In our household we try to turn Saturdays into a Family Day. Sometimes the weekdays get crazy hectic for us, and we can be heading in multiple directions. But Saturday we can somewhat gain control of our day. Perhaps these suggestions will help you create your ideal Saturday.
(Confession: I am writing this post on a Saturday! I’ll deal with procrastination in another post! SMH!)
To come up with ideas for this post I asked everyone in my family what there ideal Saturday would look like. The responses were pretty interesting. I’ll be honest and say that I wanted to put the responses in a really cool infographic, but my graphic artist skills are pretty limited. So, I decided to “take my talents” back to the keyboard! If anyone has some skills with graphics and can help someone unskilled like me, please let me know!
So here we have it. My family’s top things to do to make The Ideal Family Day on Saturday!
1. Do not sleep in!
My wife and I both agreed that waking up early Saturday and enjoying some time together in prayer would be the best way to start the day. Following that up with a morning jog, and some light cleaning would then get our day going just right.
Our kids agreed as well, and suggested waking up by 7am, which is early for most on a Saturday morning. And ironic because sometimes they sleep in longer than that during the week. I think the reason can be chalked up to Saturday morning cartoons! 🙂
So, don’t waste the day by sleeping. GET up, and GET your Ideal Day going!
2. Avoid the normal routine
When asked what we’d do for breakfast, the kids both suggest going to a place “that makes those fluffy waffles or pancakes.” We rarely eat out, and if we do we don’t eat out for breakfast. So breaking the routine would make it ideal for them.
Once again, me and the Mrs. were on the same page, and also wanted to break the routine. She normally does the the lions share of the cooking in our house, but we both agreed that it would be cool to have homemade breakfast together. The twist is that the entire family will help prepare, and of course clean-up. Including our 2-year old. She is not a fan of us in the kitchen when she is doing her magic so this is definitely breaking the mold.
Do something that you don’t normally do.
3. GET Active together
The kids ideas next ranged from a family bike ride, to laser tag, to playing at the park. My suggestion-coaching or watching one of the kids sports game. Mrs. Bledsoe had no preference other than being together.
Take advantage of time off from work (if you work M-F), and do some type of physical activity or watch your kids participate in them.
4. Take a break
After GETting active and/or playing sports we all thought it would be good to take a break. Go get some smoothies, some ice cream, lunch or something similar and just hang out.
Finding a local farmer’s market to browse and maybe pick out some nice organic fruits and veggies would fall into this category as well. This is the time to take it easy and enjoy the ease of Saturday noon/afternoon, and of course get our eat on!
Have fun on Saturday, but don’t run yourself ragged.
5. Do something fun…together!
To my kids this means go to the mall or somewhere to buy toys, games, or anything! Basically they just want to spend money! Saturday afternoon there are usually plenty of events, birthday parties, etc. going on for kids and families. My suggestion is get your local (free) family magazine from grocery store and pick something to do.
If you opt to come home this may be a good time for the bike ride swimming at the neighborhood pool. I have found out that as long as we are doing something, and doing it together, the kids and the parents will have fun.
Do not turn on that TV during a Saturday afternoon, do something outside or away together.
6. Get movies or games for Saturday evening
Saturday night in our house is Movie Night! That is a staple and we typically on miss it if we have some event going on or we are out of town. This is the big finish to the day! Make a big deal out of it and if you can plan the movies you will see in advance. Reserve and borrow them from the library, or reserve them at Redbox.
This is also the time to get the snacks for the movie, and dinner. The kids requested “ideal” dinner included pizza, turkey burgers, french fires or fried green beans (don’t ask). Again, BIG DEAL to the kids, especially when they get to choose or have their favorites.
GET ready and GET excited! The kids will love it.
7. Movie Night and slumber party!
Movie night is a double feature at our house. We learned to do that when getting one movie only to discover it was no good. Now get 2 movies. We eat dinner during the first movie, the kids take baths between movies, and we watch the last movie while eating the snacks.
Lastly the kids enjoy having “slumber parties” in the living room while watching the movie. Their ideal way to end the night, although I typically let them fall asleep (thinking it is an all-night slumber party), and then carry the little ones up stairs. Kids almost my height have to wake up and walk upstairs!
Relax, enjoy and be entertained.
Time to plan your Ideal Family Saturday!
Regardless, it is a great cap to a great day and has created some wonderful memories for our family. Hopefully this post encourages you to make your Saturdays Family Days, and even plan your ideal Saturday.
Question: What is your ideal Family Day or ideal Saturday? Please share in the comment section below.
SPACE
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