100 Ways to Be A Fun Mum

The Be A Fun Mum team brainstormed together and came up with a huge list of ways to be a fun mum. Some of these are super simple and quick, and some are more elaborate.  This list is supposed to be 100 Ways to Be A Fun Mum, but we ended up with more than that, so it stands at over 120 (at the moment). Do you have any other ideas to add to the list? 

1. Laugh.
2. Have a water fight.
3. Let them win.
4. Cute picnics outside.
5. Slow Down.
6. Go with the flow.
7. Jump in puddles.
8. Camp out in the backyard.
9. Get down on their level.
10. Lounge room dancing.
11. Have a day of YES. Don’t tell the kids about it but simply just say yes to every request (within reason) and let the other things go.
12. Tickle.
13. Do an activity you’ve never done before (Google for inspiration).
14. Join in with EVERYTHING the kids do for an afternoon.
15. Be silly.
16. Tell jokes.
17. Let them help peel veggies.
18. If you have more than one child, take them out somewhere special on their own, just the two of you.
19. Squishes at bedtime.
20. Sing songs.
21. Quote lines from favourite movies.
22. Forget the housework sometimes.
23. Listen, really take the time to listen.
24. Let them help you cook and bake.
25. Camp in the lounge room.
26. Make a fort under the table.
27. Sit on the floor with your kids.
28. Play in the rain.
29. Skip together, anywhere!
30. Do funny voices during story time.
31. Sing off tune (on purpose).
32. Use expression.
33. High-Five.
34. Make mistakes (on purpose) when telling a familiar story.
35. Pretend to get cross when they fly away from you on the swing. “Come back here!“
36. Allow them to pick your outfit or do your hair for the day.
37. YOU have fun.  Yes, YOU!
38. Make doing chores fun by being enthusiastic. COME ON TEAM! WE CAN DO THIS!!
39. Say, “I love you.”
40. Drop your expectations.
41. Run through the sprinkler in the backyard.
42. Have a race.
43. Wear colourful accessories.
44. Make up a silly story.
45. Smile. A lot.
46. Make something yummy as a treat.
47. Go swimming with them.
48. Show them how to enjoy the little things in life.
49. Practice gratefulness.
50. Tell stories about your childhood. When I was a little girl…
51. Enjoy nature everyday.
52. Let them create.
53. Be imaginative.
54. Lay a beach towel in the back yard and look for shapes in the clouds.
55. Watch television together
56. Make paper airplanes and have a race.
57. Sit back and watch your kids.
58. Create felt pen tattoos.
59. Organise surprises for your kids.  For example: Plan a trip to a theme park, the cinema or something your child loves but just tell them it’s a mystery outing. Have their bags packed and start driving to your mystery location. 
60. Visit family and cousins.
61. Have themed international dinners. Pick a country, do some research together online or at the library, shop and prepare it together. Maybe even find decorations or costumes eg. sombreros and brightly coloured serviettes for a Mexican night.
62. Have a ‘stay in your PJs all day’ day.
63. Chase the kids around the house.
64. Leave little treats in their lunch boxes for them to find at school…like a special note or a  secret message on a banana.
65. Introduce the kids to fondue!
66. Make a dessert pizza (Max Brenner style). Put all the ingredients on the table and let the kids go for it! Nutella ‘sauce’, cornflakes, marshmallows, white and milk choc chips  Either buy thin pre-made pizza bases or make them yourself if you have a good recipe.
67. Do funny-face selfies.
68. Give them a spay bottle of water each on a hot day. Let the kids go nuts.
69. Makeovers. Set up hair brushes, combs, hair accessories, lipstick, blush, glitter spray etc.
70. Hair chalk.
71. Do nail polish.
72. Put a drop of food colouring in the bath. Or a few drops of different colours.
73. Set up a fish tank together.
74. Make a fairy garden together.
75. Bury “treasure” in the sandpit and let them dig it up.
76. Go to Bunnings and let them push a mini trolley around.
77. Set up a beach tent in the lounge room, pile in pillows and snacks, and watch a movie.
78. Make sock puppets out of old socks.
79. Plant a vege/herb patch.
80. Write a letter to a friend or relative and post it. Pre-writers can draw a picture.
81. Wash all the doll clothes (old school style) in a bucket with soapy water, rinse and let them hang them on a lower line with pegs (good for fine motor)
82. Go through or visit a car wash.
83. Google natural face mask recipes (e.g. honey, oats, egg whites etc) and give each other a facial.
84. Play ‘car wash’ with toy cars or small ride ons.
85. Build a tree house.
86. Flower pressing: find pretty flowers in the garden and press between wax paper inside some very heavy books.
87. Buy fabric paint and get your child to decorate their own shirt.
88. Camp out in your own backyard.
89. Make paper airplanes and have a race
90. Do a water fight outside.
91. Set up a lemonade stall outside your house…see how many you can sell!
92. Go strawberry picking.
93. Get your child to choose a cake from a kids birthday cake book and make one…just because. Invite friends for afternoon tea.
94. Lay a blue beach towel out in the living area and add toys to create a beach play scene.
95. Get a huge roll of paper and let the kids go nuts with drawing a huge mural or tracing around their bodies.
96. Make your own kites and fly on a windy day
97. Go on a nature walk around the block & see how many cool flowers, feathers, rocks & leaves you can find.
98. Treasure hunt around your house: Leave clues and drawings at certain spots around the house which directs them to the next clue with a little surprise or note at the end.
99. Play wii with your kids. When mum gets involved sometimes, it can be lots more fun.
100. Take the telescope outside at night a do star gazing. Get a book or research online about the stars.
101. Let the kids to make their own placemats. They can cut out lots of coloured cardboard into shapes and stick them onto a piece of contact. Contact the other side and turn them into placemats for dinner time.
102. Make barbie or dolls cloths together out of paper.
103. Tarp, water & laundry liquid. Do a homemade slip and slide!
104. Mix dishwashing liquid & water. Use a straw and blow bubbles upon bubbles on baking trays set up on a table top.
105. Set up a photo booth and take funny pictures. Think party hats, sunglasses and stick on moustaches. 
106. Work on a Christmas family concert for Christmas Eve. Read or act out the Christmas story, look for a Christmas poem to recite, play carols on instruments, a special dance or do a mock interview with Mary and Joseph ect. Good fun in the lead up to Christmas!
107. Go on a family holiday at least once a year.
108. Have an early dinner and then go for a ‘mystery’ drive to a lookout or a jetty and look at the moon. Then get a soft serve ice cream cone on the way home.
109. Explore your own city! Get on the ferry, bus or train and get off at one stop per outing and explore that area. Look for parks, cafes, any local attractions, interesting houses.
110. Take the kids to the museum and let them take photos of their favourite exhibits.  Print out the photos when you get home and make a book
111. Go ice skating!
112. Board game night. Scrabble, monopoly etc.
113. Smash out exercise together with your kids.  Do something you all enjoy.
114. Watch funny cat videos on YouTube.
115. Establish a ‘how does it work Wednesday’. Each week, watch a how-to video on YouTube.  For example, how bread is made, how is rice grown, how is glass made.
116. Research your family tree together. Draw it out on paper. Look at photos.
117. Make shadow hand puppets.
118. Try and draw anything your child asks you to. Take turns and laugh at your efforts.
119. Watch old home movies…show the kids your wedding video!
120. Make gloop, cloud dough or play dough
121. Greet your kids after school with a huge exuberant smile!
122. Be you. And share that uniqueness with your kids.

Other Lists

100 School Holidays Ideas

100 Ways to Love the Moment

100 Ways to Enjoy Nature with Kids