Weekend Vibes: Things To Do With the Family on The Weekends

We are all about the weekends.  That is when we spend our time looking for adventures and doing things together as a family. A lot of people tell me that I have the best ideas of things to do and ask how I come up with them. So I thought I'd share some of our favorite weekend things to do below!

Bowling. A couple weekends ago we spent the weekend bowling. The kids really love bowling lately. So we try to go 2x a year. We found a really cool bowling place that served great food and had the coolest atmosphere. We enjoyed it.

Go Hiking. This is a good idea for multiple reasons. No matter where you live, it's likely there is somewhere to hike close by. You can get in some exercise and fresh air while you spend time with the family. We bring the dog and a picnic and make it a fun little family outing.

Go to The Drive Ins: This is one of our favorite things to do during nice weather. We either make a big bed in the back of the pick up or open the back of the SUV. We bring snacks, drinks and get cozy for a movie. This is great for families with little kids because if they don't want to sit through the whole movie, they can go to sleep or play. Maxwell has been going since he was 6 months old. See our fun Drive-In post HERE.

Brunch someplace outdoors. We LOVE outdoor eating. So we look for the best outdoor dining spots wherever we go. Texas has the best places with playgrounds and are usually always dog-friendly too.

Find a Local Event. I watch Facebook for suggested events in the area. This has led me to some cool things like a Hot Air Balloon Festival, Rodeos, Fairs, certain holiday events and even family friendly football watch parties.

Stay In: Having fun doesn't always mean going out. Often some of our favorite weekends are hanging out at home. I think it's important to be intentional with this. Anyone can just sit around and watch tv while everyone is glued to their electronics. But it's something entirely different to be intentionally connecting. Hang outside and watch the kids ride bikes or play. Cook on the grill and set up dinner outside on the patio. Set up sprinklers for the kids and let them invite a neighbor or friend over. They get to splash and have fun, you get to enjoy a glass of your beverage of choice and watch them. Wash the cars together as a family. Let them get dirty. Have a game night and ban all electronics. Order take out and set up a picnic on the livingroom floor while you watch a movie together. My kids LOVE when we do that. Those are just a few of my ideas. Get creative. Trust me, when you do stuff like this, even for just one day during the week, you feel so much more connected and for me, less guilt that I didn't spend quality time with them.


Look for Adventure. I often find that people think they have to travel to find good adventure. When we moved to Texas, that was the first thing I looked for: Cool things to do. The internet is an abundance of information and as long as you have that, you can find every dang there is to do! People here in Texas ask what we have done so far and when we tell them, most people have said, "Wow, we haven't even done half of that stuff and we are from here!" When you plan a vacation, you intentionally look for these great places and fun things to do. Guess what? You can do the same thing right where you live. For instance, when we lived in New York, we went Railbiking! See that HERE. And we went floating on Lake George on an actual tiki bar!! When we got to Texas.....welll for any Texas readers, you can see a list of things we did here:

Visited Austin TX HERE
Went to a TX hill country winery HERE
Saw the Riverwalk HERE

500 Acre Ranch in Cat Springs, TX HERE
San Antonio Zoo HERE
Fredericksburg, TX HERE
Luckenback, TX HERE
Big Bend HERE
La Cantera for Easter HERE
Swam with Dolphins at SeaWorld HERE
Stayed at the Treehouses in New Braunfels HERE
Visited the Rodeo & Roseanne Pop Up Shop HERE

Staycation at the Fairmont in Austin HERE
Weekend in Hill Country HERE
Galveston TX HERE


This was all done in the very first year we were here. AND, most of this was very affordable. But it doesn't have to be a long weekend away. Sometimes we love just heading out for a day like we did to the winery or the Zoo. I'm a bargain hunter when it comes to finding reasonable things to do. So do a little research.

If this hasn't given you enough ideas, then check out our Weekend Vibes posts HERE.