Activity Bags for Family Fun
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Get out with the family with no fear of being caught unprepared. Pack these activity bags to ensure that fun is exactly what your outing holds.
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It seems that in our current culture, at least at my house, it’s all too easy to stay home. There are devices to look at and all kinds of distractions. And really, it’s such a lot of work to pack up the kids and get outside. Right?
Wrong. Now’s the season for getting out and about. Summer, of course, positively beckons you to load up the family and head out for adventure.
But, do you ever find yourself…
- at the beach or other fun locale, and the weather turns cold, and tshirts and shorts just won’t cut it?
- on a family field trip at a location where budget-friendly meals are a foreign concept?
- at the park for an impromptu outing and find that you have no balls or toys in the car?
- on a road trip without sufficient activities for the kids to amuse themselves with?
- on your way to a faraway special event only to find out that someone made it into the car without any shoes?
{FishMama waves one hand while shamefully covering her eyes with the other.}
This has happened to us more times than I can count. And I can count pretty high. Though I was once a Girl Scout, I often find myself woefully unprepared. That’s a bummer when you want to be out with the family having a good time.
The last thing you want to do is shiver in the cold, buy your kid new shoes when she has five pairs at home, or pay through the nose for a mediocre sandwich.
A few years ago, FishPapa and I came up with the Bag Idea.
The Bag Idea was that we would create lists of the things we might like to have on an outing and then create bags to hold all these items. Then, we’d try to keep the bags packed and ready to go at all times.
Over the years, the bags have changed shape, size, and contents, but they prove to be invaluable to make our family outings a little more fun and little less chaotic.
This tutorial is one I shared years ago as a way to make getting out with the kids easier for your family, too. We know from experience, now six years later, that if we have the bags, we will travel — a little more peacefully and enjoyably.
Here I present to you lists, bags, and even cute little tags to go with, so that when it’s time to repack the bag, everyone will know what should go into it. We’ll all be ready to hit the road — whether it be a road trip, the day at the beach, playtime at the park, or a simple picnic. And, Lord willing, we’ll be prepared!
Activity Bags for Family Fun
Consider packing these activity bags so you’re always ready for family fun:
A beach bag
A beach or pool bag, complete with towels, sunscreen, flipflops, goggles, beach toys, and whatever you need to make a day in the water fun and safe.
A picnic bag
Be ready for spontaneous picnics with all the serving ware, plus tablecloth or blanket. If you’ve got these tucked away in the car, you can easily pick up food at the store or your favorite take-out join and picnic without fuss or worry.
A bag of fun
Whether you’re on a road trip or just making an impromptu stop at the park, you can be prepared to have a good time with some balls, light sticks, sidewalk chalk, and bubbles.
Having supplies at the ready helps our family enjoy the great outdoors and other adventures a little bit more. I hope it does the same for you!
Do you worry that you’re squandering the precious days with your kids? Be more intentional this summer by planning simple yet intentional family fun activities. Grab your copy of the Summer Survival Guide.
Within its pages, you’ll find everything you need, and I do mean EVERYTHING, to be prepared for summer break, including printable activity bag tags and a tutorial for making your own activity bags.
Not only that, I’ve included 16 weeks of fun learning activities to do with your kids, a mom’s reading list, meal planning tips and tricks to make summer delicious and affordable.
Buy the Summer Survival Guide here: http://fishmama.com/product/summer-survival-guide/ and make the most of every summer minute.
What will you pack in your activity bags?
i love this idea. we are planning all these trips this year and this is exactly what we need. i have experienced many of the same problems, but now with this idea hopefully not again! thanks for sharing.
What a great idea. Just a few days ago I was out for a quickie errand, and decided to swing by the farmer’s market on the way home – only to realize that my 3yo did not have shoes on! We did have a pair of soccer cleats (a few sizes to large) in the car and made do with those, a little embarassing, but hey, that’s life with kids!
Great ideas! It makes going somewhere spur of the moment a little less stressful and more fun…I like the idea of an emergency bag too – how often would you update the emergency bag (ie for meds)?
This is just brilliant! I am already brainstorming the bags that we will need! Thanks for sharing!
I love your idea for the check lists and labels. We just got back from an impromptu sleep over at Grammies and we used our extra clothing bag from the back of the car. I like to include a pair of shorts and a pair of sweat pants for each child because you never know when the weather will change quickly. Sweat pants can also double as jammies!
Thanks for the idea, it will really come in handy this summer! You are completely right though, it’s all about execution, lol.
Great tip! Thank you! ♥ Michelle
Btw, I’ve just started following you on twitter, but hadn’t visited your blog until I found it on 29 Lincoln Avenue today. I’m GLAD I did!
I started doing this a year or so ago with a “play outside” bag for taking to the park or on car trips (in case we stop at a park): sunscreen, bug spray, first aid kit, pinwheels, Frisbee, balls. It works out great — and I just this weekend transferred it from the coat closet to the hooks in our entryway (where, in the winter, I use a tote bag to corral small mittens and hats). I’ve been thinking I need to do a “beach” bag, too — but that won’t be necessary for us for another couple of months, at least!
I do this because everything is at least 45 minutes from the house.We live in a very secluded area.It will save your sanity.
I used to have a great bag packed with extra clothes, sweatshirts, u/w, socks, flip flops (gender neutral) but have not kept up with it – I need to do that while I’m sorting through clothes for this change of seasons!
I do however prep for summer. We spend many many afternoons and weekends at our local lake. The start of every season I go through the sand toys, boogie boards,goggles and pitch old items that are broken/outgrown and replace. Next, I pack a medium size bin with our picnic supplies – napkins, paper plates, salt/pepper, extra condiment packets we might have around, paper cups, etc. I also put in a zipped bag of extra hairbands, kleenex, bandaids, sunscreen, bug spray, cortisone cream, hand sanitizer/wipes and swimmie diapers(don’t need those this year!)Each shopping trip I add big bags of snack items to keep my crew happy, and I make sure I have a cold thermos filled with juice or lemonade ready to throw in the car (vs buying tons of pricey juice boxes) along with cold water bottles (using our own refillable bottles). This saves so much time – I can pack my car within minutes. I make sure to keep a good supply of towels, extra bathing suits and we can be ready to roll within about 10 mins after I’ve packed the bin, chairs, boogie boards and toys…it becomes a cinch. I also have the reverse packing down to a science – empty car, wet things hung up to dry or dumped in a heap on porch for doing laundry after kids have gone to bed, garbage thrown right into garage bins, and items to replenish put on my whiteboard. It makes the lake season much less labor intensive for me!