Family Bonding Ideas That Won’t Hurt Your Budget

1. Nothing beats good chit-chat over a hearty meal.

Make up for lost time over a sumptuous home-cooked dinner. Talk about the week’s highs and lows, share funny anecdotes and discuss your plans for the coming week. Doing this regularly can help alleviate stress and bring positive energy to your home.

2. Convert your living room into a movie theater.

It’s nice to watch to go to the cinemas to watch the latest movies in town. But sometimes it also pays to sit back and relax at home, especially now that streaming services are at your disposal. Open a bag of chips or microwaveable popcorn and pick a feel-good family movie. Watch at your own pace and convenience—never underestimate the power of the pause and rewind buttons.

3. Put down those gadgets and get busy with indoor and outdoor games.

These activities aren’t only fun, they’re also good for your body and mind.

• Word Factory. Shake up that box and see who gets to catch the longest word.
• Scrabble. Put the letter tiles on the grids and know who has the biggest vocabulary.
• Twister. Get on the floor and on your fours to measure your flexibility and endurance.
• Hopscotch. Roll that stone and hop on the court.
• Hide and Seek. Winner of this game is the master of all nooks and crevices of the house.
• Treasure Hunt. Prepare a map and use simple goodies as treasure for your children.
• Bowling. Determine who aims better. You can improvise pins using plastic bottles.
• Chess. Let your mind boggle with the best strategy.
• Jenga. Do not let the tower fall. Losers build the blocks again as punishment.

4) Cook, cook, and cook some more.

Keep the good conversations you’ve over breakfast going until lunch, merienda, and dinner. Agree on a menu plan, and get everyone involved with the preparations. Letting kids help in household chores can be a good training for them to be responsible adults in the future as well.

5) If the weather permits—throw a barbeque party.

Clean your backyard or garage, set up tables, chairs, and a fire up that grill. Invite aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and maybe some neighbors for a mini get-together. Set up some nice speakers outdoors and have some top 40 music in the background. Or keep things lively by holding a videoke contest or a lip-sync battle. You’ll be surprised at how much fun you’ve had—and how much money you’ve saved. It’ll make your transition to the new workweek smoother and painless too.