Fun, New Traditions You Can Do With Your Whole Family Year After Year

There are certain times of the year that you know you will be getting together with your family – Thanksgiving, the holidays, maybe a birthday – but you shouldn’t have to wait for a special occasion to spend time with the fam. Other annual family gatherings can be set up, but you’ll want to make it something fun and memorable, an event everyone who attends will look forward to year after year. Here are some ideas for new traditions that definitely fit the bill:

SPORTING EVENT:

If your family has a favorite sport or team, or just enjoys the excitement that comes from watching a good game in person, grab a block of tickets to a sporting event, or maybe even splurge for a suite. Whether it’s the majors or the minors, you can eat and chat, catch up and maybe even catch a foul ball.

DINNER AND A SHOW:

Thanksgiving and other holiday dinners don’t need to be the only time you eat with family. Arrange one earlier in the year to break bread with all your relatives. Perhaps go somewhere fancy or maybe to an all-you-can-eat buffet or just a favorite restaurant that you and your family can look forward to patronizing annually. You can also pair the meal with a movie or better yet, a theatrical production that you can all enjoy.

GAME NIGHT:

Instead of hosting for the holidays or a birthday, host a get-together for a different reason. Call in all the relatives and have them each bring their favorite board game, then spend a few hours laughing and playing. You can have adults vs. kids, cousins vs. cousins, young vs. old or even set up some brackets and hold a tournament. Make sure winners get a special prize to recognize their victory and help them always remember the day.

COMMUNITY SERVICE:

Few things can bring a family closer together than helping others. Meet up with your relatives and come up with a way to bring aid to those in need. Each year, you can do something different, from organizing a coat drive to lending a hand at a soup kitchen to volunteering at a pet shelter. During that time, you and your loved ones can bond over all the good you are bringing into the world. For more idea on how to help, head to DoSomething.org.

PAINTING PARTY:

If your family has the creative gene, or even if they don’t, having an annual painting party can be a blast. Everyone there is taught exactly how to paint the same objects or landscape, yet the results definitely vary. It’s not just a unique way to spend time together, but everyone will leave with their painting as a souvenir from the experience. As the years go on, you can display the art in a hall and each time you pass by the pictures, you’ll be reminded of the time you spent with your loved ones.

WATER PARK:

If you’re looking for a fun way to spend a day with the extended fam, a waterpark offers everything you could need – unforgettable slides and comfortable places to sit and catch up with relatives as the kids enjoy themselves, and if you like thrills, you'll have a blast too. However, if you want to do even more than that, the Showboat in Atlantic City just opened Island Water Park, the world’s largest indoor beachside water park. With tons of slides for all ages, a surf simulator, a lazy river and a special area for younger kids, there is a lot to do, plus they offer rentable cabanas, an adults section, and private rooms, including a 30-foot-tall indoor tree house, so there are plenty of places to relax.

Meanwhile, the hotel also boasts newly renovated rooms, a roller skating rink, a mini-golf course, an indoor go-kart track and the biggest arcade in New Jersey. Best of all, since it’s all indoors, you and your fam can enjoy it anytime of year. All that in Atlantic City, where the adults can gamble and everyone can enjoy some of the new live music venues, restaurants and bars that recently opened. Learn more about the Showboat at their site.

WOODLOCH RESORT:

If your family loves a day full of things to do, then a trip to Pennsylvania's Woodloch Resort is a must. No matter the season, there are all sorts of fun options to do there, every day, for all ages. The destination, which boasts all-inclusive options that see you and your family spending every delicious meal together, also offers every kind of activity, from trivia and games that work the mind, to crafts and cupcake wars that work the creative muscle, to just about every sport you can think of to get you active, no matter if it is winter, spring, summer or fall.

The list of possible ways to spend the day at Woodloch with your family is long, but some items on it include go-karts, bumper cars, a rock climbing wall, zip lining, paintball, snow tubing, bumper boats, ice skating, frisbee golf, bocce, trap shooting, batting cages, pools, arcades, shuffleboard, indoor and outdoor playgrounds, archery, Bingo, and mini golf, plus there is a beach in the warm months by the lake, where you can also go out on row boats, kayaks and paddle boats.

If you or your family excel at anything, you might even win yourself a medal, which are given out every day to the person, persons or family who win each activity.

There is also plenty of entertainment. Nightly shows include magicians, comedians, jugglers, singers, ventriloquists and even large-scale Broadway-like productions.

Spending time every year with your family at Woodloch is akin to going to camp with your loved ones, just in much nicer accommodations than bunks. Learn more at Woodloch.com.

BEACHES RESORT:

Families looking for the ultimate annual get-together will want to book some time at Beaches Resort, and they won’t be alone. Many guests who travel to one of the Beaches locations in Jamaica and Turks and Caicos are there with their family for the fifth, tenth or even 20th year. Plenty of amazing perks keep them coming back year after year, and since the resort is all-inclusive, all the gourmet food, creative drinks, exciting land and water activities, lavish accommodations and even the airport transfers are included in the price. Also free of charge – the incredible Kids Camp, which only employs certified nannies who make sure all the children are having a blast.

It isn’t too difficult to keep kids happy at Beaches, there is a huge water park, games, crafts, shows and Sesame Street characters who walk around the property for meet and greets. Beaches also caters to older kids. Tweens and teens have their own camp where they can spend time playing video games, sports, or dancing at the resort’s club. Of course, adults have many options as well, from romantic dinners, excursions, treatments at the world class spa, and soaking up the sun on a gorgeous beach.

But best of all are the options for families to do together, like snorkeling, paddle boarding, kayaking, shuffleboard, croquet, basketball, volleyball, swimming, floating, pool games and the assurance of making memories that will last a lifetime. Learn more at Beaches.com.