Family Fun Night Ideas

When was the last time that you had a family fun night?

A night where you got the family all in the same room and enjoyed some quality family fun time together; laughing, eating, and enjoying being in each other’s company?

Spending quality time with your family is a great way to connect and build lasting family memories.

We tend to live such busy lives, with people working different hours, maintaining a household, school and after school activities and so on, which can really limit the time that we get together.

That’s why we think it is important to try and schedule in a family night fun once a month, or every week like a family fun Friday, where everyone clears their schedule and gets involved for the night.

Whether it be a family game night, fun things to do with family at home, or family night out we have a bucket load of great ideas for you to choose from that we think the whole family is going to love.

Family Night In Ideas

The idea of a fun family night is to spend time bonding and creating memories as a family.

They don’t have to be expensive or if you have little ones stressful nights out.

In fact, some of the best family nights are the fun and creative family activities done at home.

Family Movie Night

Family movie night is a great tradition to have that everyone can enjoy!

Once you have decided on the movie it is a simple as grabbing an assortment of snacks (or popping the popcorn), pouring the drinks, and settling in for the night.

We like to make it extra cozy by setting up the lounge room with blankets and pillows (and stuffed toys for the little ones).

Or if the weather is great, you could even set up an outdoor movie night.

Pros:

• Low cost
• Suitable for all ages
• It’s a great way to have fun and relax
• If you run out of snacks/drinks the kitchen in right there
• Depending on how much time you have, you may even want to make it a movie marathon

Cons:

• Choosing a movie that everyone will want to watch
• It is not as interactive as other activities

Family Board Games Night

Board games like Monopoly have been around for a long time and still to this day they provide a lot of fun, excitement and competition for families.

To ensure it is a great night for all, the key is to choose a few fun games for family game night that everyone can get involved in.

Or you can even do a twist and make your own games night with these ‘Would You Rather’ questions for kids!

Pros:

• Suitable for all ages
• It’s a great way to have fun and relax
• Perfect for screen-free entertainment
• Board games can be used for years after they have been purchased so are a great value for money

Cons:

• It can get a little competitive (so always good to set some ground rules first to avoid the tears)
• Some can take a long time to complete depending on how many players you have
• You’ll want to make sure you keep all the pieces together so you don’t lose any

Family Dinner

There is some special about getting the whole family together around the dining table to enjoy some great food and great company.

But why keep it to just a Sunday roast when you can have some fun with it.

Pros:

• Low cost
• You can sit down and enjoy time together as a family
• Allows for a relaxed atmosphere to talk together as a family
• Able to cater for different dietary needs

Cons

• It can be a lot of preparation and clean up

Here are some fun family dinner ideas to inspire you:

Pizza Night

Another winner with most families is a make your own pizza night. Set up each of the ingredients in their own bowls all cut up and ready to go.

Set the kitchen bench or the dining table up like a conveyor belt with all the different bowls of ingredients.

From there each person can make their own pizza with the toppings that they want on it.

We love making ours on English muffins and the kids love the idea of mini pizzas – they are the perfect size for them.

Theme Dinners Nights

Why not have so extra fun with you family night dinner ideas and create themed dinner nights.

Pick a country from around the world. Cook their popular foods. And then have everyone dress up in a traditional costume/hat from that country.

For example, you might choose to have a Mexican themed night, with tacos and everyone wears a sombrero.

You could even tie this in with your fun family movie night by picking a themed movie.

Ice Cream Sundae Bar

Similar to the make your own pizzas, why not follow it up with a make your own dessert bar.

Set up bowls with different toppings such as sprinkles, sauces, crushed nuts and chocolate bar pieces.

Let each person create their own dessert masterpiece. This can get a little messy and also a little sticky so make sure that you have it all set up in an area of the house that can be easily cleaned i.e – not on a carpeted area!

Read A Book Together

Does your family love reading? Then why not set up the room as you would for a family night yet instead of everyone snuggling up to watch a movie, you all snuggle up together and read your favorite books.

Pros:

• Low cost
• Great screen-free time
• It promotes a love of reading which has tons of great benefits
• Allows for a relaxed atmosphere

Cons:

• This could be difficult if you have younger children

Arts And Crafts Night

Art and craft projects don’t have to be just for school. There are tons of great ideas out there with fun and creative ideas that you can do for your family fun night.

Here are a few that we think would be super fun to do:

• Paint artworks
• DIY photo blocks
• Scrapbooking
• Create play dough sculptures
• Ty dye t-shirts for the whole family
• Make Jewelry
• Make sock puppets and put on a play
• Make Origami
• Make slime (Check out the best slime recipes)
• DIY Suncatchers
• Create Christmas ornaments
• Science experiment

Pros:

• You get to create memories and keepsakes
• Great screen-free time
• So many different options you are sure to find one that suits everyone

Cons:

• Costs can vary depending on the project
• Requires a little bit of set up and pre-planning
• It can get messy

Lego Building Challenge

Who doesn’t love sitting down and building with Lego? So why not turn your family games night into a Lego building challenge!

Here are three ways you can get the whole family involved:

1. Select a large family sized Lego kit or project where everyone can come together and get building. You can break the project into different parts for each family member to build.

2. If you want to make it a little more competitive give each family member their own Lego kit/project to build, make it age appropriate, and see who can finish first.

3. Get creative. Give everyone a time limit to build their best design (this can also be themed i.e. build a dinosaur out of Lego bricks). Vote on a winner.

Pros:

• Able to build problem-solving skills
• Great screen-free time
• Suitable for different age ranges i.e. Duplo for the little ones

Cons:

• You need to make sure you have enough Lego to go around
• It is very easy to lose parts of the kits
• It can be time-consuming so may go over a few nights (but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing!)

Look Through Family Photos & Videos

Keep those beautiful family memories alive by reminiscing through old family photos and videos.

The kids will love looking at themselves as a baby and no doubt the walk down memory lane will have you all feeling connected.

You may even find it becomes a wonderful family history lesson for everyone.

Pros:

• Perfect for connecting the whole family
• Suitable for all ages

Cons:

• You’ll need to dig out those old photos and videos in preparation

Create A Family Time Capsule

Time capsules are a great way to capture all those special family moments.

Why not spend the night together putting together a family time capsule then putting it away somewhere safe for a period in time when you want to open it again.

>> Be inspired with these family time capsule ideas.

Pros:

• Perfect for creating and saving precious family memories
• Suitable for all ages
• It’s a family activity you can do now and then get everyone back together when you open it

Cons:

• This activity will need some pre-planning

Fun Games To Play With Family Outside At Night

When the weather calls for it, having the family play games out in the night air can be so much fun.

Maybe it is because the norm is to go inside when it gets dark or because it is a break from the normal bedtime routine, but there really is something exciting about family games to play outside.

Pros:

• Low cost
• Great screen-free time
• Allows for a relaxed atmosphere

Cons:

• Dependent on the weather
• This could be difficult if you don’t have a large yard to play in (though you could consider going to a local park)
• Little children may get scared so team them up with a partner is need

Here are some family game night ideas to get you started:

Flashlight Hide and Seek

When it comes to family games ideas, getting everyone involved in a yard game of hide and seek in the dark is always a lot of fun for everyone involved.

If you haven’t played hide and seek before, you have one family member close their eyes and count to fifty while everyone runs and hide. The ‘seeker’ then has to go find everyone that is hiding. For night time hide and seek the ‘seeker’ can use a flashlight to find everyone that is hiding.

Flashlight Tag

Everyone runs around, one family member has a flashlight and has to tag the others by shining a light beam at them.

You could also adapt this game to use Nerf guns if you’re looking for something a little more action packed.

Treasure Hunt

For a great treasure hunt, fill plastic Easter eggs with mini-battery operated lights. Hide them around the yard and then let everyone find them by looking out for where the lights are shining.

Firefly Hide and Seek

This is another version of the classic hide and seek using a small pocket flashlight. Choose one family member to be the ‘firefly’. They then hide in the dark while the other players count to fifty. The ‘firefly’ moves around from hiding spot to hiding spot turning the flashlight on and then off again every minute or so. The ‘seekers’ have to try and find the ‘firefly’. When someone catches the ‘firefly’, they take a turn hiding with the light.

Night Time Scavenger Hunt

Gather paper bags and pencils and take the kids on a nighttime scavenger hunt. Write down the insects, flowers, and trees to identify on the bag, which can also be used to collect a specimen.

Pool Party

If you are lucky enough to have a pool at your home, then a nighttime pool party is definitely something that you should consider. Get everyone together with glow sticks, pool toys and their swimmers for a night of fun.

Marco Polo is a great game to play in the water or you could even set up a volleyball net across the pool and have a little bit of friendly competition.

Pros:

• Low cost
• Great screen-free time
• Perfect for a hot night

Cons:

• You need a pool
• Dependent on the weather
• Safety in the dark may be a concern

Backyard Camping

If the weather is warm enough, why not even extend the fun to have a family night of camping in the backyard? Either in tents or out in the fresh air with the stars over you.

There is also a whole range of extra activities you can do once you’ve finished playing your family game night games including:

• Stargazing
• Making s’mores over a campfire
• Holding an outdoor movie
• Have a family sing-along around the campfire
• Telling stories over a hot cocoa

We think backyard camping is sure to be a hit but if you decided to do it and it all gets too much you can simply head inside to the comfort of your own beds.

Pros:

• Low cost
• Great screen-free time
• Perfect for a hot night
• If it all gets too much you can simply head inside to the comfort of your own beds unlike regular camping

Cons:

• Dependent on the weather
• Requires a little bit of set up

Family Night Out Ideas

Make it a family night to remember by heading out and about for some special family time. 

It doesn’t need to be hard to find fun things to do with your family. There are often plenty of family-friendly events put on by local communities, but if they don’t suit, you can easily create your own fun family outings.

Family Outing Ideas

Getting out with the family can make for some great memory-making experiences.

And let’s face it, it is pretty hard not to get excited when you are heading out for a special evening of fun.

Pros:

• Able to find activities suitable for all ages
• Creates opportunities for new experiences
• Breaks up the normal routine

Cons:

• It can get expensive taking the whole family out to paid activities
• It may take some pre-planning especially when attending big events

Depending where you live, the options will vary, but here are a family night out ideas (including fun family dinner ideas) to inspire you:

• Bowling
• Family dinner at a restaurant
• Go for a family walk or bike ride
• Attend a sporting event
• Ice-skating or roller-skating
• Fish and chips at the beach
• Picnic in the park
• Family photoshoot at dusk
• See a movie
• Family games night in the park
• Volunteer together as a family
• Go fishing
• See a play
• Go on a shopping trip (non-grocery)
• Treasure Hunt with Geocaches
• Nighttime boat cruise
• Visit a museum
• Nighttime market
• Go to a games arcade

Family Fun Night Ideas Free Printable

If you want more intentional about spending quality family time on a regular basis, then our free printable will help you to always have some great ideas at hand when you need them.

To download the poster all you need to do is click on the below link.

>> Click here to download the Fun Family Night Ideas poster

Final Thoughts On Family Fun Night

A family fun night is a great way to spend quality time together as a family making incredible memories.

We hope this guide has been helpful by giving you some fun ideas for your next family night that the whole family will love!

And if you’re looking for more great family time ideas, then check out these reasons why spending time with family is important, free family activity ideas, and traditions to start with grandchildren.