Chilling out, winding down, and relaxing sounds like an impossible feat to for an entire family to do at the same time and be happy. However, not everything has to be a planned activity or craft project. Finding a relaxing family activity recharges me, my wife, and the kids is all about getting everyone to do something calming together. Here are the current ways our family like to relax around here.
Our Favorite Relaxing Family Activities
1. Going to the Lake
My kids call it “going to the beach”, even though we’re nowhere near an ocean. Fortunately, around this part of Minnesota, we’ve got Lake Superior, with it’s immense volume and area. Ir reminds me more of a sea than an inland body of fresh water. It’s not great for swimming for 11 months of the year, so my kids instead prefer exploring the seemingly limitless shoreline of rocks, sand, and driftwood on the Lake’s rugged terrain.
Even in the winter, the kids like bundling up and exploring the ice-covered shores of Lake Superior to see what kind of designs the wind and water have made.
2. Swings and Slides
I don’t know where the kids got the words “play park”, but that’s their term for playground, jungle gym, or anything with a swing and a slide. All three of them will ask to go to the play park year-round. This includes the inhospitable Minnesota winter. Climbing, jumping, and sliding may not sound relaxing, but it gives me a chance to sit back and just watch my kids playing and having fun. They’ll ask me to push them on a swing and I’ll gladly do that all day in any season. Time spent with my family doing something my kids love is a refresh for my soul.
3. Reading Books
This is the ultimate, year-round, relaxing family activity. Reading to the kids is one of easiest ways to wind down. Each night before bed, I ask the two older kids to pick three books to read. As a result, they want to read more on their own. Other times we’ll attempt to sit down all together so I can read to them. I must have done something right because my youngest now wants to snuggle up and fall asleep holding a book instead of a stuffed animal.
Those are the top three relaxing family activities in our household. What ways to wind down and chill out with your family?
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