16 Family Bonding Activities That Will Make You Feel Loved

In a world full of smartphones, tablets, and video games, let’s be totally wild and explore some screen-free family bonding activities. These are unique and interesting activities for parents to do with their children. Some of them can fit into your busy life whilst strengthening your family bond. Others can bring about creativity and imagination whilst getting to know each other more. 

Why is family bonding important?

Research consistently tells us that family connections can provide a greater sense of meaning, purpose, and resources that benefit well-being. One study revealed that children would like more opportunities to bond with their families and that parents feel the same. It can be easy to fall into the routine of a busy life where family time becomes a rare occasion. But it doesn’t need to be! and it’s never too late to spend more quality time as a family. So here are some ideas for family bonding.

Family Bonding Activities

Create a new tradition 

Do you need something to cheer you all up at the beginning of the week? Have a make-your-own ice cream evening, or prepare a “help yourself” every Monday. Everyone can come together in a relaxed manner to ease into the week. Or do you need something to look forward to at the end of the week? Get together and ask what everyone loves to do, what makes them feel uplifted and relaxed. Make it your Friday evening tradition. 

Have a picnic in the garden 

A change of scenery can spark some special bonding time. You don’t need to worry about forgetting anything, and the toilets are nearby! Why not grab a board game to play too, or charades? Laughing can make everyone feel love. 

Get creative together 

You could get out some watercolors and paint together, or find a new yummy recipe to bake. Find out how each family member loves to be creative and take turns trying out their interest. This will surely make each member of the family feel loved and valued. 

Create a funny story together

Begin a story together by assigning each member of the family a part of the story. When you’re finished,  read it out loud. The more it doesn’t make sense, the funnier it will be! Or you could make up a story to tell. Made-up stories can be really special. My dad used to create stories for me and print them out, I treasured them and even kept them for my own daughter. 

Collect nature items

Grab a bucket and set off to collect nature items. You could go on a blackberry-picking adventure, or you could find items to make a picture with. You could do this each time the weather changes to learn about different seasons together and appreciate our earth. 

Animal spotting 

Find some binoculars, maybe get a tub for insects and go and hunt for animals! You could try to spot different birds, go and find crabs by the sea, or collect interesting bugs to study. 

Do something selfless

Are you animal lovers? Maybe you could go and check out your nearest animal rescue together like the RSPCA. You don’t need to rescue an animal, you could just look around and enjoy the time together. Maybe you could volunteer to help out somewhere local for a good cause? What better way to feel love than to spread it? 

Make a den at home

Collect some bedsheets and cushions and build a fort or a den. You could do this in the home, or the garden if the weather is nice. Maybe you could have a picnic there, or even sleep in there. Perhaps you’d like to get cozy with some snacks and watch a movie together. Play helps to strengthen our bond with our children. 

Treasure hunt

It doesn’t need to be Easter to do a treasure hunt. Why not craft some clues all around the house, garden, or another big open space? You could even give your children some riddles to work out depending on their age. For little ones, you could use pictures instead of words. The effort you put into creating this kind of fun will translate into a whole lot of love, and watching our children have fun fills us with love too. 

You may also like: 20 Simple But Developmental Activities To Do With Your Toddler

Grow vegetables

How about starting up a little vegetable patch in the garden or growing some fruits in a pot? The rewards of successfully growing fruits and vegetables together are wonderful! And it’s something you can come back to again and again, making it the perfect family bonding time. This is a great way for children to enjoy trying different types of healthy food.

Make a den in the forest 

Children love to do this and you’ll usually find them making one with their friends outside. So why not join in the fun? Take a trip to the woods and gather all of the sticks and stones you need. You’ll have other passers-by stopping to see your impressive work and you’ll all enjoy the fun. What a fulfilling way to work as a team. 

Look after a simple pet together 

You can get some pets that are very simple to look after. Such as giant African land snails, hissing cockroaches, and stick insects. They don’t take a lot of maintenance, and you’ll have fun setting up their environment together. They are quite interesting to observe and you’ll enjoy some time researching the pet with your child. Taking care of living things brings out the heart in everyone. 

Science experiment 

You could try out an easy at-home science experiment together. Lots of these experiments can be done by recycling things from around your home. This can create a sense of achievement and ignite a love for science. This article at GoodHouseKeeping has many interesting ideas. My son absolutely loves doing this, and I love seeing his face light up while experimenting. 

Performance evening 

How about you all gather around for a family-made show? You can each work on a performance to deliver to the rest of the family. This can bring about many laughs and fun. You may even get to know more about each other. 

Play this special family game

How about a “secret Santa” but instead of presents and Christmas, you can use words and family bonding time. You first write down names, then you each pick one out of a hat, and lastly, you write down something you love about that person to read out. What better way to feel loved as a family?