50 Ways to Make Childhood Memories!

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Top Childhood Memories to Create with Your Children! 

Looking back at your younger years, don’t you have a few specific childhood memories that really stand out? Sometimes they were big trips and amazing adventures, and sometimes those childhood memories were of the small day to day things that you did with your family.  Either way, we all have them – days that we will never forget and are etched in our memory! The Divas are all about creating childhood memories with our kids to last a lifetime, and for that exact reason we have all teamed up to create our list of Top Childhood Memories to Create with Your Children!

Make memories with your kids today!

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In this post you will find: 

  • 15 Indoor Activities to Do with Your Children
  • 10 Out-Of-The-House Activities That Your Kids Will Always Remember
  • 10 Small and Simple Surprises to Do for Your Kids Today
  • 15 Outdoor Activities That Your Kids Will Love

First up, lets take a peek at the indoor activities! Your kids will love these!

15 Indoor Activities to Do with Your Children

Fun family activities that are sure to be memory makers!

Indoor memory makers!

1. Blanket FortsBuild a blanket fort with your kids on a rainy day! They will love this activity. You can take it to the next level by even having a sleepover in your fort!

2. Pillow Fight – Shock your kids with a pillow fight! Just imagine how much fun everyone will have!

3. Indoor PicnicEnjoy an indoor picnic topped off by eating under your very own “tree!”

4. Breakfast in bed – Make a random morning one to remember with a surprise breakfast in bed for your kids! We think that this breakfast option would be just perfect!

5. Poetry Tea Time – Select a time that works for your family and once a week, sit down to a poetry tea time!

Indoor family activities!

6. Kids Take Over the KitchenYour kids will be SO excited that they get to take over the kitchen for the entire day!

7. Dance Parties – Turn on the music and dance! Simple, but oh-so fun!

8. Cooking ClassesGive your child a private, one-on-one cooking class. Diva Becca said “My mom once did a week-long “cooking camp” with me during the summer and taught me how to make bread, cookies, and my favorite dinners – it was so much fun and I felt so special.”

9. Family Movie NightsHow fun is this? Have the kids pitch in with dinner and snacks. It’s fun for them and easy for you! PLUS, we even have this list of fantastic family friendly movies – go check it out!

10. Holiday Scavenger Hunts – Make holidays memorable with our holiday scavenger hunts. In addition to the Valentine’s Day version, we also have one for Halloween, Easter and St. Patrick’s Day!

Family activities that everyone will love!

11. Dinner Conversation Starters & PlacematsMake meal time memorable with 101 Conversation Starters for Families. Plus, give your kids the chance to share all about their day (and give you time to make dinner) with these DIY placemats. A fun tradition that kids will remember!

12. After School Question Cards – Free printable After School Question Cards! 25 great questions to ask kids after school to start meaningful conversations. Diva Kari added this idea for after school as well! “My mom always played relaxing or soft music when I’d come home from school. It used to annoy me to no end – but now I realize how it made me so relaxed right when I got home and how I loved coming home to that. It helped me to leave my burdens at the door and to feel almost like I’d been given a giant warm hug.”

13. “Parents Place” Restaurant – Diva Becca said “Every now and then my parents would turn our dining room into a pretend restaurant called “Parents Place” and serve us with a silly menu. For example, the menu would say squiggly worms, but it was really spaghetti noodles, or frogs eyes, but it was really grapes. We LOVED it!!” Your kids would love this as well! {We also have some more fun dinner ideas here and here that we linked up to in addition to the one linked to the title!}

14. Pillow Sumo Wrestling – Oh the joy of just being a kid yourself! I think that the more simple the activity, the bigger impact that it sometimes has on our kids. All they really want is for us to play with them!

15. 101 Family Friendly Games – Games for the whole family to enjoy! Diva Ferren suggested that you let each of the kids pick a special snack for that night and each pick one game as well! With 101 games to pick from, you will have lots of fun game nights ahead of you!

So fun, right!?! Now let’s look at some out-of-the-house activities that your kids will always remember!

10 Out-Of-The-House Activities That Your Kids Will Always Remember

Out of the house activities for the whole family!

Create memories with your kids today!

16. Mini Mom & Dad DatesKids will love the opportunity to have their very own date night with Mom and Dad!

17. “YOU Pick” Days – Diva Becca said, “During the Summer, my mom would give each of us kids our own “YOU Pick” Day and we got to pick where we went that day. I always picked the library and my sister always picked the park.” Where would your kids pick!?

18. Surprise Mom and Dad Time – Surprise your kids by checking them out of school early and spend the day with them! This would be fun to do one-on-one with each of your kids!

19. Playground Hopping – Spend a family day all together bouncing from one playground to another! Pack a picnic and make an entire day out of it!

20. Surprise VacationOkay, now we know this one is not possible for every family and situation, but with so many of these options being absolutely free we decided to go for the ultimate splurge and shock your kids with a surprise vacation! {If you are thinking about making that surprise a Disney vacation be sure to grab these printables!} Diva Gabby had a fun memory of this exact thing from her childhood! “When we were young, one year my mom and dad gave us socks and underwear for Christmas. Then, after we opened it all, they gave us envelopes with plane tickets – they said, ‘Get packing! We’re going to Disneyland tomorrow!’ It was such a fun surprise that I will never forget!”

Family fun activities!

21. R.O.A.K.Take an entire day and dedicate it to some random acts of kindness! Your kids are sure to remember a day full of serving others!

22. Road TripTake a road trip with your family! No matter where you head, be it near or far they will remember the time together in the car! Plus, this pack will top off the memories for sure!

23. Yes Day! – Have you ever heard of a “Yes Day?” They are one of the most magical days of the year that your kids are sure to remember for years to come! {Want more “Yes Day” fun? Grab this book to help explain how the whole things works!}

24. Big Ice Cream Cone – Take your kids to an ice cream shop and let them get as many scoops as they want on an ice cream cone. Imagine how much their faces will light up!

25. Surprise Grandparent Day – Surprise your child with a “grandparent day” where they get to spend the day with their grandma or grandpa doing something special.

They will love every one of those right!?! Now, here are some small and simple activities that are sure to make some amazing childhood memories!

10 Small and Simple Surprises to Do for Your Kids Today

Easy ways to make your kids' childhood memorable!

Fun surprises for your kids!

26. Packed Lunch Surprise – Can you just imagine how much fun they would have unwrapping their lunch!

27. Surprise Note – Leave your kids a special note just for them – tell them how much you love them, a few fun facts, or just a little pick me up. No matter what, they are sure to remember!

28. Fun Mail – Mail your kids a little something just for fun! There are so many great ideas here!

29. Tooth Fairy – Is this not the cutest little note from the tooth fairy!? Plus, you have to see what they did with the money that she left behind as well! Love it!!

30. Balloon AvalancheThis would be such a fun way to greet your kiddos on the morning of their birthday – or even just a random day for fun!

Fun ways to surprise your kids!

31. Heart Attack – We have seen and used this idea with our spouses before, but just imagine the smiles on your kids’ faces when they see that they have been “heart attacked!” It would be fun to choose one child at a time and do it randomly so they never know who is next, or when it is coming.

32. Lunch Box Notes – Free printable love notes to sneak in your child’s lunch.

33. Homemade Snow ConesYour kids will adore this delicious idea! Diva Becca said, “We LOVED when our mom made homemade snow cones for us in the summer. To make it extra fancy, she’d add a scoop of ice cream to the bottom and a dollop of cool whip on top.” You can even buy a snow cone kit to make it even easier!

34. After Bedtime Surprise – Diva Becca said, “Every now and then (usually during the summer or weekends), my husband will surprise one of our kids with an ‘after-bedtime surprise.’ We’ll do our normal bedtime routine and send all of the kids to bed. But then, my husband will sneak in one of their rooms and tell them to get up because he has a surprise. The surprise is never the same thing – sometimes it’s a quick trip to Dairy Queen for a small ice cream cone, sometimes it’s a quick swim in the pool together, or even just popping popcorn to watch a TV show together. It always makes a huge impact though, and he loves seeing their faces light up when they realize they get to get out of bed.”

35. Bath SurpriseTurn your normal bathtime routine into a fun surprise and play time with homemade bath paints.

LOVE those!! Last but not least, we have our top outdoor activities for some guaranteed childhood memories!

15 Outdoor Activities That Your Kids Will Love

Outdoor Family Fun!

Outdoor childhood memory makers!

36. Backyard Movie Night – Have a Backyard Movie Night with the whole family for a night to remember!

37. Backyard Campout – Your kids are sure to remember this fun-filled evening!

38. Late Night Star Gazing – Surprise your kids by waking them up in the middle of the night just to cuddle in a big pile of blankets and watch the stars! This could be even more magical if you planned it around a meteorite shower or lunar eclipse!

39. Play in the Rain – Use that afternoon rain shower to your advantage! Grab your family and head outside to splash in some puddles together!

40. Garden Fairy Doors – Help welcome fairies into your garden with these DIY fairy doors made out of popsicle sticks!

Outdoor family fun to make memories!

41. Fly Kites – Make and fly your own kites! Your kids will adore this activity! If you aren’t up to making one, my family has this one and it’s awesome!

42. Word Rocks – Paint several rocks with inspirational words and leave them at random places for people to find. A great activity for kids – fun for the hiders and the finders.

43. Messy Twister – Can you image the fun you would have surprising your kids with this ultimate family game night!? Grab Twister, some shaving cream, some food coloring, and you are good to go!

44. Glow-In-The-Dark Party – Don’t let the memories stop just because the sun went down. Your children will be talking about this late night party for years to come! Glow gear is always inexpensive online, too!

45. Splash Bash – A little summer heat never stopped anyone from having a fun memory filled day!

Outdoor family activities for all ages!

46. Side Walk Chalk GamesAll you need is chalk and you are ready for a full day of excitement!

47. Bike Car WashHave fun in the water and get all of the outdoor toys clean!

48. Lemonade StandMake a lemonade stand together using a couple crates. It’s something they’ll remember forever – plus, they get to earn some summer “fun money.”

49. Giant Bubble WandsBubbles are always great, but GIANT bubbles take it to a whole new level of awesome! Diva Camille also added that her family does “bubble & chalk” days where they can get super messy! She said her kids love it and have so much fun!

50. Make a TeepeeNow THIS is something your kids will never forget, and it’s easier than you think.

So fun! Your kids will LOVE each and every one of these!!

Looking for more great ideas for making memories with your kids? Be sure to check out these amazing posts!

5 Ways to Make Your Child Feel Loved

50 Fun Family Activities for Summer

Niki

I am a crafting, baking, blogging wife and mother. I love nothing more than time with my family while playing games, watching movies, and just being together!

Learn more about Niki
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Recent Comments

  1. I love all of these ideas! I am currently a busy, single, working mom and struggle to find fun things to do with my son to make things special for him. But I have definitely found at least 10 ideas here that I could easily incorporate into our lives and I am so excited about doing this with and for him! Thanks so much for the ideas!!

    1. Sherese, it makes us SO happy to hear that you have found some of these ideas that will work well for you and your little man! We love hearing back from our readers and truly appreciate you letting us know that you enjoyed this post!! Good luck making lasting memories with your son, they’re only little once!

  2. Loving ALL these ideas! I don’t have kiddos myself but this post is definitely worth sharing with all the parents out there!

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