Between school, work, appointments, sports practices and extracurricular activities, life with kids can be hectic. Sometimes it may seem that carving out family time is next to impossible. While huge chunks of free time might not occur on a regular basis, we all have 30 minutes here and there. Finding creative activities for family fun when you have only half an hour is a cinch with these ideas:
Have an informal photo shoot. It doesn’t matter where you are or how your family is dressed–soccer gear or Sunday best–get out your phone or camera and snap some pics. Do your favorite model pose, make silly faces or be perfectly serious. If possible, hand the camera over to someone else to take group shots of your family.
Have makeovers. Let the kids paint Dad’s toenails, style Mom’s hair and experiment with makeup. Of course, you might not want to do this when you’re getting ready to head out the door!
Read aloud. Choose a favorite book and take turns reading a paragraph or a page. Not only does this make a fun story time, it helps kids develop confidence reading out loud.
Tell jokes. Knock Knock. Who’s there? Ben. Ben Who? Ben knocking on this door all morning! Everyone knows a joke or two, and if you need some help, the Internet has lots of kid-friendly sites (Jokes-For-Kids.com is one).
Draw a picture together. Decide on a theme and let each person contribute a portion of the drawing. Don’t worry about artistic ability; the point is to have fun!
Play charades. Who doesn’t love this age-old game? Take turns acting out various objects or actions–walking a dog, planting a garden, playing baseball–and let others guess the theme. This game is bound to produce some laughs!
Start planning a family vacation. Whether it’s a big trip or a weekend getaway, brainstorm some ideas for a family adventure. You’ll need more than 30 minutes to plan all the details, but at least you’ll get the gears going for an upcoming adventure.
Build a house. Or the Eiffel Tower. Or a skyscraper. If you have some Legos or blocks handy, have the family pitch in to build a great masterpiece together. Okay, maybe it won’t be a masterpiece, but constructing something together is a lesson in teamwork and loads of fun.
Play a game. You might not be able to play full-blown Monopoly or Uno in 30 minutes, but there are tons of other games you can squeeze in. Go Fish, a simple puzzle or an online game are a few ideas.
Go for a drive. Crank up some tunes and drive around with the windows down.
Shoot some hoops or play kickball. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that children get 60 minutes of exercise a day and adults get 150 minutes a week. This can be broken up into smaller chunks, so take advantage of an extra 30 minutes by playing, kicking, throwing, running …whatever you want! Just move.
Make a to-do list for summer. Only fun things may go on the list! A few ideas: visit a new pool, go to a blueberry patch, attend a baseball game and go on a vacation.
Make a gratitude jar. Have each person write down things he is thankful for on small pieces of paper, then put them into a jar or box. Vow to continue doing this on a regular basis and pull out the papers occasionally to read aloud.
Do some research. Yes, research can be a fun way to spend 30 minutes! Choose a topic–life in another country, who invented a specific object–and research fun facts together on the Internet. Broadening your knowledge is a resourceful way to spend some extra time.
Tidy up your neighborhood. Everyone grab a trash bag and do your part in taking care of our planet. Picking up litter in your neck of the woods can be a family affair and won’t take much time if everyone works together.
Tisha Foley’s family loves to head outdoors when they have downtime. They live in Belton.