One thing that I’m always looking to do on the weekends, school vacations or summer break is a creative activity for the whole family. I love fantasy stories and science fiction and I also love storytelling and making things up! Activities that we can do together and scratch that creative itch are always top of mind for me.
Here’s a few activities I’ve found or taken part in over the years!
This one is super inexpensive and a ton of fun. You can break this out whenever and repurpose it into functional things later like a family calendar or to-do list! And if you’re looking to start your own DnD family game then you can use this map for the world your adventure is set in!
To create the map, you can grab a large piece of paper or a small whiteboard, a pencil or dry erase marker and some coffee beans!
Place the paper or whiteboard flat and then spread the coffee beans out over it, jsut let them fall randomly. Then take your pencil or marker and outline around the beans. The shape will resemble a continent from a map!
Now let each family member take turns adding one landmark such as forests, mountains, towns, rivers, etc. When someone adds a landmark, they also name that landmark like the Whisper Woods or the Brandywine River (shoutout to Lord of the Rings!).
This activity is so much fun and really creates a fun and bonding experience. And it’s so awesome to go and explore that map in your next DnD game if you get the chance!
If you’re thinking about playing DnD as a family another great creative activity is designing DnD characters together! This gives every family member a chance to practice their storytelling skills and gives everyone a way to express themselves! Creating a DnD character is one of the favorite pastimes of many Dungeons & Dragons players and this is a perfect opportunity to jump in!
To create characters everyone will need a character sheet. Guild of Imagination has their own that you can download right here. You’ll also need the DnD Basic Rules or Starter Set. You can access the Basic Rules for free here or if you’re ready to start running a game with the family you can buy the starter set here.
All that’s left is using the rules to create your character and watch as everyone comes up with fun, sometimes silly, sometimes serious backstories for their character! We also have a free video that will help in the character creation process. You can view it here!
This is another easy, inexpensive and super fun activity! Telling an improv story together gets hilarious real fast. There are a few ways you can do this:
This is a fun one, especially if you’ve already made a collaborative story, DnD characters or especially if you’ve already played DnD! Look through your stories that your family has created and find magic items, characters or set pieces. Then head over to the craft store and build some props!
Maybe a magic sword from your child’s character backstory, or a secret base from your DnD game. You could also head over to your Friendly Local Game Store and get some DnD miniatures and some paint for your characters, then spend some time painting the minis before you play!
This is a favorite of mine! We’ve played a lot of games as a family over the years. Over time you can build your library and take turns each week (or whenever you get a chance to game) picking out what you’ll play!
DnD is a great choice, but there are thousands of fantastic board games out there! Some are collaborative, some have storytelling, some feature strategy and more. Whatever you choose you’ll get some quality bonding with the whole family.
Here’s a list of my favorite family board games:
This one will require some extra work and probably will end up a bit messy, but so yummy and so fun! Pick your favorite fantasy world (or choose the one your family has created together!) and plan a feast themed in that world!
If you choose DnD there are actually a few Dungeons & Dragons cookbooks out there!
This is always a fun one! There are plenty of free scavenger hunts out there for download. This will get the whole family outside on a nice day and moving around! Instead of a scavenger hunt you can also download Geocache app and go on a day drive treasure hunting!
If you opt for the backyard scavenger hunt you can download a PDF that we’ve put together that is themed around fantasy stories!
Get everyone together, print out a copy of the hunt and set up a place for them to bring the items to. Let the kids work together to find one of each item. This fun activity will promote teamwork and problem-solving!
Sometimes you just want to get up and go on a real-life adventure! Grab the family, head to the store and pick up an Instax camera, a small journal and some markers. Now it’s time to set out. Head out on a day trip in a random direction. See where the road takes you and document the places you go and the people you talk to with in the journal with the camera and the markers.
Let everyone get in on the fun of documenting the trip. You may stop at a museum you’ve driven by 1,000 times, visit a small park a few towns over, paddleboat in the next state. Document everything and let everyone’s creative spark get a chance to suggest a stop and to jot down what you’re doing.
You’ll have these memories forever and you’ll always be able to revisit them!
This activity is perfect for a rainy day. Gather around the living room and grab the tablet or laptop. Together you can visit a virtual museum tour. Look through items in the tour and ask questions to each other about the pieces that different family members gravitate to.
There are a lot of these tours online and on YouTube. I’ll link a few here!
This one is so much fun! Start a family podcast where you discuss your creative projects, adventures and interests. Each family member can take on different roles, like host, guest and editor!
If you’ve done a few of the adventures in this post, then talk about them and relive the memories after it’s done. You’ll inspire other families to start their own projects and adventures!
