As a mother, I know how tempting it can be to rely on TV for entertainment, but in our family, we choose to be intentional about screen time. We don’t watch TV every day—instead, we have specific days and times when it’s allowed. We also carefully select programs that offer positive lessons for our children, and we always preview them before they watch. By limiting screen time, we’ve discovered so many other ways to connect, learn, and have fun together!
Here are 250+ Fun Activities for Families to Enjoy Instead of Watching TV
Outdoor Adventures
- Go for a nature walk
- Have a picnic at the park
- Fly a kite
- Go on a bike ride
- Visit a botanical garden
- Explore a local hiking trail
- Play frisbee
- Try geocaching
- Go fishing
- Visit a beach or lake
- Build a sandcastle
- Play tag or hide and seek
- Have a backyard camping night
- Watch the sunrise or sunset
- Create an obstacle course
- Plant a garden
- Feed the birds
- Jump rope
- Do a scavenger hunt
- Climb a tree
Creative Activities
- Paint a picture
- Make a scrapbook
- Write a family story
- Build a birdhouse
- Try origami
- Make homemade greeting cards
- Design a family crest
- Try pottery or clay modeling
- Write and illustrate a storybook
- Learn to knit or crochet
- Decorate t-shirts
- Make a vision board
- Build a cardboard castle
- Write a poem together
- Create a family photo collage
- Try DIY tie-dye
- Start a nature journal
- Carve soap or wood
- Learn calligraphy
- Make a Bible Story Craft
Educational Fun
- Visit a museum
- Go to the library
- Read a book aloud together
- Learn a new language
- Write letters to family members
- Research family history
- Conduct a science experiment
- Solve riddles and brain teasers
- Try Sudoku or crossword puzzles
- Learn Morse code
- Practice spelling with a fun game
- Memorize a Bible verse together
- Listen to an educational podcast
- Try an at-home science project
- Create a homemade map of your town
- Write a short story
- Play a trivia game
- Learn about a new country
- Make a family newspaper
- Explore the stars with a telescope
Cooking and Baking
- Bake cookies together
- Make homemade pizza
- Try a new international recipe
- Decorate cupcakes
- Make fresh lemonade
- Have a tea party
- Make your own ice cream
- Try canning fruit or vegetables
- Have a DIY smoothie bar
- Bake bread from scratch
- Host a pancake breakfast
- Make fruit salad
- Try a no-bake dessert
- Create your own family recipe
- Make a homemade trail mix
- Have a blindfolded taste test
- Decorate a cake
- Learn how to make pasta
- Have a family cooking challenge
- Write down and share family recipes
Family Bonding & Games
- Play a board game
- Have a puzzle night
- Play charades
- Have fun playing Uno
- Make up your own game
- Build a house of cards
- Act up a Bible story
- Have a paper airplane contest
- Try a game of Pictionary
- Host a family talent show
- Create a puppet show
- Have a storytelling night
- Play 20 Questions
- Play Bible Heads band game
- Make a gratitude jar
- Share funny childhood memories
- Host a mock debate
- Take turns acting out a made up scenario
- Have a family karaoke night
- Try a blindfolded drawing challenge
Acts of Kindness & Giving
- Visit a nursing home
- Make care packages for those in need
- Write thank-you letters to service workers
- Donate old toys and clothes
- Help a neighbor with yard work
- Bake treats for friends
- Volunteer at an animal shelter
- Pick up litter in the community
- Leave uplifting notes for strangers
- Plant a tree
- Start a neighborhood book swap
- Cook a meal for someone in need
- Make homemade gifts
- Support a local charity
- Give out flowers randomly
- Start a family gratitude journal
- Send postcards to family members
- Participate in a fundraiser walk
- Organize a community clean-up
- Sponsor a child in need
Staying active
- Play hoops
- Go for a jog together
- Do a jump rope challenge
- Create your own workout serie and take turn leading
- Have a water balloon fight
- Do a backyard relay race
- Have a stretching session
- Go to a trampoline park
- Practice gymnastics or tumbling
- Set up a mini golf course
- Try ice skating
- Go rollerblading
- Do a balance challenge
- Compete in a plank contest
- Take a family bike trip
- Do a mini workout challenge
- Practice balancing on one foot
- Play Simon Says with exercises
- Try hula hooping
- Try a old time group game
Seasonal & Holiday Fun
- Build a snowman
- Have a summer lemonade stand
- Make homemade Christmas ornaments
- Go apple picking
- Make homemade playdough and create fall leaves shapes
- Learn about reformation day and make a craft
- Create Resurrection Day crafts
- Have a spring scavenger hunt
- Make homemade Valentine’s Day cards
- Have a fall-themed photo shoot
- String popcorn garlands
- Go on a hayride
- Host a backyard barbecue
- Watch fireworks on the 4th of July
- Decorate the house for the holidays
- Have a holiday baking day
- Build a gingerbread house
- Go sledding
- Have a spring gardening day
- Collect and press flowers in spring
Miscellaneous Fun
- Try shadow puppets
- Build a Lego city
- Create a time capsule
- Play dress-up
- Make sock puppets
- Have a pretend store
- Play the floor is lava
- Try storytelling with props
- Create a secret handshake
- Make up silly songs
- Have a pillow fight
- Build a fort
- Make a stop-motion video
- Have a flashlight hide-and-seek game
- Play Simon Says
- Invent a secret family language
- Do a good deed for a stranger
- Try speed cleaning
- Write a letter to your future self
Faith and Reflection
- Read a devotional together
- Pray as a family
- Write a list of things you’re thankful for
- Listen to a sermon online
- Study a Bible story
- Start a prayer journal
- Memorize scripture
- Discuss what a Bible verse means to each person
- Sing hymns or worship songs
- Do a kindness challenge
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Home Organization and Improvement - Declutter a room together
- Rearrange furniture for a new look
- Organize bookshelves by color or genre
- Create a cleaning game
- Make a family chore chart
- Learn simple home repairs
- Wash and vacuum the car
- Repurpose old furniture with a fresh coat of paint
- Set up a recycling system
- Organize family photos
Technology-Free Evenings
- Tell bedtime stories
- Do a shadow puppet show
- Read poetry aloud
- Play flashlight tag
- Write letters to future selves
- Try storytelling in a circle
- Have a family sleepover in the living room
- Make a dream board
- Look at the stars and find constellations
- Have a late-night picnic
- Play hopscotch
- Make a time capsule and bury it
- Try rock painting
- Have a family photography contest
- Build a Lego city together
- Write letters to grandparents or relatives
- Have a themed family dinner night
- Make homemade soap or bath bombs
- Host a backyard camping night
- Make paper airplanes and have a flying contest
- Write a short play and perform it
- Learn how to juggle
- Have a no-electricity evening by candlelight
- Make a list of family goals for the year
- Learn about constellations and stargaze
- Make a homemade piñata and break it
- Play classic childhood games like Red Rover
- Do a blindfolded taste test challenge
- Create a sidewalk chalk mural
- Make sock puppets and put on a show
- Try whittling or wood carving
- Have a homemade ice cream sundae bar
- Create a treasure hunt with clues
- Make paper mâché crafts
- Start a family book club
- Write encouraging notes and hide them around the house
- Learn and practice sign language
- Host a family talent contest
- Have a “no complaining” day challenge
- Create a backyard mini-golf course
- Have a debate night on fun topics
- Learn how to tie different types of knots
- Make a handprint or footprint art project
- Write a story where each person adds a sentence
- Learn how to play a simple song on a ukulele
- Try making homemade pasta
- Learn basic first aid skills as a family
- Have a “dress up in silly outfits” day
- Create a DIY bowling alley with household items
- Build a card house
- Learn about different types of clouds and identify them
- Make DIY musical instruments and play them
- Have a shadow tracing activity outside
- Try an egg drop challenge with household items
- Learn about the phases of the moon
- Try out a new board game no one has played before
- Set up a pretend restaurant and take turns being the waiter
- Have a toy-cleaning party
- Make a family newspaper with news from your home
- Learn about different types of flowers
- Try making a loom out of cardboard and weaving fabric
- Make a diorama of a favorite book or story
- Write down funny jokes and tell them to each other
- Create an animal habitat in your backyard
- Learn how to whistle or snap fingers
- Start a handmade card-making station
- Have a drawing contest where everyone sketches the same object
- Try writing a letter in code and have someone decipher it
- Learn a folk dance from another country
- Have a “do nothing” night and just enjoy each other’s company
This list is just a start! There are so many wonderful things families can do together that build relationships, inspire creativity, and make lasting memories—without relying on TV. I encourage you to pick a few from this list and give them a try. Let’s make screen-free time something to look forward to in our homes!
With so many possibilities, turning off the TV has never been more exciting!
Which activity will your family try first? do you know any other activities?
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