Weekend bonding: 5 ultra-fun indoor activities for the family

MANILA, Philippines – Who doesn’t love weekends?

After 5 days of work and school, we all deserve to have a little fun under the sun. But bad weather can ruin the best of plans. 

Fortunately, being “stuck” at home is the best time to catch up with the family. Besides, isn’t it relaxing to just not have any plans once in a while?

Staying indoors for the weekend doesn’t have to dull or unproductive. Thanks to technology, bonding at home has become more convenient, more varied, and definitely more fun.

Here are five examples:

Organize a scavenger hunt

This one requires a lot of organizing – but it can bring hours of fun. Hide prizes all over the house. Prepare some maps and clues. Wake up the kids and tell them that they’re going to do a treasure hunt!

To make things extra challenging, provide tasks or riddles that the kids have to answer before they get a set of clues. They’ll have to brainstorm, research, or find everything on their own. You can even sneak in a homework question or two – chances are they’re having such a blast that they won’t even mind.

Watch a blockbuster

Movies and TV series are the ultimate crowd-pleasers at home. Tired of what’s on cable? Switch to an Internet TV service like Tvolution, which is available under PLDT HOME BRO ULTERA. Catch the latest Pinoy TV series, PBA games and Pinoy Movies online through MyPinoyTV. Get access to hundreds of fresh flicks that are regularly updated via Clickplay. If you want to level up the fun, why not create snacks that match the movie theme, too? All you need to do is Google the recipes. 

Host a cook-off

Make dinner more interesting! Get the family vote on a theme for dinnertime: Asian? Thanksgiving? Hogwarts? It’s up to your imagination.

Draw lots to decide who gets to cook each dish. Get out all the ingredients, load the Youtube tutorials, put on the timer, and host your own cook-off ala Iron Chef. Give top points to those who can finish fastest, has the cleanest kitchen area, and so on. Little kids who are off-limits to fire and knives can help with appetizers, drinks, or dessert.

The kids learn a new skill, appreciate the value of teamwork and pressure, and everyone gets to enjoy a unique dinner. What’s not to love?

Learn a new game

Mommies and daddies – prove to the kids that you’re not too old to learn new tricks. Pick up the console and ask them to teach you how to play that new NBA game hit. Once you’ve mastered the moves, challenge the young ones to a round or two. Just make sure that you don’t forget bedtime!

Create a lip-sync music video

If the family’s into music and dancing, then make the most of the weekend and shoot your newest “selfie” music video. Download a song from Spinnr, bust out the speakers, and shoot scenes all over the house – in the garden, the bedroom, the garage, and even the rooftop (just be careful!). It doesn’t have to be fancy stuff – videos shot with phones and edited using simple apps are actually yield professional-looking results.

Upload the clip to YouTube or Facebook and share with your friends and other family ASAP. Watch the likes – and laughs – grow by the minute. We can’t guarantee that it will go viral, but more often than not, people go “awww” when they see a family having a good time together.

With these connection-building activities, your family’s sure to have a blast at home – whether it’s raining outside or not. A little creativity (fueled by some fast Internet) is the best way to make the most of the weekend. – Rappler.com