~*I love m
Okay so my family and I have a pretty busy life, but now since it is summer and the kids do not have school only summer activities all they do is sit around anymore. I want to do something fun that we all can enjoy I just want some ideas I will give you the age of my kids so you can help.
Boy- 17
Girl- 13
Girl-11
Girl-9
Boy- 6
I know there ages are varied so I want something to keep them all happy. Thanks.
By the way teenagers will not do the whole family picnic thing they think it is so "not cool mom". Ha ha
Answer
Bring them to the ocean, all ages can enjoy a trip to the beach. Get a huge neighborhood or family game of kickball, soccer, or badminton going in the yard with the older kids helping the younger ones. Do they have bikes? My family likes to go for a family bike ride. We like to ride on the recreational trails from our home to town, have lunch at Subway, then ride back home, but that can be improvised to whatever is near you. We encourage the kids to keep going as long as they can, but if they need to they can take breaks and we carry plenty of water for the trip. There are some family games that can be fun for all ages. I like Cranium, Apples to Apples, Scattergories and Uno. On a hot day, turn on a sprinkler or have the kids toss water balloons. They might find a family BBQ a bit cooler than a family picnic. Let the kids camp outside in tents overnight and roast marshmallows in a firepit and run around the yard with sprinklers after dark. Turn on the kids favorite radio station or pop in a favorite cd and have everyone start dancing, including you, no matter how goofy you look or feel, or rent a video on hip-hop dancing and challenge everyone to try to keep up with you. Have everyone pick out some old clothes, toys, books, etc. and have a big family yardsale where everyone gets to keep the money for their own things. It's a great way to get rid of clothing and toys the kids have outgrown and they will be more willing to part with their things if they can keep the money from their things. The younger kids will enjoy operating a lemonade stand which their customers won't be able to resist on a hot day. If you don't have a convenient location for a yardsale, you can have them donate their items to a salvation army or thrift store which is a good way to teach the kids about the value of giving and helping others. Have the kids help you plant a garden and have each family member responsible for weeding and watering a row. When you have dug or tilled a big enough plot, the kids can help pull out the rocks and roots. Everyone can help harvest their own row and if there is enough, you can donate what you don't need to a local food bank and the kids will be proud to be able to help members of the community who are needy. Have everyone in the family think of five or six activities that they would like to do with the family and write them down on a piece of paper which they can fold up and put in a jar. Pick one day a week that each person in the family can take turns pulling a paper from the jar. The family will do that activity for the day and everyone in the family has their turns to do the things they enjoy. You can lay down some ground rules such as a spending limit for the day or a limit on how far you are willing to travel. You also might want to have them each choose one activity for rainy days or indoors and keep those in a separate jar just in case. Even if some of the kids occasionally moan and groan about how corny or uncool the activities are, you should keep encouraging them to join in and participate even if it's to set an example for the younger ones and be a part of the family. Chances are, if they see that everyone else is having fun, they will eventually give in and give it a shot and when they look back on those times when they are older, they will remember how silly and fun it was and they will be grateful for the time they were able to spend with the family learning that sometimes it's ok to be uncool and silly, sometimes it's actually fun. Good luck! I hope you will be able to use some of these ideas. Sorry for the looooong post.
cheap and quality family tent?
my family wanna go camping in several days in Georgia National Park,we need a camping tent and some cooking supplies.pls kindly recommend cheap and quality ones.thx 4 ur kindness.
Answer
As long as the weather is fair you can make almost any tent work for you. The Coleman Instant Tent 6 or 8 person models are preferred by many because they are easy to set-up and take down, but run in the $150-200 range. The Coleman Sundome Chris recommends is a good, low-priced tent, but is not as spacious or easy to setup as the Instant Tent, thought it would probably do better in the rain. Choose the one that makes the most sense based on your family size, allowing extra capacity so you can keep your clothing inside without being cramped.
You can use blankets from home or buy sleeping bags to make your bed. If choosing sleeping bags, pick a model that is rated at least 20*F lower than the coldest temperature you expect to encounter. You can always unzip the bag if it gets too warm, or sleep on top. Again, Coleman makes some decent fair-weather sleeping bags, also look at Kelty and Slumberjack. Expect to pay $50 and up for a decent sleeping bag, typically the more money you spend the smaller the bag will be when packed away.
Whether you use blankets or a sleeping bag you will want to have some padding underneath you. Some use cots, which cost around $100 each. Some are ok with foam pads, costing from $8 to $50. Then there's self-inflating mattresses, $50-150, which use expandable foam and air for padding and insulation. Finally you can use regular blow-up air mattresses, which range from $20 to over $100 and are available in single, double, queen and king sizes. In colder weather, foam and self-inflating mattresses are the best choice, as cots and air mattresses provide no insulation value.
In terms of cooking, a two-burner Coleman propane stove costs around $50, and disposable 16oz propane canisters cost between $2.50 and $3.50, each will last about 2 days. You can bring pots, pans and cooking utensils from home. You might need to bring one or two folding tables (1 to cook at, the other to eat at, about $45 each) and folding chairs ($15 to 75 each, depending on model). And a battery-operated lantern ($40-75). Use disposable plates, bowls and eating utensils to save money and time cleaning. You will also need coolers to keep your food and beverages cold. The Coleman Xtreme coolers are the best available for the money, and I recommend you get two: one for food and the other for beverages.
Don't forget some trash bags, napkins, paper towels, dish soap and hand soap. And a collapsible trash can is convenient. Also, a first aid kit is a good idea.
All this stuff is available at most WalMart stores.
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