Bringing Back Quality Time: Fun & Easy Dinner Family Activities

Sharing is Caring!

We have a bedtime routine. We have a morning routine. But what about an after-dinner routine? That sacred time between finishing our meals and getting ready for bed? It used to be filled with laughter, conversation, and connection—until screens and distractions quietly crept in.

Lately, I’ve been feeling a bit ugh about how our evenings look. We finish dinner, clear plates, and then somehow the entire house goes into its default mode of chaos: the kids scatter, my husband mindlessly scrolls on his phone, and I stare at the kitchen like it personally betrayed me.

So, I decided to be intentional about reclaiming our post-dinner family time—without making it feel like another task on the to-do list.

And because I’m all about low-effort, high-connection activities, I’ve come up with six ridiculously easy ways to bring back family time—without it feeling like an exhausting Pinterest project.

1. A Giant Puzzle That Lives on the Table Forever

The secret to tricking your family into accidental togetherness? Leave a puzzle out. Not in a box. Not in a drawer. Just out on the table, tempting people to wander over, pick up a piece, and join in.

We started doing this after Hallmark sent us a puzzle (yes, that Hallmark), and to my surprise, everyone—even my too-cool-for-this preteen—got sucked into it. What started as a casual activity quickly turned into a full-blown (and maybe even healthy) addiction. There’s something weirdly therapeutic about fitting tiny pieces together, even when half of them end up on the floor and the dog eats one.

Pro tip: Start with a puzzle of something everyone loves (Harry Potter, Star Wars, Taylor Swift’s face—whatever). The more invested they are, the less likely they’ll abandon it for TikTok.

2. Coloring Isn’t Just for Toddlers Anymore

Remember when coloring was just a thing kids did while we sipped coffee in peace? Yeah, turns out, coloring is actually therapeutic—for all of us.

Now we have a whole stack of adult coloring books (aka “Mom’s Sanity Pages”) and kid-friendly ones, and we just sit, chat, and color like we’re in some cozy little Parisian café instead of our disaster of a kitchen.

💡 Make it fun: Pick a shared theme each week, like superheroes, nature scenes, or mandalas. Try a collaborative approach by working on one giant coloring sheet together!

3. Board Games, But Make Them Actually Doable on a Weeknight

I love the idea of family game night, but I do not love the two-hour commitment of Monopoly, or the emotional destruction of Uno (looking at you, Draw Four).

So we keep it short and fun. Our go-tos?
✅ Suspend – Basically Jenga, but with sticks and less divorce potential.
✅ Kings of Tokyo – A fast-paced, dice-rolling game where you get to be a giant monster and destroy things.
✅ Do You Really Know Your Family? – A hilarious mix of conversation starters and challenges that somehow always leads to ridiculous stories, unexpected confessions, and at least one person laughing so hard they snort.

And sometimes we don’t even play a game. We just pull out a stack of brain teasers or riddles and let the chaos unfold. Did you know kids can argue for 20 solid minutes over whether a riddle answer technically counts? Because they can.

4. Read-Alouds (Yes, Even for Big Kids)

Reading doesn’t have to be a solo activity. Some nights, instead of everyone scattering to their screens, we gather in the living room and take turns reading a book together. Even if everyone is reading their own book, the shared experience of quiet time together is special.

We keep it low-key: sometimes I read aloud, sometimes we listen to an audiobook, sometimes we all read different books but stay in the same room because that counts as family time, okay?

Best choices for a read-aloud?
📚 Anything funny (The Best Worst Christmas Pageant Ever is gold)
📚 Anything mysterious (hello, A Series of Unfortunate Events)
📚 Anything nostalgic (Harry Potter, Percy Jackson)

Or, if we’re too tired to read, we just throw on a kid-friendly podcast and chill. (I highly recommend Brains On! for curious kids who like to interrupt with “WAIT, DID YOU KNOW…” every five seconds.)

5. The After-Dinner Walk That Feels Like a Reset Button

Getting everyone back into their shoes and outside after dinner might sound like a challenge, but a short, relaxing walk can be a game-changer. It gives everyone a chance to talk, decompress, and reset before the nighttime routine kicks in.

💡 Why it works: Movement helps digestion, fresh air improves sleep, and conversations seem to flow more easily when walking side by side.

6. Friendly Family Challenges

Want to bring some laughter into your evenings? Try quick, silly family challenges like:

• Tongue twisters: “She sells seashells by the seashore” – who can say it the fastest?
• Riddles & brain teasers: “The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?” (Answer: Footsteps!)
• Minute-to-Win-It games: Who can stack the most dice on a spoon in 60 seconds?

💡 Bonus idea: Create a family leaderboard and keep track of who wins the most challenges each month. The winner gets to pick dessert or a fun weekend activity!

Making It a Thing (Without Making It a Chore)

I’m not saying we do this every single night. Some nights, the kids disappear upstairs, and I don’t have the energy to summon them back. Some nights, we all stare at our phones, and that’s fine, too.

But the nights we do make the effort? Those are the ones that stick.
Those are the nights that make me think: This is what I want them to remember.

Not just homework and chores and brushing their teeth while running late for school—but the little moments. The laughter. The connection. The feeling of being a family, even in the middle of our beautifully messy, busy lives.

What about you? How do you make time for family fun after dinner? Share your favorite traditions in the comments—I’d love to hear what works in your home!

Sharing is Caring!