Bring Your Family Closer Together With These 6 Bonding Ideas
Family bonding is important to maintaining relationships between family members, but it can sometimes be hard to find the time for everyone to spend together.
This is why these six ideas are great for bringing your family closer together without having to travel too far.
1. Get Matching Outfits
One of the easiest ways to bring your family together is by making a family rule that you have to wear the same outfit every time you go out as a family. Whether it’s matching sweatshirts, polo shirts, or anything else that everyone has in their closet as long as they fit the requirements.
A great thing to consider since holidays are just around the corner are matching PJs. You can even get a matching pair for the whole family.
It will help build comradery with your family and also ensure that you’re never late because someone is taking too long getting ready. This is especially great if you have small kids as they are sure to love it.
2. Board Game Night
One night a week, gather the family together for a board game night. You can play classic games such as Monopoly or Life, or if there are enough people, split up into teams and compete against each other in some kind of trivia game.
Scrabble is another great family pastime for those who love words, puzzles, and mixing a little competition into their game nights. Scrabble encourages everyone in the family to use their wit and put letter combinations together to create words.
And if you’re feeling stuck, you can use a Scrabble Word Finder tool to help you out. This is also a great way for the kids to learn a few new words as well!
It’s great to get the family together for an evening where everyone is involved and not staring at a screen while sitting on the couch.
Not only will this create memories, but it will make sure that you’re mentally engaged with each other instead of just sitting quietly or avoiding eye contact.
3. Exploring Nature
Many national parks offer free admission depending on what day of the week it is (for example, on every third Tuesday of the month). This is a great opportunity for families to pack up their things and go camping.
You can spend time enjoying nature, bonding with your family members, and even learn how to camp if you’ve never done so before. There are also more people than you might think that offer free entry, including some museums and zoos.
Be sure to do your research first and maybe even pack a lunch so you can have a mini picnic before or after exploring the attractions.
4. Cooking Together
One of the most fun ways to bond with family is by cooking together. Of course, it depends on who you’re cooking with as older generations may find this boring compared to their usual activities, but if there’s a younger generation involved they are sure to love spending time in the kitchen with you.
It also teaches them how to cook properly so if they ever need a helping hand in college or when they move out, not only will they know how to feed themselves, but it will give them an idea of what you have always done for them.
For example, if you were to make a family meal for everyone, be sure to include your older family members in the process. Not only will they enjoy it, but it sends the message that even though they are considered adults, they are still a part of the family and you want them in your life no matter what.
5. Dinner and a Show
Every Sunday night, get your family together for dinner and a show. You can do this at home or go out to eat depending on how much money you’re willing to spend. Then, after dinner, head over to the movies where you can all laugh together at whatever is in theatres at the time or cry during something more serious if that’s what is being shown.
This will help everyone bond while also creating memories they’ll never forget because it’s something they did with people they love instead of sitting separately in their own homes watching TV alone.
6. Family Meetings
Every week, gather up your family members and ask them three questions: What are your goals for this week? What went well last week? Do you have any questions for the family? This will help everyone get to know each other better, especially if you go around in a circle and ask one question at a time.
Not only that, but it also helps you become more involved in their lives which allows everyone to work together when needed. Family meetings are also meant to be fun so try to make it into a game. For example, see how many times you can make your mom laugh during her turn.
It’s no secret that family is important. However, growing up it seems like everyone puts their own lives before the ones they were born into.
With these six ideas in mind, you can make sure to keep your family close together and make lasting memories instead of living in separate homes until you’re forced to see each other during holidays or funerals.