What do you do on a weekend?

[ombre123]

Hi
I work full time and have two girls, one primary and one infant school aged.
When I first started out in this crazy parenting journey both girls had full schedules, dancing gym music etc you name it and they did it. To the point that they, and we as a family, didn't have any spare down time. So we decided to drop some of the clubs and my eldest naturally dropped the others on her own.
Now I feel we've gone the other way and most weekends I'm ashamed to say I feel bored. We go shopping sometimes, to the park, for walks most weekends. But I just feel unfulfilled (I know that sounds dramatic lol)
My eldest literally had to be prised away from her iPad and has the sulk on for the rest of the day. My youngest is pretty cool and just goes with the flow.
So my question is what do your weekends generally look like as a family?
Thanks in advance xx

We do loads as a family - weekend outings are our favourite thing. When DC were that age we'd go on long muddy bike rides, climb trees and build dens or dams in the forest. We'd climb hills and have picnics.

Also take, trips to London to ride the Clipper boat, visit the museums.

Days out to Legoland, Chessington, Colchester Zoo, to family days at Hampton Court, to the Butterfly house at Wisley, to the Southbank to play in the fountains and sand.
Safe wild swimming and kayaking at local lakes.
Days on the beach
Miniature steam train rides
Steam fairs and funfairs.
Bird world and animal sanctuaries
Theatre shows and cinema
Child friendly restaurants
Child-friendly music festivals

We'd usually do one weekend of easy local stuff - bike rides etc followed by one weekend of more full-on stuff.
I was always on the look out for fun local events and activities.

Even now they are almost adults we still go out as a family at least once a week, if only for a meal or to the theatre, but often for a hike or into London for the day.

If you are anywhere near London you have endless days out ready made. There are so many fun things to do with children. We've still not done them all and my youngest leaves school next year.

One day we are usually out - go into town, playground, food shopping, errands, mixed with a bit of relaxing at home/tv time/tidying up the house. But this is more the jobs day, getting done things that need doing mixed with a bit of playing.

The only day we either do Sunday lunch/relaxing at home, go for a walk, play in the garden or we go for a day out (today we are going to a festival).

We have 2 (one primary school aged and the other is a toddler) and eldest doesn't really do any activities on the weekend. I try to keep her relatively unscheduled, baring a few afterschool clubs (because we need the childcare, not because I want her doing 10,000 activities). She does go to Rainbows one morning a month on a Saturday and that's it. Dh does ocassionally work on the weekends, but his business involves going to family friendly festivals so we all go along and make a weekend of it so we can spend time together. We both work all week, so weekends are intentionally not jam packed and we make a real effort to spend time together whatever we're doing. Even if it's just going to Tesco.

If we have no parties etc, we do something most days. So trip to country park with decent playground, longish bike ride, go swimming, go into town and look at museum or gallery, mini zoo etc. Short train ride to new town/castle. Try and do cheap and try and warn them at the beginning of the day so there’s less whining when it’s time to go. They enjoy it once we’re out.

Also once they’re a bit older I have found it’s time to start trying to remember what you like to do and see if you can drag them along.

Mine are younger (4 and 1) but we tend to do one family day out and one pottering around day. Or if one of us has work or the house has got in a state one of us takes both children out for the day and the other works/cleans.

I have one just finished and one just starting reception.

We try to do a day pottering around at home - gives them time to do their own thing and us tune to catch up on housework/DIY/etc. So, lots of playing - Lego, Playdoh, crafts, aquabeads etc. Some TV too.

The other day we do a day out - National Trust, museum, trampoline park, kids theatre, new place, beach, bike ride, national forest...

Every 6-8 weeks we probably have a night away too - cheapo hotel/AirBnb/etc - since it lets us go further afield.

I've tried to avoid dance class and the like on a weekend, since it just ties is in too much.

And I'm not trying to be mean by saying this, but I chuckle so much at comments like "If you're anywhere near London you have endless days out made..." While I don't disagree London has a lot going on, it makes the rest of the UK sound like wasteland 😅 Londoners, I promise, museums, theatres etc do exist outside the m25 🤣🤣

Thanks a lot everyone for the tips!

@Scotinoz - You're absolutely right to poke fun at my comment. What I meant was, I know London and I know there are dozens of days out, not that there aren't elsewhere, just that I know it best. And because it's so big it does have a massive range of museums - not just the Science, Natural History. Maritime, V&A, British Museum, National gallery, both Tates, Serpentine, Hayward, Museum of Childhood, but also quirky ones like the Postal Museum with the underground railway or Dennis Severs all lit by candlelight as though an 18thC family lived there, or St Paul's whispering gallery or climbing Monument where the great fire of London started. Then there's the Olympic Park slide and velodrome, Hampstead wild ponds, O2 roof etc.

I've lived in or visited other lovely cities but never found one to be quite as packed with interesting stuff for endless days out as London is. But not saying it's the only place, promise! Sorry if it looked that way.