What Do You Do with Your Kids for "Family Time"

We do a lot of, book/movie nights. I find a book that is also a movie, we read the book, watch the movie, order pizza and eat it picnic style in the living room, and have some popcorn later on too. I've also let my kids skate and ride bikes in the basement when they were smaller, and brought in the sandbox and other outdoor toys.

Everone has such good ideas! I have to add our new hobby - geocaching! It's basically treasure hunting with a gps - very fun :-) We have a 5 yr. old, 3 yr. old, & 6 month old. I usually "wear" the baby or pop her in the stroller and & off we go. The oldest is learning a lot about navigation & it's a great way to see new places & explore. You can learn more at the website - geocaching.com

You can make your own pizzas at home. Let the kids put the toppings on their own pizzas (personal size!). Then, play a game or watch a movie together. My kids love this activity. We have such good memories of cooking together and eating the yummy creations!

We play a lot of hide and seek. We cook and bake together. We play basketball (small ball and hoop in the basement). We go for walks. We go outside and jump on the trampoline. We go outside and play catch with a baseball or football. We have "pajama day" and hang out in our pj's, eat food we don't normally eat and watch a movie all snuggled up on the couch. We go to the pet store quite often ~ both boys love to look at the birds, fish, puppies, kittens, etc. and would go every day if I was willing to take them!

The public libraries in KCK are amazing! They have tons of activities to do!

Well you already do Game nights which is great! We have Ping Pong tourney's, soccer games and my sons made football goal post out of paper and we play football with the little paper triangle. Also, crafts there are so many things you can do - check out familyfun.com. We also do special dinner nights where everyone has a task. It could be individual make your own pizzas or we have done fondue! Start a tradition of your own!

Once a month we do a EXCELLENT ADVENTURE! My husband and I plan the adventure. We do not tell the kids where we are going. We get in the car give them a hint and the first letter in the name. We are off! When they were young it was easier. My area has amazing park district and Forest preserve facilities so it could be a cool and different park, pool, Chuckie Cheese, Mini Golf, a Zoo, etc.... It does not have to be expensive to be fun!

Have fun!

We struggle in the winter, too, but I have a few ideas. Have a huge Lego building time together. Or, my son got Lincoln Logs for Christmas --we all love them! One night, we moved game night to our basement -- the change in location totally changed the event (in a good way!). Have a reading night, where the kids pick the books & everyone (that can) takes turns reading. Do you have a bounce house place near you? Monkey Joe's is our favorite. Snappers is 2nd.

We prefer warmer weather! We go for walks (with the dog, and the kids take turns walking him), and our most recent favorite is playing kickball in the back yard. Run through the sprinkler. We'll have some warmer weather soon. Right?! :)

We spend time cooking together (cookies, cakes, salads, pizza and so much more).

We also have set up the livingroom like a fort with pillows, blankets, etc.

Even though it is winter, we still manage to get outside even if it is only for 10-15 minutes at a time. Then it's mugs of hot chocolate for everyone. Sleding is also so much fun.

I forgot. We play tag too. When the kids were little we had hardwood floors and would play tag in our sock covered feet and slide around like crazy people. It's so much fun and burns so many calories. Killing two birds with one stone.

we live near a university and love to go watch the sports. inexpensive, not much traffic, noisy, and good exposure to physical activity.

Check out some activities your local parks and recreation might offer. At this age, parental involvement is a must so it would be for the family and not just the kids. Bundle up and go for a walk or the playground. Get a pizza and have movie night after going for that walk (definately cheaper than bowling). Any children's theaters in your area? Local rec center where you can play as a family?

I have a Nerf putt putt course that I set up inside. We set up the Little Tikes basketball goal inside and play horse. We play a lot of hide and seek where we hide a toy instead of ourselves. We dance together to music. Hope these ideas help!

We LOVE swimming. There are tons of places with indoor swimming here, not sure what's available in columbus. We especially love it in the winter because we feel all 'sneaky' that it's so cold outside and we are in the warm pool!!!!!! They also have hotels with indoor water parks here that you can buy a day pass for.

We also like to play mini-golf and laser tag (neither as fun for the 3 mo old!!!! but you could 'wear her' and still play) and both usually have some indoor facilities open during the winter.

Also, the museums here will offer family 'classes' on the weekends - learn to sew, or make a clay pot etc that you can do as a family. It's usually pretty cheap - we did one at the Children's museum and it was like $3 and we each made a bag.

One additional thing that we used to do when we lived in another city was volunteer at a food bank at our church (but there are TONS of them). My daughter was 3 at the time and it was a GREAT experience for use to do together. We went one Sat morning each month from 8-12. The first hour and 1/2 we helped organize the bags and then you handed them out the rest of the time. We did it here with our church for a while, but have sorta stopped and now that I am typing this realize we should get back to doing that!!!!!!!

Have fun :-)

My kids 4 3/4 and 2 1/2 love puzzles so we do puzzles together. We also do different crafts and then decorate the house.
We also play indoor mini golf. You can either purchase a set or make your own. I saw instructions once to make a mini golf holes using paper plates with the center cut out, small balls and then using kitchen utensils as the putters. It looked like a lot of fun. When we play we take turns setting up the course for everyone else.
We have had scavenger hunts around the house leading the kids through a set of clues to the final "treasure."