Whether you’re spending your family vacation in another city, at the shore or even enjoying a staycation, there are plenty of fun activities you and your family can enjoy.
Check out these suggestions from Grainne Kelly, a family travel and entertainment expert, Certified CPST, and inventor of BubbleBum, the world’s FIRST inflatable booster seat, which revolutionized the child travel industry, for a fun family staycation. Of course, you can indulge is some of these activities on an actual vacation away from home as well.
1—Dance the night away
Turn the lights down, hook the MP3 player to the speakers and boogey on down! You might be surprised how many tunes you like that your kids like too, so make sure the playlist has a little something for everyone and burn off some energy!
2—Go pottery painting
Whether a kit at home or going to a pottery painting studio nearby, you can enjoy a good hour of together time with everyone hard at work on their project! This is the kind of craft that all ages and interests can enjoy because it’s relatively easy to do.
3—Create a family tree
Do your kids know about their roots? Telling them about Grandpa Frank may not resonate but drawing out the family tree gives kids a visual sense of those who came before them and the importance of family. If you don’t know all your family members, this is a great time to get online and do a little research! [This can be part of a vacation idea as well by incorporating a trip to your ancestors’ home town as part of the exercise.]
4—Start a family recipe book
Cherished family favorites or holiday traditions are the kind of things kids remember as they get older, so how about creating recipe books or boxes with all of their favorites, that they can decorate? Then pick a recipe and do it together, even if it means Christmas cookies in August!
Another idea is to scrapbook your summer vacation! Make sure to keep all the stubs and brochures from your vacation, and then print the best photos to create a scrapbook of all your adventures.
5—Plan a day trip
Look at a map and plot a distance that is about 60 to 90 minutes away. [Any longer and the kids get restless in the car.] It could be a lake, a forest, a small village with points of interest. Make a day of it!
6—Take a boat ride
Whether you have access to a ferry or a sail boat, a lake where you can rent a canoe or kayak, getting on the water and working as a team is a great way to connect with your kids. Plus, it has the added bonus of being screen free time—no one wants to get their tablet or gaming unit wet!
7—Build an epic sandcastle
It’s August after all, so try and get in that last trip to the beach and make sure you bring along all your sandcastle building tools. [Of course, you’ll need buckets and shovels, but think about other household items that can add to the fun, like cookie cutters.] It takes a team to make an epic castle so get together, make a plan and let everyone participate! Take a picture at the end (for your scrapbook).
Rieva Lesonsky is an entrepreneur, best-selling author and self-educated health nut. Follow her @Rieva.
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