If someone asked you, “What does your family do for fun?” would you:
(a) smile as you thought of all the fun things you do with your family?
(b) Feel a pit in your stomach because you’ve been workin’ a lot lately and just haven’t had the time or energy?
(c) Something in between?
If your response wasn’t positive, it’s OK! Relax, take a deep breath, and begin again in this moment. In the now. All your power is in the now, and you can be, do and have anything you want. If you believe, and allow. That’s the trick””the magic””to creating the best life ever.
Explain to yourself that you’ve done the best you could, in each moment. Now it’s time to rock on!
Get some paper and a pen (if you still own one!) or your smartphone or computer, and make a list of fun things you wanna do with your family. Shoot for the stars! The sky’s the limit. No, scratch that. There ain’t no limit.
Here are some of the fun things my family and I do together (I also have a manifesting list. And it’s exhilarating to know it’s in the works!):
1. Go to the park. My kids love being outdoors and adore any and all parks. It don’t take long to create joy at a park. We try to stay at least an hour, but sometimes I’ll pile my five kids in the car and hit a park for just a half hour, if that’s all the day allows. And yes””my 14-year-old daughter still loves the park. But don’t tell her friends.
2. Have a picnic. There’s something magical about spreading a blanket on the green grass and enjoying a meal outdoors. The food tastes so much better! We like to picnic near or at a park so we can enjoy the park, too (see number 1). But beware! Your kids will have so much fun, you’ll probably get the oh-so-familiar sentence, “Momma, I’m hungry!” just before bedtime.
3. Kick a soccer ball at a field or in our yard. So simple. So easy. So much fun.
4. Go biking. This can be tricky when you have little ones or your kids are far apart in age, but do what ya can to finesse it. Sometimes I’ll take my big kids biking while our 23-month-old twins nap.
5. Take a hike. It’s so great to just walk in nature. Yeah, I’d like to say we make it to the mountains often, but we don’t, yet. For now, we hit local forests to hike.
6. Play by the stream. There’s a great stream in Newton, Mass., called Bulloughs Pond, with plenty of rocks to climb on. My kids love it.
7. Go for a swim. This is easier during summer, but during other seasons, we swim at the local YMCA.
8. Play in the yard. Again””easy, simple, fun.
9. Play on the deck. My office has a deck that’s decked out with a buncha’ plastic ride-on toys and cars I’ve picked up at yard sales for a buc
k.
10. Fill the kiddie pool and splash away. It’s two feet of water in a plastic baby pool, yet so magical to little ones. (Please remember to always empty a kiddie pool immediately after use for safety!)
11. Go for ice cream.
12. Go out to dinner. We honestly don’t do this much because we have five kids ages 23 months to 14 years old, and we wanna be kind and respectful to other diners (and in the end we don’t get to eat much because we manage the kiddos). So when we do go out, it’s a real treat.
13. Go for a walk in our neighborhood. You can do this all through the seasons.
14. Go to the pet store.
15. Go to the drug store. Was that a typo? No! My kids love it, and it’s a fun quick outing. You’d be surprised what you can find at most drug stores.
16. Go to the dollar store (or hit the dollar section of stores that have one). My kids love it!
17. Travel. We travel with our kids a lot. I’ve learned how to pack super light, which is half the battle, for our party of seven. I noticed that managing “stuff” is what’s so tiring. I say, “live light, travel light, spread the light.”
18. Go to the movies, or watch DVDs and eat popcorn at home.
19. Do art projects.
20. Watch each others’ sporting events. I’m a big believer in supporting each other in all of our activities. This can get tricky with varying schedules, but we all make it when we can.
21. Practice yoga.
22. Go to the library and read out loud to each other. Then bring home books and DVDs. My kids still can’t believe it’s free!
23. Feed the ducks.
24. Bake.
25. Find yard sales. We’re off to one now!
Have the best day ever!
Namaste!
Taylor plus 5
Taylor Wells, M.A., M.Ed., RYT, owns Prana Power Yoga, Inc., Super-mom.com and Prana Super-mom Consulting. She is also a Boston Herald columnist and blogger, United Nations Yoga Peace Ambassador, activist,and happy Super-mom of 5 kids. She is the author of the“Best Life Ever” blog at Vitacost.com.