Here are 40+ things to do on Family Day just for you! Everything from indoor, outdoor and virtual – we’ve got all the bases covered!
LEAVE IT TO THE PROFESSIONALS
Find something safe and organized to do this Family Day
Museums of Burlington invites your family to their Family Day virtual visit. Virtual Visits are one-hour Zoom sessions featuring live instruction by a Museum Educator who will guide a series of creative, fun, hands-on activities that relate to a theme. Programs are designed for children aged 8-12, parental supervision is recommended. Siblings and family members are welcome to join in. The theme is DIY Family Projects! Activities include a handprint family tree, jumbo craft stick bird feeder, homemade pizza lunch and a DIY weaving loom.
Snowshoe at Kelso Conservation Area and make some serious winter memories with your kids. Kelso offers snowshoe rentals if you don’t have access to a set. You can choose to from three trails, each for a different skill level (easy, medium, difficult). Enjoy the firepits and hot chocolate throughout the trails and truly appreciate Mother Nature’s winter for all the beauty it has to share. Our fans on Facebook and Instagram have been raving about their snowshoeing experience at Kelso. Book your spot here.
INDOOR Things to do on Family Day
We’ve got some great ideas for indoor (climate-controlled) activities for families. They are perfect for spending a day with the ones you love the most.
Build a puzzle. Just don’t tell the kids how awesome puzzles are for learning.
Introduce the kids to one of your favourite movies from your childhood. The Parent Trap? Mrs Doubtfire? Back to the Future?
Pick up some ready-to-go craft kits from these local retailers who are offering curbside pickups.
Make this super easy recipe for play dough.
Terra Greenhouses has some adorable grab and go kits for little gardeners and builders. Choose a birdhouse, a succulent planter, or a terrarium. Order online and pick up curbside.
Facetime everyone you haven’t seen in a while. Grandparents, aunts and uncles, and all their friends.
Set up a salon and offer manis, pedis, face shaves with real shaving cream, and fancy hair-dos to your little customers. If you’re brave enough, you could even be the customer!
Build a fort. Or up your fort game like these folks did. #2 is a personal fave.
Celebrate Family by hosting a virtual family game night. They’re so simple even the grandparents can do it!
Whoop your kid’s butts at Wii Sports – or any other video game you’re good at!
Make a home movie – act out a scene from your favourite TV show or movie, write and record your own play, or sing a song for the camera!
Let the kids make the adults’ breakfast/lunch/dinner. And don’t forget to smile while eating it!
Teach the kids to cook and bake/ We love starting out with eggs, cookies, and muffins. Have you ever made energy balls? You should!
Write to seniors living in retirement residences. They miss visitors and absolutely love getting mail and art from kids.
Bake and decorate a cake – just because you’re the best parent ever. Get some inspiration here.
One of my personal favourite things to do in winter: stay in your pyjamas all day long. Because you can.
Have an indoor picnic. Put a plastic or washable table cloth down so it’s worry-free.
Make a marble or pom pom tunnel – so fun and so easy!
Roll out some upside down wrapping paper and paint or draw on a larger scale! Let kids get wild with their creativity.
Have some fun with science and make a marshmallow catapult. I’m serious, it looks awesome.
Use up some of the thousands of Perler beads your kid has. These ideas will have you covered for gifts all year!
I’m not a fan of spiders, but I LOVE this sticky spiderweb. And it’s an active, mess-free activity for indoors.
There’s no school today, so throwing paper aeroplanes is permitted! Check out this easy to make a hanging target!
Our favourite indoor winter activities are playing a new game together. Find our favourite board games listed here.
Send a postcard to someone you know, or someone you don’t by signing up for our favourite postcard mailing service.
Did someone say backwards day? Wear your clothes backwards, call each other by your middle names, walk backwards, eat breakfast for dinner, and most importantly – eat dessert first!
Get a jump on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day gifts with these adorable DIY mugs.
Are your grandparents in your bubble? Have a sleepover at their house! This one is a winner for everyone.
Outdoor Things to do on Family Day
We all need some fresh air and movement daily, and these are excellent suggestions on what to do once you get all bundled up.
Make some Snow Ice-Cream! It’s so easy and actually tastes good!
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Visit a park! They’re not just for summer, right? It’s so fun to see what some snow does to change the way kids play at the playground.
Find a local skating rink and lace-up. One of the best (and timeless) winter activities around. (Rotary Pond even rents skates now!)
We’ve got 24 more fun ideas on our Winter Bingo card and you could win a gift card just for having some fun!
Grab your toboggans, your friends, and your neighbours, and go tobogganing. Bonus points if you bring a thermos of hot chocolate!
Have you tried snowshoeing yet? Conservation Halton rents snowshoes and hosts family hikes at Kelso Conservation Area. They have 3 trails, each with different difficulty levels (easy, medium, hard) and the trails have fire pits and hot chocolate throughout! (snowy weather permitting)
Chase waterfalls with these recommendations for kid-friendly falls in Hamilton to visit.
Find a Little Free Library near you and drop off some books you’re done reading. You may even find a new book for yourself!
Take a hike! Nature doesn’t close up shop just because it’s chilly. Halton and Hamilton are rich with beautiful locales to walk and hike, and there are lots of free spots to visit too!
Did you know that a spray bottle + water + food colouring means you can paint the snow like a rainbow? It’s literally hours of fun for kids! Take it to the park and decorate the hills.
Take a walk through Bronte Creek and enjoy their playgrounds, their hiking paths, and of course the Gnome Trail.
Go with what you know and add in another neighbourhood walk – but this time with scavenger hunts for big and little kids
You need nourishment, right? I always suggest hitting up one of our favourite donut shops for absolutely any reason. They’re open still!
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