Take some time and write letters to family members or friends. It’s a great habit to get the kids into, and you don’t have to limit yourself to thank you notes.

Just think of all the people who would love to hear from you in a letter. Grandparents. Friends who have moved away or you’ve moved away from. Pen pals.

You can of course just send emails, but there is something about a handwritten letter that’s a little extra special. If your handwriting is as poor as mine is, you’ll have to take extra care to keep it legible. That’s the problem with typing everything.

For children still mastering their writing skills, this is a great and fun way to practice. They can even write to friends who are in the area. Kids get such a kick out of getting mail, and you can build up a habit between your kids and their friends.

It doesn’t get much simpler. Head outside and watch the sunset as a family. Especially if someone notices you’re having a particularly beautiful one.

I suppose you could also watch the sunrise, but only if you’re enough of an early bird to not mind getting up so early. I’m not.

You can generally do this from home. You can do this on vacation. You can drive someplace that has a really great view just to watch the sunset.

You probably won’t be surprised to hear that this was inspired by my 3 year old being very excited about seeing the sunset last night. It was very cute.

Many children love to draw. Yours may well draw just about chronically, with or without you. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be a family project.

You can have free drawing, where everyone draws as they please, or set up a theme, such as scenes from a recent family vacation.

Kids are often fascinated by how differently adults draw from how they do it. You may think that your artistic skills are nothing much, but your children probably won’t care!

The family game night is probably the classic way to have fun for free. Have someone pick a game, and start playing. You can have the kids take turns choosing games or come up with your own way of choosing.

My husband and I do this sometimes. He’s a fan of Cheapass Games. They’re very creative, and yes, affordable. Very little resemblance at all to the games you’ll see in the stores. If they need standard game pieces, they just suggest you raid one of the probably many board games you already own.

With young children like mine you may have to be flexible on the rules. It’s not just about playing a game, after all. It’s about having fun.

A little time cooking can be a great activity for parents to do with kids. You just keep the kids’ parts age appropriate, and of course make it fun. Although some kids do enjoy helping make dinner on a regular basis.

Cookies are the classic choice. If you don’t have a favorite recipe, one of the beautiful things about the Internet is how many ways you can look for one you’d like to try. The number of variations on the classic chocolate chip cookie alone is pretty amazing.

You can make some treats a bit healthier. My kids love my whole wheat waffles, for example. These freeze well, so you can make them any time of day. Reheat in the microwave and you have a good breakfast. My kids, at least, don’t notice the whole wheat at all.