Our goal was to come up with 52. Everyone moaned about this. They decided they'd each give two ideas, and we'd sit down again in a few months and do it again. Umm, no. Not going to happen. So, I forced the issue. It really wasn't that hard after we got going. We ended up with 71.
Here are the ideas we came up with:
- movie night at a theater (most likely this one)
- restaurant - this is my favorite at the moment, but who knows, this one's close to home and there's something for everyone--plus, there's pie! I guess it will depend on the night when we do it.
- zoo - this, for our family will require a membership, but it's such a deal compared with regular admission.
- OMSI - again, membership
- -children's museum - for this one, there is a free night once a month. It's surprising how much fun we all have here.
- Portland art museum - they have a free night too.
- picnic
- hot chocolate - in our family's opinion, this is the BEST hot cocoa, especially when prepared with milk.
- swimming - we buy a membership to this one too. It's a GREAT deal for a large family.
- Gilbert House - One of our favorites, and yes, you guessed it…membership. Only, the OMSI and Gilbert House memberships can be used for each other, so you only have to have a membership for one or the other. With the Gilbert House membership, you also have free access to the Children's Museum. Plus, the Gilbert House membership is a bit less expensive.
- park - we particularly like this one.
- water fountain - there are a few around our area, but I think we like this one best.
- basketball at the school
- Krispy Kreme - no explanation required.
- water fight
- temple - you don't have to be LDS to visit the temple grounds. It's a very peaceful place--a good place to go when you need to collect your thoughts. We will visit the visitor's center while we're there. The kids really enjoy the things they have there.
- the Columbia River Gorge - my favorite place in the world!
- pizza movie night
- barbecue
- Ikea - #6's favorite place in the world (and the kid's been to Disneyland?!) It's all because of the meatballs.
- marshmallow construction
- cookies - it'll be these without the M&Ms.
- chubby bunny - not being enormous fans of marshmallows, the hubs and I might just sit this one out and cheer the others on, but who knows.
- Waffle Window - What?! Food?
- Saturday Market
- hot dog eating contest - I don't know, this might rank right down there with marshmallows. But for the sake of good ol' family fun and competition, I might be able to choke down one or two.
- Goodwill scavenger hunt - something was said also about everyone looking for the most hideous outfit. The winner buys it and the losers take turns wearing it.
- basketball game - this is the kids' favorite family activity.
- tie dye
- soccer game - we usually buy a pizza, sit of the field and eat, and then go kick the ball around for a bit.
- make pizzas
- make wrapping paper
- make Christmas ornaments
- hike Council Crest
- family pics - this, believe it or not, was one of the kids' ideas.
- hide and seek
- frisbee
- capture the flag
- library cultural passes
- Powell's Books
- candy bar game - we did this last night, and I, very joyfully, ended up with my three favorites. Here's a very brief overview (our friends, the Boswells, taught us this game)….You get a bunch of candy bars (more than the number of people playing), two or more dice, and a small bowl for the dice to be shaken in. Everyone sits in a circle. The candy bars are placed in the center. Various people are given a bowl and a die. Those people roll the die one time. If they roll a six or a one, they get to grab a candy bar from the pile. They pass the bowl to the next person. Any time a six or a one shows up, the person who rolled it gets a candy bar. When all the candy bars are taken, a timer is set (we set ours for five minutes last night), and the play continues, only you grab the candy bars from each other. At the end of the game, some will have quite a few bars, some will have none. In our family, those who have lots share with those who have few. You get to eat what you win….Imagine that…Food.
- drive-in movie - we only have one of these left in our area that I'm aware of.
- game night - this is the new game we got for Christmas. The kids love it.
- Sauvie Island
- Skate World
- Candy Basket
- Voodoo Donuts
- TCBY
- ice skating
- froyo - #1 worked here before her mission. Of the places we've tried, it's our favorite.
- Simon says
- sardines - this is one of our most favorite games. It always surprises me how creative our kids can be.
- coloring night
- heart attack
- fork
- make blankets
- KFC - I wonder whose idea this was…..Hmm…I don't know….
- movie marathon - Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter, Mr. Bean (the series, not the movies), and others have been done in our house, but the BEST by FAR was this marathon which we did one New Year's Eve.
- Donut Day - better than Krispy Kreme, in our opinion. Plus, the owner's kids used to go to the school where my husband was principal, so we like to give them our business….a lot.
- go to a school play
- Pita Pit
- Rocket Fizz
- geocache
- frozen chocolate, die, clothing, fork and knife game - instructions for this game came from my dear Aussie friend Leanne. Her daughter's serving in the same mission with #1. You have a frozen bar or block of chocolate, a dice, gloves and other pieces of clothing, and a knife and fork. You decide which number a person has to roll before they can dive into the chocolate. When you roll that number, you jump up and start putting on the gloves and other clothing items. After all clothing items are on, you grab the knife and fork and attempt to cut into the chocolate. You get to eat any piece that you cut off. When someone else rolls the number, you're done. You put down the knife and fork and remove the clothing. That person puts them on and it starts all over again. (Leanne, I hope I got this right. If not, please correct me. Thanks!)
- Spoons card game
- Uno
- Apples to Apples
- root beer floats
- minute to win it games
- Farmer's Market
- Taffy pull
If you didn't catch the link earlier, here's how and why this all started. I hope this somehow helps your family as well.
Enjoy!
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