Growing up, fun was usually at someone’s expense..

And while I’m sure we had some fun as a family, when I think back at my childhood, I don’t see those moments. I don’t remember laughing, intentionally gathering to enjoy something – or each other – together.

As I’ve partnered with The Lord and my husband to build my family and culture, there are some things we see as incredibly valuable – one of those is Intentional FUN.

I firmly believe that if we are going to cultivate connection in our families, and make our home a place our kids want to be, then we have to learn how to have fun as a family! 

And without fun, we’re missing out on rich family memories. You know.. those belly laughs, the hilarious stories we’ll tell for year to come!

Simple ways to add FUN to your family life could be:

• kitchen dance parties while making dinner (or burning it in my case)
• family talent show or show & tell
• Take turns telling jokes at the dinner table (the ones they make up will yield the best laughs)

Our favorite way to cultivate FUN pretty consistently is through GAMES. And even though Kyle wins pretty much every game and we hate (I mean, love) him for it, the times the kids beat the parents are always so much fun!

And whether your family is competitive or not, adding rhythms of fun– like games– into your home helps cultivate healthy attachment within your family relationships (as long as you’re not a sore loser).

My advice to make sure you are cultivating fun in your interactions is this: Do not stop any collective activity until there is laughter. If drinks spray out of noses, you know you’re doing it right.

Parenting is hard, and it can be exhausting. But family life should be fun.

And fun isn’t hard to do when you have little people who are just waiting for you to cut the serious, the busy, the rushed… to just play.

Cheers to making family FUN again!

Want a list of our favorite games to cultivate family fun?

Well, It’s all right here.

Ditch the screens and dive in to family memories, joy and togetherness… and the occasional competitive streak! 😉