Even in this quarantine “new normal”, our weekly schedules can be hectic balancing work responsibilities with kids doing school. Add that to the underlying stress about a global pandemic, and things are just tense right now! That being said, weekends are the best time to spend quality time with our children. With a little advance planning, you and your family can have much anticipated family activity time where everyone gets to laugh and be silly and eat pizza!
Playtivities
Playtivities is the name of a terrific site that has 20 excellent ideas for activities to do as a family on the weekends. Most of them are free with little or no prep involved and can be adapted to appeal to kids of all ages. There are good directions and videos of these activities too. Here are a few that really appealed to me.
Sumo Wrestling
Yes, I know, the thought of kids wrestling in the house isn’t a pretty picture, but it can be with a little ingenuity! There is special equipment for the Sumos – pillows and large t-shirts. You just make your kids into a pillow sandwich and pull the shirt over the whole thing. The only other thing you need to do is have a “soft” area for the actual wrestling. The video of the author’s two children “wrestling” is hilarious; they are having so much fun. I know your family would love this “playtivity”!
Knock It Out
All you need for this game is a tennis ball or an orange, some nylons or pantyhose and empty water bottles. You put the orange in the nylons and then put the nylons on your head. Try to knock over the water bottles placed on the floor by swinging your head like an elephant. The person who knocks over the most bottles wins!
Movin’ On Up
You need 25 red plastic cups and 1 blue plastic cup for each participant in this game. Each player has a stack of red cups with the blue cup on the top of the stack. The object of the game is to move the top blue cup to the bottom of the stack and continue moving cups from top to bottom until the blue cup is on the top again. The first player to do so is the winner. Fun and super easy to implement!
Flea Market
Once things open back up, take a trip to a local flea market, give everyone a budget of $2.00 and see what they bring home. It’s like a treasure hunt! Who knows, someone may actually pick up something that is Antiques Roadshow worthy!
These are just a few ideas for family weekend activities. It really doesn’t take much planning or prep to make lasting memories!
Check out all the suggestions by clicking here.
– Becky Lynn is a writer for EllisDownHome.com. She and her husband Bob enjoy spending time with their 8 grandchildren and traveling. Becky loves cranking up the music and heading to the kitchen to try out new recipes or cook for an upcoming party. She is passionate about continuing to be a life-long learner!
