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'Family fun ideas'

Why?

Apart from the sheer pleasure of it all, there are several reasons why it is worth being intentional about family fun times. Firstly, it enriches family life, creating great memories [eg. when children give eulogies at their parents funerals they almost always mention family fun times]. Secondly, it is good for their health. Fun and laughter induce the release of endorphins, the natural morphine-like molecules that the body makes. This reduces stress [including reducing the levels of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline] and improves mood and can reduce symptoms of depression. Also, outdoor fun means more sunlight hits the retina of the eye, which also results in improved mood [lack of sunlight is a factor in SAD - 'Seasonal Affective DIsorder'].

How?

If fun isn't part of your family life, the first thing to accept is that you have be intentional about creating fun - it wont just happen otherwise. And if you don't get on with it you might miss out on the opportunity for family fun and regret it later, especially when you hear others talk about what fun they had in their families and how it has helped them in life. It is, in the end, the responsibility of parents, to foster family fun time.

Whilst some parents are good at producing fun suggestions naturally, most families need to be exposed to fun ideas - it is hard to think of everything. There are hundreds of ideas for family fun, ranging from simply starting a game of ‘I Spy’ through to more organized creative activities such as making a family time capsule. Some take more energy than others, that is true, and it can feel exhausting just thinking about those activities. But parents can get surprisingly energized by having fun with their kids, even when they feel they just need a break, so please think about doing some of these things. If you find it all too much, just pick one to try.

Indoor fun activities

· Get the family together to play board games or card games

· Family Trivia Game - Each family member records trivia questions about the family on cards, especially fun and dumb things, or little things, such as “What did Mary lose at the beach on our holiday in Bali”, “What was mum’s maiden name?” etc. you can include photos, recordings. Objects etc.

· Annual family memories - The whole family draws pictures of the events of the past year on sheets of paper, using crayons or coloured pens. Then hang them up on the wall. Kids may need help with categories eg. school, holidays, funny events, friends, family, world news, sport. These reflections make great family memorabilia.

· Buy a book on how to build paper airplanes and get together to do it.

· Look up the address of craft stores to buy then make model airplanes or ships

· Buy a dart board and play together [don’t forget to buy some appropriate backing for the’near misses’].

· Create ‘FART’ times = ‘family altogether reading times’. Everyone sits down and reads together. You can do the same for family art etc.

· Torch limbo - Get 2 children to each hold a torch and point it at each other. The rest of the family limbos under the beam [hold it level]

· Have a family celebration. Make it a special meal with non-alcoholic champagne and then get everyone to write then say something about each other. Kid usually need guidance eg. it might be about what they do [cooking, emptying the dishwasher etc], who they are [funny, laugh a lot, generous, kind etc], something they have achieved [in the school band or soccer team etc] or, easiest of all, some special memory shared eg a special memory of time together on vacation

· Play ‘I Spy’ - this can be done anywhere, anytime, spontaneously. Find an object somewhere within view and the others have to guess eg. you say “I spy with my little eye something beginning with R”, “or something blue” etc ” . Don't say "Lets play I Spy, just launch into it by saying "I Spy.....etc". It almost always works.

· Create a family photo album and journal eg. using copies of photos taken over the previous year, with each family member having some responsibility for the document. Find stickers to write about each photo or event, and include some memorabilia eg. money brought home from overseas trips, plane tickets, movie entrance tickets etc.

· Get together cook some family pizzas

· Cyber fun – get your kids to teach you how to create your own facepage or myspace, to send text messages or use email [if you don’t know already].

· Look up jokes on the internet and tell them to each other [see below for website ideas]

· Kids get a lot of fun out of telling stories about the dumb things their parents have done - don't worry about this, it is healthy. Indeed the higher achievements of the parents, the more important and humanizing this becomes. It is way more important to kids that you are a human being, not an infallible hero.

Outdoor fun activities.

· Go for a family bike ride. Make it fun by exploring somewhere new, making a picnic out of it or adding a quiz or treasure hunt.

· Buy some cheap kites and fly them on a park.

· Try "Bush Birthdays" for the kids ie. take a couple of carloads of kids to a bush spot, light a campfire, play a treasure hunt game, fry sausages, toast marshmallows, sing etc. We have found that kids have way more fun at such parties than most other types of party.

· Go to a museum or zoo – there is usually a special exhibit on. Find out about that exhibit in advance and make a quiz out of it [eg. How do you tell the difference between an African elephant and an asian elephant? Find out the name of the biggest whale in the sea]. Finish with a treat.

· Ask a local radio station if your family can do a tour of the premises.

· Create a “magical mystery tour” eg drive around back streets “looking for a white volkswagon”, walk through the city, take a ferry ride on the river “looking for whales” and take a bus to a special destination. It really works for little kids. I used to make these up on the spot, changing my mind as I went. As long as there are plenty of laughs and treats it really works.

· Set up a scavenger hunt ie. make a list of things to collect. Include things from nature eg flowers, leaves, reeds. Make sure they do it in pairs [it is more fun that way].

· Have a picnic in the bush or a barbecue in a park.
Hire a canoe, catamaran or paddle boat on the local lake or river.

· Make your own minigolf course

· Make your own family Time Capsule – put in items from school eg. report cards, as well as items that will be fun to look at after a few years such as newspapers, notes about your daily life. Get everyone to write themselves a letter. Then bury it somewhere and don’t open it for 5 years or so.

· 3 legged balloon volleyball - Each pair ties themselves together by a leg [or one arm] and the game is to knock a balloon back and forth. The winner is the pair who can keep knocking the balloon back for the longest time. You can also have a race section, where the pair has to keep knocking the balloon in the air without it hitting the ground [if it does they have to go back & start again

Some useful family fun websites

http://childparenting.about.com/od/activitiesandfun/

http://www.amazingmoms.com/htm/familyfun.htm

http://family.go.com/entertainment/pkg-winter-boredom-busters/

http://www.funplayfulparent.com/funideasforkidsandparentsathome.php

http://fun.familyeducation.com/

http://www.familieswithpurpose.com/

http://www.naturalparenting.com.au/flex/articles/7933/family-fun-ideas.cfm

http://www.familyactivityideas.com/

http://www.familyfirst.net/

http://www.families.org.au

http://www.parentingideas.com.au/