How to Celebrate the End of Winter With Your Family

Here in the suburbs, life is busy. We work, take the kids to school and their extracurricular activities, cook dinner and go to bed. It’s easy to coast through our days and keep moving without stopping to take a step back, so knowing that, it might be time to ask yourself how often you and your family are spending quality time together. If you feel stuck on autopilot, it’s all too easy to watch your kids grow up and leave the home.

Take time to create family activities together. Children crave your attention and time (no matter how much they say they don’t) infinitely more than your money or status. Your kids want to connect with you, and what better time than right now? Take the time before they leave the nest. Here are a handful of ideas that you can try to spend quality time with your family as winter comes to an end.

Exploration in Your Backyard

If your family loves animals, the zoo is a great option. Cosley Zoo in Wheaton and the Brookfield Zoo are two great options to see some furry and feathered friends. If you want to experience nature, take a walk around the Lincoln Marsh, or take a bike ride down the Prairie Path. Go to a local pond and fish. Take a trip to Starved Rock State Park and hike. There are plenty of beautiful parks as well, such as Northside Park in Wheaton or Riverwalk Park in Naperville. Here you can play catch, ride bikes and do so much more. You can also just spend time outside in your yard! Set up a game of hide and seek or tag, get a picnic blanket and have a meal outside or get some sidewalk chalk and draw on the driveway.

Another fun way to spend time with your family, and possibly involve your neighbors, is to create a scavenger hunt. You can even put an extra fun twist on it by getting disposable cameras and creating a photo-scavenger hunt. For example, take a picture of someone jumping in a pile of leaves, the cutest dog you can find or an interestingly colored house. You could even split into teams and whoever takes the best, or funniest photo wins. Photographs are a great way to capture a moment and have a tangible connection to a memory.

Looking to get outside and do some shopping at the same time? Downtown Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, and Naperville have some great shops and restaurants for you to explore with your family. Go get some ice cream, or visit the Popcorn Shop in Wheaton.

If you want to make a difference when spending time with your family, there are plenty of options for that, too. Make a lemonade stand and donate the proceeds to a local charity. Visit a nursing home and spend time with the elderly. Put on gloves and pick up trash in your neighborhood. Go volunteer at a local ministry, such as Feed My Starving Children.

In Case of Rain…

Even if the weather chooses not to cooperate, there are still plenty of ways to spend time with your family. Go to the store and pick up a board game. Have a movie night where you make popcorn. If you or your children love to cook, make a pizza from scratch.

If you want to get out of the house, even in rainy weather, there are still plenty of fun things to do. Go to a local theater, such as a comedy club, the Wheaton Theatre, or a local high school or college production. Go bowling or roller skating. For the animal lover in your family, go to a pet store or local animal shelter, and pet the puppies. Take a trip to the library and read together. The DuPage Children’s Museum is a great place to make memories with younger kiddos. If you want to get creative, get some supplies and paint.

City Trip!

Downtown Chicago is a short drive or train ride away, and there are plenty of fun activities there. The Shedd Aquarium and Lincoln Park Zoo are a great place to see animals. The Chicago Children’s Museum is a wonderful place to spend a day. Navy Pier and the Magnificent Mile downtown are great places to walk around. Go visit Millennium Park and see the Bean! Visit the Sears (yes, I still call it that) Tower. If you want to make a difference, you can make bagged lunches and distribute them to the homeless.

When your kids go off to college, you will look back on the many great times that you had with your children, and you won’t battle regret because you spent too much time at work, or cruising through life. One of the best ways to help your children with their mental health and self-esteem is to spend quality time with them. Regardless of the activity that you do, it is important to simply be with them and enjoy them. So sit down with your family and discuss the activities that jumped out to them and the next adventures they want to have. If you have any fun suggestions, we at Stenzel Clinical Services would love to hear them.