One of my goals for 2020 is to set aside more time with my family.
I work from home which, although convenient and a blessing, can also mean late nights and anti-social hours. And I have to admit - often my work deadlines are met at the expense of family time.
So for 2020 I want to try to really make the most of the family time we do get, and make sure its proper quality time - away from phones, screens and distractions. Just us. Enjoying each others company and doing something fun together.
Here are 6 activity ideas I've come up with that we plan on doing a lot more of in 2020.
1. Family Game Nights
This is something we do already but not as often as I'd like to, and so it's made the list.
My children are ages 6, 4 and 3 - so board games are still something that can be a bit of an issue! The little ones can't grasp anything with too many rules or focus for that long, and my eldest is still very much in the "Sore Loser" stage...which is always fun! (*sarcasm* Ever had a Guess Who board bounced off your face?! Coz I have!)
But on the occasions that we get the game choices right, and they're all in the right sorts of moods - family game nights can be fun!
We usually aim to play 2 or 3 games, we keep them simple (games like Jenga, Frustration and Shark Bite are favourites in this house!) and we usually order in Pizza to make it more of an "occasion" too.
2. Family Bike Rides
This is an activity I've really wanted to introduce for quite a while. I even bought all of the kids bikes and trikes for Christmas last year in the hope that it would encourage us to actually do it!
We managed ONE bike ride - in January - during which little to no bike riding actually took place, instead Jon & I carried a lot of bikes while the children moaned about how bored they were.
But I'm not giving up! They're a bit older now, and I think they'll be more interested - particularly if I let them use the bike alternatives that they're more in to. My sons much prefer their scooters to their bikes, and Noah prefers to ride her bicycle as long as there's a dolly strapped in to the baby seat on it!
Our one big problem is actually my other half - because despite being a 46 year old man, he can't ride a bike!
He simply never learned how as a child and...well...it's become a sore point! But he's in luck - because I've discovered these super fun looking folding tricycles from Jorvik which will not only be far easier for him to ride, taking away the need for balance, but they also fold up for easy storage in the car too! I think they look like the perfect solution to our problem.
So here's hoping we manage more than one family bike ride in 2020?!
3. Family Exploring Trips
My eldest son is a bit of a history buff, much like his Dad - and I'm quite interested in it myself, so I think we'd really enjoy some visits to local places of historical interest this year.
The little two are not so interested in history, but they DO love a chance to run around a big garden or look at "fancy" places where they can imagine Princesses may have lived.
For a while now I've been toying with the idea of getting us a National Trust membership, we can actually get a Home Educator membership for just £50 for the year.
There are lots of stately homes we could visit, with beautiful gardens - I think we'd certainly get our moneys worth on days out!
4. Family Beach Cleans
As we live at the seaside, something I'm very keen to do more of is spend more time at the beach this year...we really don't make enough use of it considering there are several stunning beaches right on our doorstep.
I'm also really keen to teach the children more about climate change and helping the environment this year, and so I think spending a bit of time taking part in beach cleans would be both educational and enjoyable for us all.
There are beaches local to us which have little pickers for the public to use so that will be a big help - it will also be a nice opportunity for my son to try out his metal detector too, making it a bit of a treasure hunt at the same time!
5. Family Mystery Trips
Last year, we took a spur of the moment over night trip to the city of Oxford - we made the most of our 24 hours there by visiting the Natural history museum, exploring the town, seeing the famous Headington Shark modern art installation, and taking a walk around Blenheim Palace gardens.
It was such an enjoyable day and I really think it was the fact that it was done spur of the moment that made it so much fun!
If funds allow, then I think it would be great to have a couple of random overnight visits to different parts of the UK this year - we can stay somewhere cheap and cheerful overnight, google "What to do in xxx" and do whatever the top 3 results are. I think this would be lots of fun!
6. Family Movie Nights
Ok, ok...so this one includes a screen, but you can let me off with just one screen can't you?!
Family movie nights are something we've already enjoyed for years, and it's something that all of us really enjoy doing.
We go all out with popcorn and movie snacks, the kids love to make Cinema tickets for the night - we even have a projector now to make it feel really special! We let the kids take it in turns each Friday night to pick what movie we watch - it's become our Friday night tradition and it's one we all really enjoy. I highly recommend it!
What are your favorite family activities? I'd love to hear your suggestions!
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