Family Fun for Fall

Kids and parents need time together. And it can be fun and inexpensive for all. Forget shopping or mall walking. Get with it and have some fun.

Here are a few ideas:

Bring out the hidden architect or builder within you. Let the creativity flow with Legos – the building blocks for kids of all ages. Try a Lego building party. Come up with a theme with the kids, like a medieval dungeon, battling ninjas or a futuristic neighborhood. The whole family can work on Lego creations to fit the theme. One family member can be chosen as the narrator to weave the Lego creations together. Or each participant can take a turn telling a story about what’s being created.

Fall weather can be a bit nippy for a camp-out, so try a camp-in instead. Set up a tent with sleeping bags. Stay up late eating treats, make shadow puppets and tell ghost stories. Then sleep the night away in your in-house campsite.

indoorcampingMany couples have a weekly date night. How about trying a parent and kids date night. The possibilities are endless. Take in a movie at the theater, spend some time at a miniature golf facility, go play some laser tag, bowl a few games or take in a high school football game or a play. Look for discount coupons to hold down the cost.

Take a nature night walk. When the stars come out, head out on your night walk around the neighborhood or head to a nature preserve or large park to do the same. Kids and parents alike will enjoy being outdoors when everyone else is inside. Look at constellations, observe phases of the moon, watch cars go by with their lights on and listen to the cacophony of crickets, frogs and other creatures. When the weather turns colder, a night drive can work well – especially when Halloween decorations or a bit later on Christmas decorations light up the neighborhood.

Scavenger hunts never go out of style. You can have great fun with one indoors or in your own yard. Mom or dad can compile a list of things to be found and the kids can do the hunting. Try it in the yard at night when flashlights are needed for the hunt. The hunters will feel like detectives searching for odd-ball items such as a yellow crayon, a fringed washcloth, a stuffed animal, a mini-shovel, a 2012 quarter etc.