Friday Family Fun Night:: Creating a Meaningful Family Tradition

Oftentimes our family can get to the end of a busy week and realize we haven’t actually spent any good quality time together. With this in mind, Friday Family Fun Night was born. Fridays are a chance for us to all be together, reconnect and do something we all enjoy while making memories along the way.

3 Keys of Friday Family Fun Night::

1. Kid-friendly dinner. Whether we eat out, do a snack dinner, or I cook one of our favorite dishes I plan a meal that everyone will enjoy because no one wants to kick-off family fun night with arguments over finishing dinner.

2. Everyone participates. Whether we play a game, go for a walk, do a family art night or watch a movie, we choose something we can all do together.

3. Everyone is mentally present. This means no devices (unless we are watching a movie together). This is one night we all choose to be intentional about being fully focused on each other.

Ideas for family fun nights::

1. Go out to eat at a favorite restaurant.
2. After dinner, go out for snoballs, ice cream or froyo and have everyone share the highs and lows of their week while eating.
3. Play a game together. A few of our favorites that everyone from our 4-year-old to the adults enjoys are Uno, Tenzi, Go Fish, or yard games like cornhole.
4. Watch a movie.
5. Go for a walk or bike ride.
6. Art time. Turn on loud music, have everyone sit at the table and either have everyone draw independently, or have one picture that you pass around giving everyone a chance to add to the family creation.
7. Have a dance party.
8. Pillow fight.
9. Build a fort.
10. Go somewhere fun like Luv 2 Play, BooKoo Bounce or Surge.
11. Make cookies together.
12. Have a make your own pizza night. Whether you make your own dough, buy frozen dough, use pre-made crusts, or use pita bread, everyone will love making their own special pizza creations.
13. Do a puzzle together.
14. Go watch a sporting event or concert together.
15. Play a sport together. You can do a backyard game of soccer or football, or go out for bowling or putt-putt.

Obviously, Family Fun Night doesn’t have to be on Fridays, that’s just the evening that works best for us, pick an evening that works for your family, then start planning and getting excited.

Shannon Mangerchine
Shannon lives in Central City, New Orleans with her husband, Jeremy, and three sons, Noah, Eli and Zeke. She left a career in Human Resources to take on her dream of being a stay-at-home mom. During this time, she and her husband founded a non-profit called Bastion Resources with the purpose of inspiring others to live a life of intimacy with God. Shannon is passionate about creating community and engaging in meaningful conversation around the dinner table. Recently, she created The Intentional Daily Journal to help people live with more purpose and clarity, which is available for purchase on Amazon. In her free time, Shannon enjoys all types of fitness, trying new restaurants, reading and discussing books with her book club, coffee dates with friends and hanging at the park with her family. Shannon is constantly creating new healthy recipes and sharing them on her blog Dinner Done by 9am.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here