The Simple Life at Home

Watch a sunset together
Go for a family walk
Go to a local park or school grounds and play basketball or HORSE
Turn on the sprinklers and run through them together
Put up a tent and have a backyard camp out, complete with roasting marshmallows
Have a water balloon or water gun fight
Hold a karaoke contest
Have a board game tournament over the course of several days
Teach your kids to play a card game other than Go Fish
Play dominoes together
Make popcorn balls or some other special treat together
Plan a "trip" to another country - find music and maybe a video at the library, and cook up a meal with that country's cuisine. Maybe you could even decorate and dress up!
Spread a blanket in the yard and cloud watch...
Or read a book to your children...
Or have a picnic
Have them create a bird feeder and enjoy seeing your new visitors
Plant a vegetable garden and make it a family project
Teach your kids to cook
Learn how to use a compass then go and use your skills
Play Frisbee at night
Try to break a world record
Act out a play with costumes and make up
Ask a grandparent about their wedding day or some of their most favorite fun moments
Ask each other what your goal in life is
Attack a household chore as a team then and celebrate as a team
Build a fort with pillows from the couch
Buy a telescope and stargaze together
Go for a walk together
Go to the playground
Have a lemonade sale
Make up a funky dance with your children
Make up some instruments and start a band
Play Twister
Research your family tree
Try to get as many family members together in one place
Have a paper airplane distance contest
Make a house out of cardboard boxes
Next time you see a rainbow, stop and really admire it
Play jacks or pickup sticks
Positive daydreaming
Sing even if you can't
The next time it's really windy, find a safe place to lean into the wind
Watch the moonrise
Build a tree house or fort
Get all the children to perform a skit
Have a back yard talent show
Host a yard sale as a family - use the proceeds to do something as a family
Make a slip and slide in your back yard
Make an entertaining phone answering-machine message
Put a pond in your yard - with fish
Wash the Dog

These are just some ideas I had - I'm sure there are tons more out there. Please share if you have a great idea!

The idea is to make your home a haven for your family. You want home to be the center of the family's life - but it's only going to happen if it's a place the family enjoys. Home needs to be more than just a place to eat, sleep and change clothes. It needs to be the place we can go to to escape the pressures of daily life and to renew and recharge.

And added bonus? If you have the "coolest" home on the block, the kids will want to hang out there. You'll get to know your children's friends and be able to have a godly influence on them as well. They'll enjoy being in your company because they will know that, in your home, they are valued and allowed to have good, clean fun!