For many families, spring break means traveling and time spent out of town, however, more and more families are opting to stay close to home and have “staycations.” Parents may not be able to take time off of work or families may be saving money toward a summer getaway. While churches may experience lower attendance during the few weeks during the spring break season, it still leaves many families looking for ways to experience worship and community while on break from school. Spring break is a great time to build relationships between families, as well as provide opportunities for members to invite friends to a special event.
Here are 10 ideas for fun spring break events to offer families:
1) Movie Night
Open up your fellowship hall as a movie theater and show a popular family friendly movie. You could do it at night or make it a fun day event! You could even rent out part of a local movie theater to make it a real treat for your families! Offer popcorn and soft drinks or other treats to make it extra special. Go the extra mile and give out movie tickets before the event for families to use as invite tools!
2) Family Game Day
Invite your families to come for a fun afternoon or evening of playing all kinds of fun and creative board games! You can set up tables with different games from Hungry, Hungry Hippo to Pictionary or even Twister. This is a great way to encourage families to play together and get to know other families. Of course offering snacks and refreshments is a bonus!
3) Roller-skating
Reserve your local roller-skating rink for a few hours and invite families to come and bring friends! You can play kid-friendly music and even have competitions like races and limbo. It is also a great way to share Christ’s love with the staff at the skating rink by treating them well. Lots of families that may have never visited your church might love the opportunity to roller skate during spring break and be introduced to your faith community in a non-intimidating way.
4) Epic Easter Egg Hunt
Most spring breaks fall on the calendar near Easter. Kids love Easter Egg Hunts. Your church could host a giant Easter Egg Hunt in a popular local park or on your church campus. It is fun to hide special prizes in some of the eggs and makes the hunt more challenging for some of the older children. If you do it right before Easter it also provides an opportunity for families to visit your church for an Easter service!
5) Scavenger Hunt
A fun way to involve families with older children is to plan a Scavenger Hunt that will take them to different places in your town, like the library, grocery store, popular restaurant, etc. You can post clues on your church Facebook or Instagram site and even split your participants into teams that can work together. It takes some pre-planning but this event will create lasting memories and is a great opportunity for outreach. You can also design the clues to be geared for youth and/or younger children.
6) Pool or Water Party
You can rent the local YMCA pool or a community pool and invite families out for a pool party! Hire lifeguards and provide pool toys and spend an afternoon of water fun! If you don’t have access to a pool, you can also plan a Water Day at your church. Play games with water balloons, sprinkler toys and water guns. Top the day off with popsicles for everyone and it will be a hit!!
7) Serve Others Day
Plan a day full of opportunities for families to serve others in the community. It could include doing yard work for an elderly member of the community, picking up trash at a local park, packing supply bags for homeless individuals, cleaning out closets at the church or helping stock shelves at your local food bank. There are many opportunities in your community to help out and extra time during spring break is the perfect chance to be the hands and feet of Christ. Serving together as a family creates strong and healthy bonds and lasting memories.
8) Visit the Museum
Invite families to visit the local museum together. Children will have fun experiencing the museum with friends and parents can spend some time getting to know one another. It is a great opportunity to explore what your own city has to offer!
9) Family Picnic/Cookout
Invite families to come together at a local park with a playground for a picnic and/or cookout. The church can provide the main dish and ask families to each bring sides to share. What a great time for families to connect in a casual setting and spend time together!
10) Ice Cream Social
Set up a giant ice cream bar with all the fixin’s! Children love having the freedom to add whipped cream, sprinkles, gummy bears and all the other yummies to their very own sundaes! Especially during the warmer spring days meeting other families for ice cream can be such a treat!
All of these ideas are designed to allow families the opportunity to socialize, make memories and invite friends! Spring break is about experiencing fun together as a family and creating lasting memories! Certainly our churches don’t want to miss the chance to facilitate this and become a part of those memories!!
Do you have a favorite spring break childhood memory?
