If your home is anything like mine you and your family are on the go, non stop all week. The weekends are often dedicated to extra murals, birthday parties, events or cleaning so how do you slow down and connect with your family when the world demands that you keep going?
Here are some inexpensive ways to slow down, be present and focus on some family time with the kids on a Sunday.
Family walks
We like to take our walks either on the beach or in the forest but you could simply just walk around the block, enjoying the neighborhood.
Great places in Cape Town to walk are :
- Magik Forest
- Noordhoek commons
- The beach
Bike rides
This is Hamish’s favourite activity and whilst Brent and I don’t ride bikes we do walk along ( or run depending on how fast he is going) next to him.
When he was younger we would take his scooter or skateboard along.
Great places to ride bikes in Cape Town are:
- The sea point promenade
- The Eden on bay promenade
Hike
I love hiking and do not do it enough at all. Mostly because Hamish is still small and Brent isn’t much of a hiker. Cape Town has some great beginner hikes.
Great places for beginners to hike in Cape Town are:
- The pipe trail at Table Mountain
- Silvermine
Go to the beach
There is nothing better that a good day at the beach. Sun shining and kids playing in the rock pools, building sandcastles or surfing.
Cape Town has the most beautiful beaches.
Puzzles and games
Build puzzles or play a board game together. This is a fantastic activity as you can adjust it to almost any age.
Some great family games are :
- Monopoly
- Twister
- Scrabble
- Uno
Visit family or friends
Having family or friends visit or visiting them is a lovely way to relax, reconnect and teach your children how to socialise with others.
Dance party
We like to host dance parties on rainy days. Hamish and I put on some music and dance like we just don’t care.
Hobbies
Using your hobbies to entertain you is a wonderful way to keep busy. You could also take this time to teach the kids new skills or learn a new hobby yourself.
Cook or bake together
Nothing says love better than some comfort food. Break put the baking ingredients and let the kids help you bake a batch of biscuits or cook the Sunday meal.
Read
A family that reads together stays together ( If that’s not a saying it should be) Grab some books and a few comfy cushions and settle down for some quiet reading time.
Get in the garden
Another great bonding activity is to garden together. Let the kids help you to plant a flower or vegetable garden. You could also set up a bird feeder or bug hotel to attract insects and birds to your garden.
Movie night
Host a family movie night. Pop some popcorn, let the kids bring blankets and pillows and put on a fun family movie.
Great movie ideas are:
- Anything by Disney
- Narnia
- Harry Potter series ( depending on child’s age)
- Minion movies
- Superhero movies
- Barbie movies
Play at the park
Kids love going to the park and most bigger parks are still safe enough to visit.
Great parks to visit in Cape Town are:
- The company gardens
- Green Point bio diversity park
- Sea point promenade park
- Eden on bay Park
Picnic
You could also pack a picnic and enjoy it in your garden, in a park or at the beach.
Go for a drive
As a child I remember just going for a long drive on a Sunday. Sometimes we would spot things from the backseat…a tortoise or a funny rock.
Encourage the kids to play I spy or rock , paper, scissors while they travel.
Arts and crafts
Use your Sunday to make some new crafts. You could make the families birthday cards or start those Christmas gifts early.
Pizza pizza and more pizza
In our home, the kids would live on pizza. Gather the kids together, set out a variety of toppings and let each child make their own pizza for lunch.
Pool party
With Summer almost here, hanging out at the pool on a hot day is awesome. If you don’t have a pool you could go to one of the tidal pools. We bought a small splash pool for Hamish to keep cool.
However you choose to spend your Sundays I hope they are slow, relaxed and full of family binding time.