21 Family Bonding Activities to

Strengthen Your Family’s Connection

These twenty-one family bonding activities will bring your family
together and build cohesion – often while having fun!

It’s a modern-day scene: after work and school, your family runs around to
kids activities, errands, quickly eats dinner, the kids complete their
homework, and before you know it, it’s bedtime.

Research shows that a strong parent/child relationship is essential for

children’s wellbeing and behavior. But in our hectic lives, trying to find time
to bond as a family can be challenging. Which means we have to be more
intentional than ever to make it happen.

Here are twenty-one of the best family

bonding activities:
Sometimes family bonding activities can be special outings, but they don’t
have to be. Even everyday or weekly activities can help bring us closer to
our kids.

#1 – Have a family game night

Playing board games as a family can be a fun way to spend time together.
It also brings out everyone’s personality, starts unexpected conversations
(and goofiness), and can help kids work through self-doubt and confidence
depending on the outcome of the game. A few classic family games include
Monopoly, Pictionary, and Catan.

If you’re looking for suggestions for the best family games for all ages, look
no further than this list! These games have been tried and tested and get
top ratings from a family that does little else with its free time besides
playing board games.

#2 – Get outside
Spending time outside is beneficial for everyone – adults and kids alike. It
can lift moods, create a sense of wonder, and provides the perfect space to
burn energy and be active.
During the summer, families can go swimming, go on a hike (and
geocache), go camping, spend time on a boat, or visit an outdoor attraction
such as a zoo. Even a simple picnic can bring the family together or on
special occasions, attend an outdoor concert together.

In the winter, if temperatures reach freezing and below, ice skating, skiing,
sledding and snow tubing are fun family activities. Or even just simply
building a snowman when it snows. Hiking can also happen in the winter,
although snowshoes may be necessary at times.

Get the Kids Outside is a great resource for inspiration and ideas for getting
kids and the family outdoors.

#3 – Cook or bake together

Cooking or baking with kids is always a fun activity. Kids enjoy participating
in something grown-ups typically do – especially when there’s a delicious
reward at the end!

Besides, teaching kids to cook is a life skill that will set them up for success
later in life. Knowing how to cook leads to healthier eating and often saves
money over prepared meals or takeout dinners. Additionally, cooking can
become a relaxing and creative pastime after a busy day.

Baking chocolate chip cookies or an easy snack is a great way to get

started. Kids can help read the recipe, measure ingredients, mix, and place
dough on baking sheets.

See related: Teach Kids to Cook by Age and Ability

#4 – Hold regular family meetings

Coming together once a week for a meeting is one of the best ways to
bring more cohesion to your family.

Family meetings provide a forum to work together on challenges the family,

siblings or a family member is facing (for example, not cleaning up dirty
dishes or keeping a shared bathroom clean). It’s also a time to discuss
family rules, make sure everyone is aware of the family’s schedule, and
plan meals and any special family outings.

Children also gain numerous life skills during these meetings such as
learning to collaborate, take turns talking, and problem-solve with family
members. And family meetings that allow children to play a part in family
dynamics, as opposed to being bystanders, give them a sense of belonging
and purpose that builds self-esteem.

See related: Family Meeting Toolkit

#5 – Eat dinner together (whenever possible)

Eating dinner together has been shown to be beneficial for family bonding
and children’s self-esteem. Sharing meals while sitting around a table
provides the perfect opportunity to spur conversation and get to know one
another better. Kids feel a greater sense of security and belonging when
family meals are routine.

Need a few prompts to get your family dinner conversation started?

These 125+ Family Conversation Cards can help. Each one contains a
lighthearted question any family member can answer. Kids will have
fun learning more about you and you’re bound to discover something
you didn’t know about your kids. Click here or the image below to
learn more and get your own set.

#6 – Do chores together
Doing chores together might not seem like a logical family bonding activity.
After all, chores certainly aren’t associated with doing something fun and
enjoyable.

But the teamwork it takes for the whole family to get the house clean can
build family cohesiveness…if chores are presented to kids in a way that’s
empowering and builds their sense of belonging. (Click here to see the best
way to introduce chores to your kids). And chores can be a bit more fun if
everyone works to music or kids know a fun family activity follows the
clean-up.

Research also shows that doing chores as a child leads to greater

academic, emotional, and professional success. See: Why Kids Need
Chores to Be Successful in Life to learn more.

#7 – Volunteer together
Doing volunteer work as a family often exposes kids to the world outside
their home, neighborhood, and community. It also teaches kids life
skills such as working as a team, interacting with people different than
oneself, and problem-solving. Volunteering is also shown to improve the
happiness and self-esteem of those who do it. And it lets kids know that
they can make a difference when they hear about problems and societal
issues in the news.

If you’re looking for volunteer ideas for your family, this resource should
help: 4 Family Volunteer Opportunities: Bond While Doing Good

#8 – Organize special outings

Special outings, either as an entire family or one-on-one with a parent and
child, can be a great bonding opportunity, often creating lasting memories.
Outings can include trips to a museum, aquarium, historic site, bowling, or
doing an activity outside. It can also be as simple as taking your young
child to a playground and getting ice cream afterwards.

With our busy lives, it can be easy to forget to make time for special
outings. Rather than trying to fit these outings in spur of the moment, it
helps to schedule them well in advance.

#9- Create Family Traditions

Family traditions – around holidays or certain times of the year – unite
families and create positive experiences and memories.

Traditions can be as simple as eating certain foods on holidays, going

apple picking every fall, or having a special cadence to someone’s birthday.

Family traditions tend to be handed down from generation to generation,

but it’s a fun bonding experience to also create new traditions. If you’re
looking for new family traditions ideas see: 40 Fun Family Tradition Ideas to
Steal ASAP

Other family bonding activities you can do

together:
There are endless ways to bond as a family. Here are twelve other ideas:

 Go camping in your backyard or at a campground

 Visit a museum, aquarium, or other cultural sights together
 Explore a nearby town
 Go bird watching together
 Go on a picnic
 Have a family movie night
 Create a family photo album together
 Work on a craft project together
 Garden
 Random acts of kindness
 Do a scavenger hunt together
 Have an outdoor scrimmage