Fun Box Friday

This post is not for the parents who have all their ducks in a row, dressed in uniform, and quacking in unison. This is for the parents who have minus seven things together, and they are already saving for their kids’ future therapy.

I’ve always been super frustrated by parents who seem to have everything in balance: a clean house, manicured lawn, and apparently enough FREE TIME every other day to create special memories for their families. They are doing all the things! And I’m not jealous of the things. I’m jealous of how they seem to be professional jugglers. I’m jealous of the fact that I’m so zeroed in to the ball of responsibility – my family not living in a pigsty, eating more than just ramen, and having clean underwear to put on- that the other balls fall to the ground and roll under the dresser to hang out with the dust bunnies I haven’t had the time to spring clean since 2018.

I try to convince myself that the people posting all the fun family stuff probably have rings in their toilets, their kids are eating a steady flow of Pirate’s Booty, and they are recycling clothes out of the hamper using a wet paper towel to clean off a stain from Junior’s shirt. Or maybe they are just better time managers. Or maybe they don’t care about a messy kitchen or eating McDonald’s three times in a week.

But I can’t let it go. Any of it. The tension between responsibility and leisure. Of preparing nutritious meals andnourishing my kids’ souls.

So, I came up with a solution back in September. A way to not feel guilty when every time one of my kids asked if we could do such and such on the weekend, and my response was always, “We’ll see. We have a lot to get done to prepare ourselves for the upcoming week.”

Those “We’ll sees,” too often turned into missed moments.

Enter the best family invention of my imagination: Fun Box Friday.

It’s simple yet revolutionary for our family. I bought a picture box from a craft store and some foil ribbon, and made a list of fun things our family could intentionally do together on any given weekend, ranging from easy and free, to complex and expensive. Brent and I pre-plan the box each week, pack items we might need inside, wrap it with the ribbon, then place it on the kitchen table Friday morning.

The kids don’t get to open it until Friday after school to see what’s inside. Sometimes it’s an activity for that night, sometimes Saturday, or even Sunday. But one thing is for sure! They ALWAYS look forward to the fun box and often try to guess during the week what might be inside! Whatever the plan is for any given weekend is Brent’s and my way of intentionally spending quality time with our kids, distraction free. It also doesn’t hurt as an incentive for the kids to get along during the week and to help clean up before we start the activity.

If you find yourself sinking in the same boat as us, maybe a Fun Box Friday is exactly what you and your family needs!

Here are just a few of the ideas we’ve either used or will be using. Some of them are so simple we keep them in regular rotation, especially this first one:

• Movie box: I print out a picture of a movie poster with the date and time and put it folded in the box (Brent has even made fake movie tickets because he’s that creative) along with popcorn, candy, or any other treats.
• Saturday morning family breakfast at Chick-fil-a
• Family game night
• Go to the local farmer’s market
• Beach Day
• Science Center
• Bowling
• A visit to Sea World
• Go out for ice cream
• Take a family bike ride to the dollar tree for a little shopping spree
• Fun baking supplies for cupcakes

And this past Friday night was a big hit with the cool weather: S’mores. I simply put a bag of marshmallows, some chocolate bars, and a sleeve of graham crackers in the box. They figured it out right away.

Anyway, you get the idea. I keep a list on my phone and add to it whenever something new comes to mind. This way, I always have ideas at my fingertips.

So even if you’re knocking it out of the park in the parent department, maybe this idea will be a good tradition addition. It definitely adds the element of suspense that kids usually love. 

I truly see our family using the Fun Box for life, even when the kids have moved out and they decide to come home for a visit. The memories that have been and will be created will be just as memorable as the box itself. I already imagine the kids fighting over who gets it when Brent and I croak. It’s the world’s most inexpensive family heirloom!

Actually, that just gave me a great idea! Brent and I will probably gift them their very own $1.99 fun box when they have their own kids!

Quack! Quack!