7 Ways to Make Time at Home a Lot More Fun
Let’s face it - sometimes being at home can be, well, at least a little less than fun, maybe even boring.
Toddlers asking to play Candyland for the ten-thousandth time.
Tweens and teens dealing with feelings we don’t quite know how to handle.
Spouses tied up with endless Zoom meetings, phone calls, and conflicting priorities.
Laundry, dishes, dirty floors, meal-cooking, and on and on and on - an endless monotony of chores and same-old-same-old.
But I’m here to tell you it doesn’t always have to be this way.
Sure, the meals have to be prepared, money has to be made, and the house has to be cleaned, but there’s a different way to do family life - one where fun is absolutely in the mix.
Recently, I hopped on the Kindred Convos podcast to talk about this very thing, and I had so much fun diving deep into the concepts with those two family-loving ladies that I had to share them here on the blog. (You can listen to that podcast episode here or with the photo link below.)
No matter what your reality is today, you can bring some major fun into your family life in these seven ways.
#1 - Put relationships first.
Nothing is more important than our relationships, but showing it can be tricky sometimes. Let go of your work stress and watch a movie with your hubby. Leave that pile of crumbs under the table for another day so you can spread out a picnic blanket outside and just be together. Take some things off your to-do list and go hiking or biking for an afternoon with the kids. When we keep relationships first, everything changes. It sends the message: “You are more important than anything else to me” and helps turn even the dullest day around.
#2 - Hit the books.
Read alone, read together, read silently, aloud, via audiobooks, ebooks, or old-fashioned ink on paper. No matter your preference, bringing out a few good books can transform hard days into fun ones. (Especially if you have people in your house who spend way too much time on screens.) When things go off the rails, pull out a good book - even for just 10 minutes - and watch what happens next. New ideas will start to take shape. New plans will start to form. Creativity will blossom. I promise.
#3 - Cultivate curiosity.
For school, for life, for nature, for personal growth, for mental health - all of it - when we cultivate curiosity, everything looks a little brighter, more possible, more hopeful - and absolutely more fun - especially our big, beautiful lives. (A little tip I learned from Liz Gilbert.)
#4 - Keep your family's big picture in mind.
Instead of thinking "we never do this" or “why can’t we ever do that”, shift your mindset and start taking on the perspective, "this is just temporary - I know we’re headed towards …” Have a family meeting, let everyone share their dreams, make a plan for your next big trip or big goal or big service project to achieve together, and keep that big picture in mind. Make a poster and attach it to the fridge if you need to. Write it in your journal daily. Do whatever you need to do to make sure you can keep the big picture in mind - then the fun will come.
#5 - When things go off the rails, step back, do something you love, and reassess.
I don’t care who you are, things will go off the rails at home sometimes. Someone will get upset. Milk will spill. You’ll forget someone’s favorite cereal and all hell will break loose. When those things happen, you can step back, do something you love for a little bit, and reassess. In our house, we go hiking, pull out a board game, go on a nature walk, put on an audiobook, or dive into big art projects and Legos. Usually, with just a little bit of time, the smiles return and you can see how to get things back on track.
#6 - Remember that work/life balance is a myth; integrate instead.
As someone addicted to personal growth and development, I’m baffled at how many articles are still in the world about how to balance work and life and big goals and all the things. As someone who’s had more plates spinning for more years than I like to think about, I can honestly tell you there is no balance. There is only life. Once we embrace that fact and just start living, we can have fun with our big, wild, and wonderful lives and stop trying to fit everything into its own little box.
#7 - Simplify. Simplify. Simplify. And when you think you've simplified, simplify again.
If you’re overwhelmed by the suggestions above and you feel like you’ve come to the end of this list and still don’t have anything tangible to bring fun into your house, I can bet you a million dollars you need to simplify something - or maybe even everything - in your life right now. (If you need some help with that, you might just love “Tips for Letting Them Be Little” here.)
Dive into all the fun on these topics and so much more in my podcast with Sarah and Mia from The Kindred Convo ⤵
Want to chat more about making family time more fun at your house?
Share an idea, ask a question, or just say hi?
Grab a free copy of 110 Ideas for Fun Family Togetherness and come say hi in the email group. I’d love to answer your questions and connect with you there.
Want to go deeper and make a big shift at home?
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