FAMILY-FRIENDLY ACTIVITIES

The hustle and bustle of the holidays will soon be upon us and there won’t be any time to relax with the family.  So, before the holidays take over your life, plan a few family activities.  These activities are important for forming children’s identities, creating structure for children and shaping social behaviors, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.  Take advantage of these next several weeks of mellow aura to relax with fun activities.

Weekend Trips

Try an activity out of your family's comfort zone or revisit a beloved place. Most pools are closed by November, so consider an indoor aquatic resort. Make posters for your family's favorite sports team and take in a basketball or football game. Visit an art gallery or museum. Stay at a bed and breakfast, attend an auto show or see a play. Plan an early Christmas shopping trip out of town for those special holiday gifts or decorations. Designate the location and ask extended family members to meet there.

Volunteer Work

Make November and December the months your family completes volunteer work together. Come up with ideas as a family about what you all care about. Perhaps your family has lost a family member to cancer, or your town has a high homeless population. While the weather is still nice, devote time raising money and getting in condition for a nonprofit race or walk. Soup kitchens, pet shelters and hospitals need volunteers. Schools always need volunteers.  

Embrace the Outdoors at Home – Even when it is Chilly

While the weather is still nice plan a few family activities outdoors. Have a picnic at a park, or sleep in tents in the backyard. Go on a bike ride or hike. Yard cleaning is necessary and will create memories by raking leaves, covering perennials and winterizing gutters. Grill an expensive dinner as a reward for hard work. Invite the extended family for a pre-holiday gathering before everyone’s schedule is filled with holiday commitments.

Indoors at Home

Celebrate winter by keeping warm at home. Gather the family for a game night, complete with pizza and snacks. Host a card or board game tournament. Start the fireplace and organize pictures from the previous summer, research your family genealogy or read a book aloud. Write a short story together with some members writing and others illustrating. Creating food is a bonding process. Find new recipes that require an adventurous spirit through new spices or exotic ingredients.

Pitch a blanket and have a picnic.  Freezing temperatures can ruin a picnic aster than an army of ants, but you can have a picnic on a blanket indoors.  S’mores can be great in the microwave.  Sitting on a blanket instead of at the table is a fun change.

Have a camp-out inside.  Unless your family likes winter camping, pitching a tent inside and having a winter camp-out in the living room is warmer and safer.  Don’t forget those microwave s’mores and, if possible, sit around the fireplace and tell campfire stories.

If the weather does become frightful, below are some activities we have come up with that will allow you and your family to still have a blast this winter.

•Reread a favorite book from your childhood

•Have a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup

•Bake cookies and share them with friends

•Make a big batch of chili

•Drink plenty of eggnog for the holidays

•Go ice-skating

•Hit the slopes

•Kick back in your family hot tub

•Cozy up in front of a roaring fire and watch the flames

•Complete a jigsaw puzzle

•Donate food/toys/clothing to a local charity

•Listen to the wind howl on a chilly night

•Don’t forget the holidays and decorate your home with festive lights

•Decorate a gingerbread house

•Take a drive to admire your neighbors’ holiday lights

•Visit a holiday craft fair

•Throw a Super Bowl party

•When all else fails and cabin fever sets in, clear the decks of breakables and have a pillow fight.  Just don’t use your good pillows.

•Lastly, if you are thinking about purchasing new flooring for your home for the holidays, be sure to visit Cinderella Carpet One.  Bring the kids so they can help choose the perfect flooring for your home.  We are conveniently located at 6 Rossi Circle in Salinas.  Or contact us for a Free In-Home Consultation.

We’d like to hear from you:  What are your family’s favorite winter fun-and-fit activities?