The following is a guest post from Mike from The Outdoors Dad.
A Low Key Father and Son Day Out
When some people think about taking their kids out for a day of outdoor activities they automatically assume that it is going to be some sort of special event which comes with lots of fanfare and meticulous planning.
In fact, if you get into the habit of enjoying days out with your children then it becomes a normal occasion which you can approach in a low key way and still thoroughly enjoy. A good example came a few weeks ago when we went out to the countryside for a picnic and a treasure hunt.
Last Minute Planning
Most of the best trips we have are those which are arranged at the last minute. On this occasion, I woke up at about 7 on a Saturday morning and only then started thinking about what we might do that day. When I looked in on the boys they were watching a cartoon about looking for treasure and this give me the idea of doing a treasure hunt. An hour later we were on the road with no hassle at all. We like to get our journey started and then stop for breakfast on the way, so this helps us get out of the house a lot more quickly than if we sat around drinking coffee and eating for an hour.
A Great Picnic
As far as I am concerned, a great picnic should be the centerpiece of any day out with the kids. We all love to eat and this is also a time when you can sit down together and talk about things while you recharge your batteries. We all have our own duties to carry out now and we got on with preparing some sandwiches and freshly squeezed lemonade with a minimum of fuss. The first times we went out together it took about three hours to get the food ready but now we can do it in no time of at all. As always, we left the plates completely empty and then sat around for a while chatting while we waited for our energy levels to build back up again.
A Low Key Treasure Hunt
The first time I devised a treasure hunt for the boys I sweated over the clues for two weeks. Now I do it in about 20 minutes if I am feeling inspired. While they went to look for fish in the river I rattled off 6 clues which would lead them to the prize of a couple of books which I knew that they really wanted. They got the first clue right away but it took a couple of subtle hints from me for the second one to get solved. After this it was pretty easy for them and soon they were sitting under a tree reading their new books. I think this day out goes to prove that you can relax and enjoy a quality family outdoors trip without a lot of expense or getting all worked about it. The next time I might even take it really easy and get them to organize a treasure hunt for me.
