Family Game Night Ideas

Keeping your family connected during the school year can be a challenge. It seems that as our children grow, they become a whole lot busier and have less time to spend with our family. I remember these days well. When my youngest was 4, my oldest was getting ready to start her first year of college. I had 6 kids at home and they all seemed to be in different stages. My 3rd child had just learned to drive, my 4th had just been diagnosed with leukemia and was traveling to and from the cancer center for treatments, my 5th was starting the 4th grade and they all had extra curricular activities, jobs, and other obligations that took them away from home frequently. Did I mention that I was working full time, too?

I'm sure you can relate to that time in my life. As your kids grow, you and they get busier. So how do we keep our family bonds strong when life gets crazy? One of the best things my husband and I ever instituted in our home was Family Night. This was an informal family fun night where we discussed the schedule for the week with the kids, planned our menus, and then played fun games. In the winter time, we would play cards, board games, or charades, but in the warmer months of late spring, summer and early fall, outdoor games were our favorite.

Click here to print a list of our favorite outdoor family games

and the instructions on how to play them.

Here's how we did it:

We set aside 1 night each week. Some times it was different depending on the week's schedule. If we had a crazy week, we did it on Sunday.

Have an activity in mind to do. We took turns choosing a game or activity to do. Sometimes we would have treats and just talk about how things were going. My oldest son and his kids like to have treats and watch YouTube videos every so often. My youngest loved to play Uno so that was almost always her choice.

Spend a few hours together laughing and playing. Don't get to formal with it. It will be easier on you in the long run. Let your family nights become your favorite family bonding tradition!

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