If you are looking for some new ideas for family night fun, we’ve got you covered. From scavenger hunts to Japanese-inspired evenings, here are 30 creative ideas for family night fun, with guaranteed enjoyment, giggles, and maybe even some yummy treats!

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With a little planning and either some simple ingredients if it’s a food themed night, or some handy accessories if it’s an activity-themed night, these ideas for family night are all very simple to organise. Just make sure you have your phone charged as you’ll definitely want to capture some of these family night fun experiences!

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Ideas for Family Night Fun

Make Your Own Pizza

Make some easy home made pizza dough (or cheat with ready made bases) and set up a pizza assembly line where everyone customises their own pizza. You’ll need a tomato pizza sauce and a variety of toppings from veggies to salami slices to cheese.

It also takes care of fussy eaters as everyone can have exactly what they want, and they can even try decorating their pizzas in funny ways. Who can make the funniest pizza face?

Board Game Contest

Grab all the board games you have and set up a board game contest night. How many games can you play together before bedtime and who will be the overall winner?

Have a Scavenger Hunt

Divide the family into teams. Choose one of our many scavenger hunts to work your way through the evening. Set a timer and each team has to find the list in the allocated time.

Make a Video

Make a video together. It could be each member of the family being interviewed (use our birthday interview for some fun ideas for questions), or you could make a little story and act it out on the video.

Or do a home tour and video each room with a commentary. Or tell each other the silliest jokes to see if you can get some giggles on camera.

Build an Ice Cream Sundae Bar

For your ice cream sundae bar you’ll need:

• A selection of ice cream flavours
• Toppings and crunchy bits e.g. hundreds and thousands, peanuts, chocolate sprinkles, chocolate chips
• Sauces to drizzle
• Fruit e.g. sliced bananas, sliced strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, pineapple chunks, mango chunks, etc
• Bowls and spoons

Perfect for everyone getting to customise their own sundae!

Have a Pillow Fight

The kids will love this one! Everyone gets into their PJs, grabs a pillow and finds the best vantage point for a family pillow fight.

Have a Japanese-inspired evening

• First make hopping frogs out of origami
• Next try making and eating sushi
• Finally, watch a Studio Ghibli movie

Create Your Own Art Gallery

Where can you make art this evening?

• Set up a painting station at the kitchen table.
• Create salt dough and make ornaments, bake them, then paint them.
• Head out with sidewalk chalk to make art on the road/pavement outside.
• Take turns at drawing each other’s portraits then have a portrait exhibition.

Go Geocaching

Geocaching is a really fun activity for a family night during the summer months when it’s still bright before bedtime. Head out to find a geocache near you.

Fly a Kite

You’ll need a windy evening and a kite. If you haven’t got a kite, have a go at making one and then head to your nearest hill and have a go at flying them.

Get Baking

Pick a delicious new recipe to try baking together. It could be cupcakes that you decorate. Or chocolate chip cookies. A cake. Brownies. The world’s your baking oyster.

Make Your Own Home Cinema

Set up your own home cinema for the evening! Pick a family movie you have never watched before, whip up a batch of popcorn, make tickets for entry at the door, and don’t forget the snuggle blankets to cuddle up to watch with.

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Put on a Play

Pick a fairy story such as Cinderella or Little Red Riding Hood. Find some accessories or costumes. Have a dress rehearsal. Then set up your smartphone on timer and record your “play”.

Play Parlour Games

Organise some old-fashioned parlour games to play together. You could play:

• Charades
• Consequences
• Would You Rather
• Fortunately/Unfortunately
• Stop the Bus

Make a Family Newspaper or Magazine

Decide how many pages your paper or magazine is going to have. You’ll need to design a front and back cover then decide on the stories that are going to go in. Who will write and who will illustrate? What will the headline on the front page be?

Look at the Stars

You’ll need a clear night for this. Head outdoors to the back garden and see how many stars and constellations you can see. Easy ones to spot include The Big Dipper and Orion.

Read this quick guide on how to introduce your child to stargazing.

Hold a Hula Hoop Contest

Get the hula hoop(s) out and have a hula contest. Set a timer and see how long each person can keep the hula up for the first round. For the next round see how far each person can walk while hula-ing. And for the next round you have to hula on your arms, legs and neck!

Hold a Card Game Tournament

Get out a couple of decks of playing cards and hold a card games evening. Start with Snap as it’s easy and fun, and will get everyone going. Other games that we enjoy are Scabby Queen (Old Maid), Go Fish and War.

Throw a Glow in the Dark Disco

To prepare for your glow in the dark disco you’ll need plenty of glow sticks and a fun disco playlist. Then move the furniture out of the way, put away anything breakable, switch on the music and switch off the lights! Time to crack the glow sticks and boogie!

Build a Fort

Grab some blankets, pillows, chairs and build the best fort ever. If you have some battery operated fairy lights they are perfect for adding a bit of sparkle to your fort.

Read stories, listen to music, or even have a sleepover in the fort!

Go for an Evening Bike Ride

Obviously one for when evenings are still light and bright. Get the bikes and helmets organised (make sure to check the helmet fits properly before you head off), and go out for an evening cycle. Head for a park nearby and enjoy a little bit of supper picnic before you cycle back home.

Build a Fantastic LEGO village

Grab all the LEGO in the house and set out to build a LEGO village. What will be in your village, apart from your home of course? The library? Fire station? Grocery store? See how many buildings you can build for your village.

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Make Popcorn with Different Toppings

Set up a “popcorn bar” so each family member can enjoy their favourite popcorn flavour. Or a mixture! If you’ve never made popcorn on the stove top, it’s super easy and kids love to hear the popcorn start to pop. All you need is some popping corn, a little bit of sunflower or vegetable oil so the popcorn doesn’t burn and a pot with a lid. Definitely don’t forget the lid!

Then divide up the popped popcorn into different bowls and try different flavours out.
Melted salted butter is a traditional flavour but if you want some more inspo, check out these flavours on the Taste of Home website.

Have a Living Room Sleep Over

Put down cushions and blankets and get everyone to bring their pillows and duvets down for a living room sleepover. Watch a nice movie together then put out the lights and snuggle down. (Of course the good thing is you can always head back to your own beds if you really want!)

Set Up a Photo Booth

One of our favourite ideas for family night is to take funny photos – your kids will love looking back on these as you all have fun, make silly faces or just enjoy spending time together.

Take photos, take selfies or use the side of a large cardboard box and cut out a window for a DIY photo booth. Grab a bunch of costumes and dressing up items. If you have photo props like moustaches and glasses, even better. You’ll find more ideas for homemade photo booths here. Then take it in turns to appear at the photo booth while Mum or Dad take the pictures.

Play Minute to Win It Games

With some simple accessories such as stacking cups, ping pong balls, cookies, spaghetti, have a fun evening playing minute to win it games, there are some great suggestions on the Redtri website.

Hold a Talent Show

Everybody decides what they are going to do for the family talent show. Is it a song, playing a musical instrument, reciting a poem, re-enacting a favourite scene from a movie, or maybe doing a favourite dance? Then you take it in turns to do your party piece. Be sure to have your phone charged to video the show!

Have Breakfast for Dinner

Why not switch it up and enjoy a family night where you have breakfast for dinners? Make pancakes or waffles and enjoy them with your favourite toppings. We love sliced strawberries or bananas with a berry sauce made from frozen berries simmered with a little bit of water and some sugar.

Whipped cream, maple syrup, chocolate spread, bacon are also great toppings.

Or just eat cereal! Whatever breakfast choice floats your boat…

Make Honeycomb or Marshmallows

Have you ever made honeycomb or marshmallows? Both are really fun to make and then of course enjoy afterwards. Honeycomb is delicious crushed and sprinkled on ice cream, or even stirred into a vanilla ice cream and refrozen to make honeycomb flavour.

And if you’ve gone the marshmallow route why not have some extra fun and try making a marshmallow catapult?!

Play Sardines

Sardines is like hide-and-seek reversed. One person is it. The others count to 60 while they hide. The other players look for the hidden person. If you find the hidden person you have to hide with them in their hiding spot.

Everyone keeps on finding the rest and climbing in to hide and getting squashed (just like sardines!). The last person to find everyone else is it next time.

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