Bump the boring activities that will leave you yawning by mid-day. Need help with ideas? Follow our guide below for fun activities that kids can do with every member of the family, including mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, aunts and uncles.
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Fun with Mom
Upside-down dinner
Plan an upside-down dinner party, where dessert comes first. Select a fancy theme (think fairytales or favorite books) and incorporate heirloom table settings, chair covers and vintage table cloths, suggests Laura Henkle-Sauer, owner of Vintage Lace and Table. For a special touch, post a formal dinner invite on the refrigerator with RSVPs and make hand-decorated placemats and name tags for guests, she says.
Family Day bucket
Buy a plastic bucket at a local craft store and decorate it. Write down your favorite activities – like a Reading Fightin Phils game, a tour of Tom Sturgis pretzels, indoor camping, roller skating, pick-your-own-fruit at Weaver’s Orchard or visiting Neag Planetarium – on paper squares, and put them in the bucket. Pull out a new activity every Saturday to learn what fun awaits your family that week.
Book worms
Get the “write” stuff by checking out your local library. Join a story time or participate in a special program, such as the American Girl Club at the Muhlenberg Library or the Lego Club at the Mifflin Library. Before heading home, check out the Animal Rescue League’s purr-fect Book Buddies program, which encourages children to read to shelter cats.
Good deeds
Show your kids the value of giving back to the community. The United Way of Berks County’s online Volunteer Center, which lists the local agencies and organizations in need of a helping hand, has great ideas, including playing cards with seniors at Berks Heim, sending birthday cards to Wernersville State Hospital patients and pitching in at Opportunity House. Find a project you can work on together.
Fun with Dad
Go fishing
Cuddle on the couch with a pile of bait – gummy worms, in this case – and watch Finding Nemo in your PJs. Afterward, let your kids “fish” for plastic alphabet letters in the bathtub or, if you prefer the real thing, get hooked on the P.A. Fish and Boat Commission’s free fishing workshops at Cacoosing Meadows Park. Fin-ish the day with a Swedish Fish gelati from Rita’s Italian Ice.
Hot air
Do your kids think you’re just full of hot air? Well, put it to good use at a hands-on glassblowing workshop at GoggleWorks Center for the Arts. You’ll get to pick and apply colors, twist and turn your hot glass piece and then blow or shape it into a one-of-a-kind paperweight or flower. Free demonstrations are also offered from Noon-3pm on Wednesdays.
Dance mania
Dust off your disco ball and challenge kids to a living room dance contest. Make a winner’s trophy out of aluminum foil and craft supplies at home. Then work together to create a movin’ and groovin’ playlist. Good options? Michael Jackson and Taylor Swift songs, plus line dances like the “Cha Cha Slide” says Hamilton Vidal Newton (DJ H Vidal), owner of HVN Management in Reading. Loser makes lunch.
Get moving
Wow your kids with the all-star moves that earned you an A+ in gym class. Play soccer at the park and dodgeball in the driveway, followed by a skateboard race, a lap around the pool at Body Zone Sports and Wellness Complex and miniature golf at Schell’s. Kids still have energy to burn? Let ‘em climb the walls at Reading Rocks or the Birdsboro Climbing Quarry.
Fun with Grandparents
Family History
Start with a visit to the Berks County Genealogical Society to research your ancestry. Cull information from photo albums, letters and books, then make a family tree, poster collage or recipe book. If your grandkids are tech savvy, have them interview you and create a podcast or video series. Upload the interviews to YouTube, iTunes or Facebook so other family members can hear your story.
Jam session
Making freezer strawberry jam is a sweet project, says Diane Pepple, owner of Whimsey Doodles in Mohnton. Kids can find berries at local farmer’s markets. At home, just clean the berries, crush them and mix them with sugar and pectin and heat on the stove. Set aside a scoop, and once it cools you’ll have a tasty pancake or ice cream topping. Pour the remainder into jars and store in the freezer.
Greater Reading road trip
Stash the smartphones and video game controllers for the day. Instead, grab an old-fashioned paper map, load up the car and set off on a Greater Reading road trip to the area’s most famous tourist sites, including the Pagoda, the Daniel Boone Homestead, Crystal Cave and Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. Take along a memory box and collect souvenirs from each location.
Battle of the board games
You might land in Trouble, but you’ll never have to say Sorry! or need an Operation during Battle of the Board Games. Play individually or as teams – guys vs. girls, grandparents vs. grandkids. Winners select the next game, such as Monopoly, Yahtzee, Battleship, Scrabble, Connect Four and checkers. Celebrate the day with a real-life Candy Land for snack. It will be absolute Perfection!
Fun with Uncle
The Wheel Deal
Rev up your engines with a transportation-themed adventure. Start at Maple Grove Raceway, then spend the afternoon touring the Boyertown Museum of Historical Vehicles, Classic Harley Davidson, the Reading Railroad Museum and the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum. But don’t stop there. After dinner, put your pedal to the metal at Slick Willy’s Go Karts, the perfect end to your fast-track day.
Party like it’s your birthday
Give the best present and celebrate a fun-filled afternoon at a few of the area’s most popular birthday party spots, including Ballocity, LaserQuest, Snapology, That Bounce Play, Spring Township YMCA’s Adventure Center and Ozzy’s Sports Fun Center, which all offer affordable daily admission rates. Hop over to Sweet Frog Frozen Yogurt in Wyomissing on the way home, and you’ll surely be crowned “Coolest Uncle Ever.”
Funny bone
Remember when your brother did a wheelie and crashed into the mailbox? Or when your sister crimped her hair to impress her high school crush, but it looked like a frizzy Brillo pad? Jot down those hilarious memories on index cards and help kids plan a tongue-in-cheek “roast” of their parents. For extra laughs (and cringes), display awkward childhood pics and play embarrassing home videos during the grand event.
Fun with Aunt
Say cheese
Be whey cool and take selfies of you and the kids doing “cheesy” activities: making cheese omelets for breakfast, taking a fondue cooking class, enjoying lunch at Say Cheese! in West Reading, singing cheesy pop songs in a karaoke concert and grabbing a slice of cheesecake from Café Sweet Street. Post your #saycheese selfies to Facebook or Instagram, or upload them and make a photo book.
Smell the flowers
Design a DIY floral arrangement, suggests Wray Millas Sargent, owner of Through My Garden Gate in Temple. Fill a tall glass halfway with water; add 30-40 drops of your choice of food coloring; trim the ends of white carnations or daisies at an angle; and place the stems in the water. Check back every few hours to watch the colors change. When happy with the color intensity, arrange them in a vase.
“And the award goes to…”
Create a voting ballot with categories like funniest family member and best vacation. Winners will be announced at the (fill-in-your-name) Family Awards. Include a red carpet (a red, plastic runner will do), props like sunglasses and feather boas for photos and real prizes for top vote getters, says fashion stylist and Best Dressed Ginger blogger Elaine Fioravanti. And don’t forget to make a SWAG bag, she says. Fill it with your family’s favorite items.
