5 Fun Activities to Bring the Family Together this Season

5 Fun Activities to Bring the Family Together this Season

“I’m bored!”

Holiday vacations means the kids are home from school, and more likely than not, they’re bored! While it’s ok to let your kids embrace the boredom and fend for themselves for part of the break, the vacation time also creates the opportunity for activities you may otherwise not have time for. So, wondering what to do to bring the family together?

Family Holiday Activities Ideas

Try some of these great holiday activities.

1. Gingerbread Houses

This traditional activity is perfect for children and adults. For younger children, you may want to build the houses ahead of time so that they can simply enjoy decorating the house with sprinkles, candies and icing. One way to get the job done is to have your children’s nanny work with them on getting the house or houses built, and then decorate them together as a family in the evening.

Want to add a challenge for older kids? Recreate a famous building in your town for your gingerbread house. Or, use a theme, such as Harry Potter (Hogwarts gingerbread anyone?), Disney, the Grinch, Frozen, or Charlie Brown to inspire your house.

2. Read Aloud

Choose a few holiday themed books and cozy up for a reading party complete with hot chocolate and snacks. Except, instead of everyone reading on their own, read aloud. Yes! Put on your librarian hat and make up funny voices for the characters.

Have teens? Challenge them to find a short story to read aloud, or ask them to pick a favorite book from their childhood. Alternatively, read holiday poems.

Even dedicating a half hour to this activity will create warm memories for everyone involved.

3. Board Game Party

Monopoly, Clue, Jenga, Taboo, Pictionary, Catan and classics like Scrabble and chess are the perfect games for a family game night. Gather round the table with tea and hot chocolate in hand for a fun evening full of laughter. Plan several nights, allowing each family member to choose the game for one of the board game party sessions.

4. Puzzle Project

One great family tradition is to do a puzzle over the holiday vacation. Choose a challenging 500 piece puzzle to complete over several days. This will give you a great excuse to chat while puzzling over the pieces. With younger children, choose simpler puzzles that can be completed in one session to avoid frustration.

5. Holiday Baking

Cinnamon rolls, cookies, fruit cakes, and even donuts are fun treats to make at home. No matter what your level of baking is, you can turn on the oven and enjoy a fun time baking (and eating!) together. If you’re not a confident baker, you can easily find pre-made doughs in the grocery store. Then, simply prepare the items and bake them up. More adventurous types can whip up the ingredients from scratch. For kids, baking is educational, especially if you talk about the amounts of each ingredient you’re adding to the bowl.

Do you have a favorite family holiday activity? Tell us about your favorite traditions in the comments below.

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