One of the best things you can do to bond with your family is to plan fun family activities regularly. We all need time away from work, school, and chores, right? But too often, a weekend comes and goes… and once again, you’ve missed the opportunity to do something that will help your family feel closer and enjoy each other’s company. What’s the solution? Plan to have some family fun this weekend. If you make a plan, it will happen.
You don’t have to spend much money. In fact, you don’t have to spend any at all. There are fun things to do with your family for all budgets. And activities don’t have to be complicated to be fun.
(I’ll include a few links for ideas in the San Diego area because that’s where I’m located; use them to spark ideas for similar activities wherever you are)
Family Fun Activities for Free
- Pack a picnic and go to a park or beach.
- Find art murals or sculptures in your area and choose your favorite.
- Fly kites at a park or at the beach.
- Go on a nature hike in the woods, along a river, in the mountains, or in the desert.
- Build a sandcastle on the beach; bring your shovels and buckets and have a great time!
- Search online for parks in your area and visit one you haven’t been to before.
- Plan a games night and get out your board games, cards, etc. Don’t forget popcorn!
- Go for a bike ride on walking paths or bike trails, depending on your family’s cycling skills.
- Go on a photo scavenger hunt; make a list of items to photograph and go exploring. (It’s even more fun with silly selfies!) This article has a suggested list you can use.
- Attend a story-telling event.
- Share your family history and make family trees.
- Go boogie-boarding or surfing at the beach.
- Attend community festivals or special events like free movie nights at the park.
- Visit a hat shop and try on different hats (for some reason, my kids loved this!)
Family Fun Activities for Little Cost
- Watch a movie at a drive-in theater.
- Take a boat ride — on a water taxi, ferry, water shuttle, or harbor tour.
- Rent scooters and explore the downtown area closest to you.
- Find the best place to go out for dessert!
- Go to a local fair or street market (almost every town has them).
- Visit a museum — could be a history, art, science, or other museum.
- Attend a boat show, craft fair, travel show, etc. They often have special events or demos that make this even more fun.
- Go to a Renaissance Fair or historic event in costumes, like this one in San Diego.
- Take the family on a weekend camping trip.
- Â Go to a thrift store and buy new outfits or items your kids collect.
Family Fun Activities Worth the Cost
- Go on a whale-watching tour and see nature up close! (look for discounts on Groupon)
- Go to the zoo or wild animal park; save money by going on special family days.
- Rent kayaks and ride the waves or explore seacaves.
- Act like a tourist in your own city and ride a Hop-on, Hop-Off bus.
- Visit a theme park, like Disneyland or SeaWorld.
- Go to an ethnic cuisine restaurant and expose your kids to new flavors.
- Ride a train to a nearby town and explore by foot.
- Plan an overnight hotel stay near an attraction your family would enjoy. Sometimes getting away with your family really helps you bond.
Level Up Your Family Activities
When I say “level up”, I mean plan a family activity that serves others. Not only will it make your family closer, but it will teach your children compassion for others. They will also have a great sense of satisfaction. Why not have some family fun this weekend by helping others?
- Serve at a soup kitchen.
- Collect canned food to take to a food bank; your neighbors will be happy to pitch in.
- Be Santa’s elves at Christmas time and doorbell ditch a Christmas gift for someone.
- Pack lunches and take them to homeless people in your area.
- Serve a meal or plan games to play with those staying at a Ronald McDonald House.
- Help with an Boy Scout’s Eagle project.
- Join a community clean-up project.
Conclusion
Is it really that important to have family fun together? YES, it really is. It helps relieve the stresses and challenges of being a family. It gives you a break from work and school and reminds you of how much you like being together. Just like it’s important for a married couple to continue going on dates, it is equally important for a family to have regular fun together. So save this list and go plan some family fun this weekend!
I’d love it if you commented with your favorite family weekend activities…
I like helping around the community with my family!
Thank you so much for including free activities for families on a budget. These are some amazing and easy to do ideas for every family!
This brought back memories of when my son was little. We went to the library every Saturday morning and had lunch somewhere. We also liked going to the zoo and the parks, and did stuff on this list. Too bad sometimes people think having fun means going somewhere far from home that includes hotel or resort and things like that.
It’s true. You don’t need to spend money to have good quality time together!
Picnicking and hiking are always fun and free! I love the idea of attending a story telling time. We haven’t done that for such a long time. These are such great ideas!
What a great list full of fun and free activities. Even with no kids there are a lot of amazing things to do. A day trip to go for a hike or picnic in a park sounds like the perfect way to spend the day.
This is a great list of fun activities for families with small kids. When our son was small, we used to take him somewhere fun every weekend. Whether it was to the beach, or up in the mountains, there was always an outing on our list. He built up a lot of good memories over the years and now, he is doing the same thing with his children.
Though I don’t have a family yet of my own, I’m a believer of making sure there’s a fun thing to do every weekend. Family fun together is essential. I love your suggestions because they don’t really require much of funds for families to bond.
Such a wonderful list of ideas for family fun. I would love to indulge in all of them like watching a movie in a drive in theater, serving in a soup kitchen and attending a storytelling event. Hiking, discovering art murals and photo scavenger hunts are activities kids enjoy. It shows us the importance of creating memories together.
It’s a very inspiring article, with so many ideas!.I love the list of family fun activities for free. Picnic and hiking or walking are always a great idea for spending time together. I like the idea of finding murals as well. Also, the list of activities for a little penny is so inspirational.
These are really great ideas! Thank you for reminding us how important it is to have fun and bond with our family. Love the idea of going the beach. Will do that this weekend.