All week, we look forward to our much-deserved weekend—our break, our reset, and our time to spend with our little ones. What you decide to do with your family on the weekend usually depends on what the weather is like outside and what your budget is. We’ll explore your options from inside to outside, low cost to pricey, and everything in between.
1. Board Game Night
A timeless classic, the board game night is always a hit. For the price of the game, you can have a night of friendly competition and many laughs. It can teach your child valuable lessons such as how to work in a team, how to strategize, and how to win or lose with grace. My recommendation is the game Monopoly; while still having the benefits listed before, it can also teach your child about money and capital.
2. Movie Marathon
Grab the popcorn! This activity costs the price of your streaming platform and the snacks to munch on throughout your marathon. I recommend a series of age-appropriate films so the children can get a better sense of the characters and how they develop. For young children, I recommend the Veggie Tales animated series where talking fruits and vegetables retell stories from the bible, parody pop culture, and teach life lessons. For older children, I recommend the Harry Potter films where a young boy discovers he is a wizard and grows up attending a school for wizards in a fantasy world where he is the protagonist fighting evil.
3. Trampoline Park
Jump around! The trampoline park is one of the few things that makes me jealous of children in 2024. When I was young, I could only ever play on a trampoline in a friend’s backyard during the summer. Nowadays, children have the luxury of walking into a building filled with trampolines, basketball nets, loud music, and new friends to make all year long. What is there not to love? You know, aside from the price of admission and the occasional injury.
4. Museum
For a curious child, a museum may have the mental stimulation that they have been looking for. For the price of admission, you have an activity that involves walking and reading. Depending on their interests, you can have them visit any number of museums or similar institutions. In the same vein as a history, science, or art museum, you can also try a planetarium, an insectarium, an arboretum – or all of the above!
5. Movie Theatre
Sometimes parents need to sit in a dark room for a few hours to renew their patience. For the price of tickets and snacks, you can visit your local movie theatre and watch whichever kids' movie they have in the theatre at the time. I recommend selecting something age-appropriate, not only because some subject matter may be too mature for them, but also because they might get bored and start to distract you and the other movie-goers. Look for something zany, colorful, and with good music, that you can also appreciate.
6. Skating Rink
Have you been to “Free Skate” at your local indoor skating rink? Invite a friend and their kids, join the group of people circling the rink, and have a chat while your little ones learn to balance, keep a steady pace, exercise, and try something new. Make sure not to tie their skates too tight or too loose! Too tight means their feet will go numb and begin to hurt. Too loose and they might end up twisting their ankle. Find that sweet spot!
7. The Arcade
While many kids play games at home on their consoles, iPads, or computers, they miss out on the in-person socializing at an arcade. Instead of yelling at your friend over a headset in your bedroom, you can yell at them in person at the arcade! Perhaps it will also make them realize how silly it is to be yelling over a game, but then again, maybe not.
8. Hiking
Have you ever taken a walk? Now imagine, instead of walking at a brisk pace on concrete, you do the same on a hill at an incline. Sounds more difficult, right? That’s just part of the experience. Nothing worth doing is easy. Words can't describe the pride you feel once you reach the top and enjoy a snack with a view you earned. This activity is better suited for older kids and hopefully, you can share the pride and satisfaction of conquering a hill and enjoying the fresh air.
9. Fishing
Grab a rod, grab some bait, find some water, cast your line, and bond. Fishing is a timeless family activity that’s been bringing families together and feeding them for a long time. Let’s face it, parents and kids could use a break from the screens we stare at incessantly. Try sitting in the shade with nothing to stimulate you other than conversation with your family members and see how rewarding it can be.
10. Pool/Beach
On a hot day, you’d be hard-pressed to find an activity better than swimming. Whether it be in a pool or at the beach, you will not be able to find something as refreshing. Many neighbourhood kids congregate at their local pools during the summer so it can also be an opportunity for your little one to find new friends. Don’t forget the sunscreen!
11. Local Farmer’s Market
For younger kids, your local farmer’s market will be a nice place to visit. They can observe the antiques and try the homemade goods while you peruse the shops. This is usually a shorter activity if you want something that won’t take all day.
12. Picnic
Grab a blanket, chips, sandwiches, and drinks, and head out! The quality of the picnic relies on the quality of the food, the company, and the location. A nice park, a hill with a lookout, and a private green area by the water are all ideal locations for your picnic.
13. Camping
Need to unplug? Camping can be the break from the rat race that you’ve been looking for. Find a campsite deep in the woods where there isn’t any cell reception. Grab snacks and supplies. Some important items are a tent, sleeping bags, mosquito repellent, sunscreen, lighter fluid, a few flashlights, and all the ingredients to make ‘smores.
14. Apple Picking
Fulfill half of your evolutionary urge to hunt and gather by going apple picking at your local farm. This is an important activity because it teaches kids where the fruits they consume regularly come from. You can also teach them how to feel apples and tell when an apple is ripe to be eaten, premature, or spoiled.
15. Sidewalk Chalk
Help your child discover their artistic expression through sidewalk chalk art. For the price of the chalk, you can draw the same things together and see how different your depictions are. You can make it competitive and see if you can guess each other’s drawings. You can make it a weekly project to decorate the driveway, take a photo, hose it down, and restart each Monday. At the end of the summer, you can take all the photos and print a booklet of your creations so you have a physical memento of the time and fun you had together.
16. Theme Park
This one is on the pricier side, but the excitement your little ones will feel is unmatched. Is there anything better than a rollercoaster at ages 10, 11, or 12? I don’t think so. Although the bigger rides are better suited for older kids, there is also usually a section of the theme park dedicated to younger riders to enjoy. A great lesson your kids will learn at the theme park is patience because they will have to wait in long lines to have an exhilarating 1-minute experience on the rollercoaster. It will teach them that some things in life are worth the wait.
17. Waterpark
Similar to a theme park but much more refreshing, a waterpark can also be a solid weekend activity for the family. From waterslides to the wave pool to the lazy river, there is something for every member of your family to enjoy. On a hot day, you may want to spring for the waterpark instead of the theme park because the water is refreshing and better than waiting in line in the sun. Just don’t forget to reapply sunscreen after getting wet because sunburn is not a fun souvenir!
18. The Zoo
Do you have an animal lover at home? Bring them to the zoo! An activity that involves walking and learning, the zoo is perfect for children of any age. Teach them about what food they eat, what kind of environment they live in, and watch how in awe they are about being in the presence of the majestic beasts.
19. Zipline
This is not recommended for children or adults who are afraid of heights. Ziplining is as exhilarating as a theme park but instead, it’s usually located within a forest so it is recommended to bring a lot of mosquito repellent. Unleash your inner Tarzan by traveling from tree to tree zipping along a cord attached to your harness. Do you dare look down?
20. Sports Event
Depending on what level of sport you are interested in attending, the price of admission and food prices can get expensive. It does change the experience for your family, however, when they are present within a rabid fan base excited about the game that’s about to take place. The chants, the loud music, the horns, and how people dress in support of their team all add to the experience. It can inspire your child to want to excel in the sports they are playing now because they can imagine themselves playing a sport in a stadium full of fans.
