Simple ways to enjoy family time away from technology

With our lives continually revolving around technology it's easy to forget the simple things that can bring us joy and fun. But if we take a minute, focus on enjoying ourselves, and take a step away from technology we may find joy in surprising places.

Months ago (perhaps even years!) I bought 2 bubbles things for the boys and put them away. Over the weekend the Hubby and I were clearing out our spare room and we found the toys. Once we'd finished the job we gave the boys the bubbles toys and headed outside.

For 15 minutes the boys had a great time making bubbles, trying to catch them, and popping them. The sun was going down, but still shining, and we were all outdoors. As I stood watching my boys have fun I couldn't help but smile. Apart from my phone (to take photos) there was no technology in sight and the boys still had a great time.













The bubbles toys cost about £1 from the supermarket and the boys enjoyed their play time, and there's still more left for when they want to play with bubbles again. 

It might not seem like much but that short time outside made me see that you don't need to be surrounded by technology to have a good time with your family. 



Board Games


From Monopoly and Game of Life to Catan and Carcassonne board games get you together and get you laughing (or bickering). Our board game collection keeps growing but we love it, with LP being 7 years old and BP at 12 years old the choice of games we can play is expanding. It is the perfect way of getting them off the iPads.






Geocaching


Get outdoors, go for a walk, and have a treasure hunt on the way. Geocaching is becoming very popular and you can find some great caches. No matter where you live you can find Geocaches nearby, all you need is the app. 




My boys love Geocaching, LP particularly, and whenever we suggest going for a walk LP grabs our "Geocaching bag". It's an easy way to get your kids outdoors being active without them realising they're getting exercise (essential when you have teens/tweens).



A Home Project


It could be decorating your child's bedroom or clearing out a room but if you get your children involved too you'll all work together while staying away from your tablets. 

During our clear out at the weekend we had the boys helping us, they collected all the cardboard and put it in the recycling bin and all other rubbish they put in a bag to be taken to the local recycling centre. By helping us clear out the room, and seeing the finished product at the end of the day, they had a sense of achievement.



Lego


Anyone who reads this blog knows how much I love Lego, the Hubby and I enjoy putting our sets together. Not only is Lego a great way to relax it's also the perfect way to spend time together. You have to work together in order to find pieces and build. LP loves helping us with our sets, especially when we're rebuilding and trying to find pieces.



If you have little ones you could buy the smaller sets to introduce them to Lego and work together to build. Make it a family project and they'll love it just as much as you do.



Gardening


Our garden is a work-in-progress (always) and during the cooler months we often go outside to tackle a few of the larger jobs like cutting trees back. While we don't ask the boys to cut trees we do ask them to help with the tidying afterwards. They take the cut branches and leaves to the bin, making the job go that little bit quicker. Again you're getting your children outdoors and they may find they enjoy it. 




Technology controls so much of our lives today but that doesn't mean we have to forget about spending time together. There are so many ways to enjoy technology-free time together. 

How do you spend tech-free time together?