have some time off work and the kids have some time off school. What better way to spend it than with each other and by enjoying some fabulous family fun activities. Arriving at your vacation destination and what you can do once you there, however, is quite another story. Hopefully the helpful tips outlined below can get you well on your way to family vacation fun times that you won’t soon forget.

Making the Family Fun Activities Vacation Ideas Bin

The reality is that whenever the topic of family vacations comes up, well sufficed to say that all parties in the group want to have their say on the matter. If you are up for trying to arrive at a vacation conclusion that will please all family members, then you may want to have each child write down their top three destinations and vacation ideas. You can then randomly draw them from a bin or hat, and write them down for consideration. Try to find two from each child, and add two from each parent; this way there are fewer arguments that can transpire.

Splitting into Groups for Gender Specific Activities

Once you have your vacation destination decided upon, which mom and dad have the final say on, what family fun activities are you going to enjoy once you arrive at that vacation paradise? A good method is to try and think of several things that you can do together as a family – which mom and dad think of. Then, have dad sit down with the boys and mom sit down with the girls. Think of gender specific ideas that will appeal to boys and girls. The boys head out with dad on certain days and the girls accompany mom. This way they both have something extra special to look forwards to.

Making Family Fun Activities Educational When on Vacation

Lastly, don’t ever overlook the educational value of any vacation. There is something that can be learned nearly everywhere. These are family fun activities that mom and dad denote. Look up your vacation destination online. Research places of interest nearby. Try and set aside one vacation day where you can explore and learn something together as a family that none of you knew about prior.

Three Family Fun Activities You Can Do to Raise Money for Charitable Causes

Posted on February 18, 2012 by alanpierre

When you often think of family fun activities, generally the last thing that crosses the mind is raising money for charity. Certainly, there are plenty of merits to doing something enjoyable with your family that helps to unite you better as a group. Why not change up the pace every so often by grouping your talents together and pooling them so that you can raise money for a noble cause? Use these simple idea starters to find out how you can give back to your community while enjoying family fun activities.

Garage Sale

Most people have tons of items and clothing that they no longer use. What a great way to teach your kids about the value of items while freeing up some space in your home. Organize a garage sale for charity with your children. Put up signs advertising it on light poles around your neighborhood a week in advance. Come the big day, it is up to you to work together as a family to track sales, tender change and organize everything in order to raise money for charitable causes.

Lemonade Stand at the Park
Don’t place the stand in front of your home. Rather use a place where you are likely to see plenty of people, like at the park. Ensure that your signage tells customers what charity you are donating the funds to. The supplies won’t cost all that much money, and you can design the stand and the signage with your kids in these family fun activities. A few hours spent at the park refreshing thirsty patrons will net plenty of helpful dollars for a reputable charity.

Thrift Store Shopper

Thanks to large online auction sites like EBay, there are now some unique means for a family to raise money for charity. Look around the thrift stores near you with your kids for any items that you can sell online to help raise money for charity. Once you find items, the fun begins. In these family fun activities, you will purchase and log the item, take a picture of it, and write and post a description to sell it online. All monies raised are donated. It’s a great way to teach your kids about money, business, buying and selling and charitable causes.

Enjoying Family Fun Activities with Homemade Instruments

Posted on February 16, 2012 by alanpierre

Who says that family fun activities have to cost you a fortune and really cut into your budget? Most children are simply fascinated by music. If you have been seeking a family and budget friendly means of spending some time with your kids with delightful activities, an easy method is by creating your very own homemade instruments. We will show you how to make four different instruments for family fun activities in today’s article. Get ready for some whimsical good times.

Balloons Jar Orchestra: Take a decent-sized and one quart glass jar, and secure a balloon over the top by using a rubber band. The air inside will make a unique tone when you tap on the rubber stretched over the opening of the jar. You can fill the jars with certain amounts of water for a different tone to create a full balloon jar orchestra. Add food coloring to the water for some extra flare.

Water Bottle Shakers: Dry corn kernel seeds and a water bottle are all that you need for these simple instruments. Allow the kids to decorate them as they see fit using markers. Once they are decorated, you can enjoy making your own mariachi band with these nifty salsa shakers.

Pasta Drums: All you need for this are paper plates, glue and some dry pasta. Place a fair amount of pasta on one plate. Then glue another paper plate on top of it. Once the glue dries, decorate the plates with your children. Then rock out as you create a rhythm with these family fun activities that will have the entire clan beating to a happy tune.

Kazoo from Paper Towels: The final entry on our list for family fun activities with instruments is a paper towel kazoo. Take an empty paper towel roll, using a rubber band affix a small cut of wax paper over the end. Poke some tiny holes in the wax paper so it can vibrate and make noise when air passes through. Decorate and enjoy a kazoo circus with these nifty instruments.

Eight Simple & Wholesome Family Fun Activities You Can Enjoy This Weekend

Posted on February 13, 2012 by alanpierre

Sometimes it can be difficult to discern family fun activities that you can enjoy doing over the weekend. Half of the time we are so caught up in just trying to make it through the rest of the week that lies before us that we often rarely ponder what we might do when the few days of rest and relaxation of the weekend arrive. The last thing you want to have is fleetingly rare spare time on your hands with nothing to do with your family. Under this premonition, we are pleased to present to you eight fabulous family fun activities that you can enjoy together on any given weekend.

Eight Simple & Wholesome Family Fun Activities You Can Enjoy This Weekend

Trip to the fire station: The kids will simply adore for you this. Almost every child has a fascination with firemen. Also, tours are generally free, just call in advance.
Collect colorful leaves: Don’t rake them, but collect them for arts and crafts. A leaf can be used to draw the outline of angel faces. After you collect them, it is time to make some art together.
Go to a ball game: Whichever sport is in season, chances are good that your children would leap for joy in knowing that you got tickets to that big game on Friday night.
Eating and geography lesson: Look up a culture’s food that you have never tried before and enjoy eating it with your children, while teaching them about that culture and its geographical proximity on the map.
Volunteer for the greater good: What better way to give back to your community and teach your children a valuable life lesson than by volunteering your time.
Stargaze: A telescope and an astronomy book not only present hours of family fun activities, but they are very educational as well.
Cook dinner together: Kids love to cook, but will require some parental guidance. Choose a recipe from a book and then make it together and eat it.
Explore new hobbies: The local hobby store is your portal to endless family fun activities for all occasions.

Indoor Family Fun Activities for Rainy Days

Posted on February 10, 2012 by alanpierre

Don’t let the soggy weather get you groggy and grumpy, especially if you have a house filled with bored children who are just begging for something to do. Rather, use this as a key, pivotal moment where you can embrace family togetherness and spend some priceless time with your children. Family fun activities and creativity do not know a schedule; they only know the fine purveyors of their propensity. So before you get ready to throw in the towel to that mucky and unpleasant weather that has the kids so pent up with energy that they are about to bring the walls down, use these simple indoor family fun activities for rainy days to put a wide smile on everyone’s face.

Ten Minute Stage Show

This works in three stages, each consisting of ten minutes each. Kids have ten minutes to pick out costumes. They have then ten minutes to decide a scene from a movie or show they wish to act out. Then they get ten minutes to perform it for the adults in these family fun activities.

Outdoor Games, Inside

A little bit of creativity and imagination goes a long way. A waste basket (small) can be used as the basketball hoop. Wadded up paper can serve as the ball. A game of “Horse” will keep your kids entertained for quite some time when they can’t go outside to burn off those calories.

Family Fort

It’s time to rearrange your living room to make for these easy family fun activities for rainy days. The sofa will become your foundation. Cushions can serve as walls. Blankets, pillows, and what have you can comprise the rest of the structure. Make a nifty sign from poster board and markers that depicts the edict of the fort’s mantra; i.e. “Fortress of Solitude.” (Yes we stole that from Superman.)

Board Game Time

Sure video games are fun, but they rarely involve the entire family. Check out what board games you have laying around in the closet. Break them out, and get some serious gaming time in with your children.

Making Your Own Board Game for Family Fun Activities

Posted on February 5, 2012 by alanpierre

Want to enjoy some great times together as a family while doing something very constructive and wholesome? In today’s article, we will show you how to make your own board game for family fun activities that truly produce some cheeky smiles. Get ready for the good times, and a game that all family members will enjoy playing over and over again. Here’s how to make it.

Think of the Questions

You will require a stack of flash cards to compose the questions. Have everybody write down ten of their favorite things – like foods, colors, games, best friends, etc. Next, write the answers of these questions – their favorite things – on the back on the cards and the question that asks them on the front. Once you have that completed, you are well on your way to enjoying these family fun activities. For example, a good question could be: What are Jim’s favorite foods (front of the card)? Answer: Pizza (back of the card).

Make the Game Board

Use a poster board and some markers to create a cool-looking and colorful game board that you can navigate pieces on when you roll the dice. (You can simply use coins for game pieces.) You want to ideally have about 100 spaces on the board to make this game last about 60 minutes. Once you are done designing the game board, it is time to enjoy playing this game and having a blast with these family fun activities.

Play the Game

The rules are really simple. Pick a person to start first. The person rolls a die. Then another person selects a flash card and asks them a question. If they answer the question correctly, they get to move the spaces indicated by the number on the die. If not, they remain in that spot on the board. The first person to reach end of the board wins. Keep adding more questions each week to expand on these family fun activities.

Family Fun Activities Ideas: The Ultimate Family Circus

Posted on February 3, 2012 by alanpierre

We have a rather odd and off-colored, but entirely unique and wholesome, family fun activities idea for you today. This one is called the “Family Circus,” and we are not talking about the popular comic strip in the Sunday newspaper. Rather, we are talking about creating your very own family circus with a three ring act. You can make this a living room adventure for family fun activities, or you can take it the whole nine yards and set up a large tent in the backyard with hung pictures of animals for family fun activities that you can enjoy over and over again (the choice is truly yours). No matter what manner of procurement you decide upon for this activity, two things are for certain: your kids will love it and so will mom and dad!

How to Make a Family Circus (No Exotic Animals Required)

Tight Rope Walkers: Lay two 2×4 beams on the ground for this first ring act. Next, you must navigate your way across the beams wearing only socks and blindfolded. Try doing it backwards for the ultimate challenge.
Animal Tricks: Most families have a pet dog. If you do, it’s time for your children to spend some time teaching Fido or Fluffy some new tricks. Once the pet has been trained – it is then time for them to show off the new tricks for the whole family.
Clown Show: Get some makeup kits from the store and help your kids pick out the goofiest outfits they can while you do their clown makeup. (Dad’s shoes can serve as clown shoes for the youngsters.) The sillier you get the more fun that you will all have.
Talent Show: What hidden talents do you and your kids have? Is one good at dancing? Is the other good at singing? Perhaps you know some magic tricks? Prepare to show them off in this event with these fun family activities.

Five Easy Ideas for Family Fun Activities That You Can do at Home

Posted on January 29, 2012 by alanpierre

You don’t have to go overboard just to enjoy some great family fun activities with your significant other and your kids. Rather, there are some wholesome ideas that you can start implementing right now to let the good times roll. To better help you get started, in today’s post we will present five great ideas for family fun activities that will help strengthen the bonds and ties while enabling you to have a blast while spending some precious time together.

Five Easy Ideas for Family Fun Activities

The family mailbox: This is a really simple and endearing family fun activity that will work to make you all closer to one another. Design a cardboard mail box that sits in the living room or in the kitchen. Each day family members can place letters or comments to one another inside of it.
Start a vacation jar. Everybody starts putting their spare change inside of it each day, and kids can contribute their allowance to build up the funds. Match each dollar with another when it comes time for that special trip.
Play board games at dinner time. What better way to get your kids to eat their vegetables than by playing fun board games at dinner time? Change up things with this easy meal time family fun idea.
Family karaoke. You will require a karaoke machine for this one, but you will enjoy many hours of usage with it. Set aside a day from each week to sing your best songs, and see which family member is the rock star that night.
Family video and picture night. Get your cameras rolling, because you need footage and plenty of pictures for your interactive scrapbook. After shooting pictures and footage each time, edit them together on the computer to preserve some truly happy family memories.

Frugal Family Fun Activities That the Whole Gang Will Love

Posted on January 26, 2012 by alanpierre

When it comes to family fun activities, there is this misnomer that they have to drain your wallet dry, when such is clearly not the case. Certainly, it can be difficult to entertain the troops when you are trying to think of different ways to cut down on your spending while still getting some great family time in together. However, try these following frugal family fun activities ideas on for size with your clan. They will barely touch your bank account, and they present an excellent way for you to enjoy some good times with one another while being frugal in the process of doing so.

Volunteer together. What a great way to give back to your community while teaching your kids some strong moral values. Try volunteering somewhere in your community once or twice per month as a family.
Watch the stars. Get your telescope and hot cocoa ready, and make sure that you have a star gazing guide handy, because it is time to find constellations and different planets while learning about astronomy with this family fun idea.
Treasure hunt for the whole family. Make sure to buy some sugary treats for the winner – and everyone else – after the treasure hunt is over. Take your time designing it, so that it will be challenging to all participants.
Gourmet family kitchen. A quick trip to the grocery store will net you the supplies that you require to make a gourmet meal together. Spend some time with your kids while teaching them about cooking with these family fun activities.
Teach each other magic tricks. Check out some books on magic tricks from the library and split up into groups to learn different ones. Then have a magic night where you each present the tricks you learned to the entire family.

Educational Family Fun Activities: Host Your Own Museum Trip

Posted on January 23, 2012 by alanpierre

Attention all parents who love fine art but are unable to recall the last time that they enjoyed a day at the museum? There are ways that you can turn this educational trip into a wonderful adventure that teaches your kids a thing or two about different periods of art, famous artists and certain expressionistic periods in history. With today’s family fun activities idea, we will show you how to take an otherwise seemingly normal trip to the art museum to entirely new levels. We will also show you a simple trick for helping to better educate your children as well as yourself. The whole family will love this activity, and you will have learned a great deal by the time that you return back home.

Research the Museum

You will want to spend a little bit of time on the computer until you find a nice art museum that is located within a reasonable distance from your residence. While researching it, find out about different pieces of art that are on display (they often list a number of exhibits and pieces online on their websites). Next, decide upon a day that you want to go and look for family discount coupons, which are generally offered for families of four or more. Once you have your tickets, it’s time to prepare for the educational outing that is yet to come.

Each Kid & Parent Becomes a Tour Guide

Have each child select a piece of art that they will be the tour guide for. Each parent chooses one as well. Next, before the trip, you all have to do some research and write down some key notes on flash cards for your presentation. Once at the museum, your guided trip begins with each person telling the history of the art pieces they selected, as you go from painting to painting and from exhibit to exhibit. These family fun activities are wholesome, entertaining and educational for every family member.