planning a family fun night

i thought i would share something that has really worked for me. not to brag or boast, but to share something that is really working for our family. i love sharing ideas, with the hopes that others can run with the ideas and make it work for them.

having quality family time is a big deal for us.  that's why i started it several years ago, when our oldest was only 2 years old.  we've tried to have family night on a weekly basis, but somehow life gets busy and then it ends up not happening.   one of my goals this year, was to make family night happen every week.  i've always wanted it to be special, not just throw in a movie and call it good.  not that that is bad, but i wanted time for us to interact, play together, enjoy a meal together and just make some great memories.

so a couple of months ago, i spent a few hours planning out a couple months of family fun nights.  i wanted it all planned out ahead of time so that on the night of our family fun night i would have everything i needed, know all the activities, and just feel prepared and not feel like i was trying to throw something together at the last moment.  don't you hate that feeling?  i do.

here's what I do...

• each family fun night has a theme.  sometimes they coincide with holidays, seasons or things my kids are learning about.
• after i have a theme, i come up with our activities and food for the evening.  sometimes, i will try and decorate for our night, but that only happens if i have things already to decorate with...i don't buy anything for that.
• i get a lot of ideas from Pinterest and borrow movies or books from the library.
• i write out everything on a piece of paper, add any items to my shopping list, gather all craft supplies, books, etc. and place them in a jumbo ziploc bag.  that way, everything is together and ready to go for that night.  all i have to do on the day of, is pull out the bag and i'm ready to go.  this takes away a lot of stress and anxiety!

here's an example of an upcoming family fun night...
theme:  skeleton   (my little lady is learning about living things in school.)
activities:
craft-make a paper skeleton and use the book, Rattle Your Bones to help us with skeleton drawings.
play- Operation game
read Skeleton Hiccups
watch- The Magic School Bus Human Body
food:
veggie skeleton fondue
skeleton cake