In the Ojeda home, we know all too well how hard it is to keep from getting caught up in the hustle and bustle of life. Between finishing our college degrees, pastoring a thriving church, raising two little tots, trying to stay healthy, working full time jobs, having a social life and self-care time, the time left to spend with our family is slim to none... if we let it be so. The family is a beautifully complex institution that was created by God but somehow; I have become guilty of making it a box to check off on a to-do list which is no bueno!

Prioritizing family time is a must! If you don’t have a strong family, what do you really have in life? In our home, regardless of the busyness of life, we have become intentional about prioritizing our family time. Planning quality time together doesn’t always have to take the form of some grandiose event. Sometimes, family time can be simplistic in nature but equally effective.

If you are strapped for ideas on how to incorporate more time for the family that doesn’t involve an electronic device, here’s a few things we like to do that may be beneficial for you as well:

Play a game together. If you don’t have any board games, you should invest in 4 good ones that you can alternate between. Our favorites are scrabble, apples to apples, sequence, and trouble. A little healthy competition is great for the family and creates a lot of laughs and good memories. If you have little ones like we do, you can wrestle with them, do a kid friendly puzzle, build a castle, blow bubbles, play hide and seek, or build a fort (they will looooove that).

Get outside and go on a walk. We love to go to the local outdoor mall with our kiddos and walk around with them. Fresh air is good for the soul and going for a walk is great for getting those steps in! We also love to put our kids in the wagon or the stroller and  go to different parks where we can find different trails to explore. Experiencing nature together is a great way to spend quality time and keep you mindful of the goodness of God all at the same time.

Eat dinner together. There’s something special that happens when you share a meal together with your tribe. En la casa de Ojeda, we love to eat dinner together because it’s a great way to reconnect after a long day apart from each other and it helps us to debrief and share great conversation. My favorite part about dinner is the prayer we do before hand, especially when Eliana (our 3-year-old) leads with such pure and simplistic thankfulness.

Take a family trip. Impromptu family trips are so much fun! Every once in a while, we will wake up and opt to pack an overnight bag, jump in the family car and drive to some random location away from everything that is familiar to us. The kids often request snacks and Disney songs, and I love to bring my blanket to snuggle up with while my husband drives us to God knows where. The adventure of it all is fun! New sights, new people, new experiences, and new everything together with the family is exciting. Spontaneity is bliss so, whether your destination is in a cabin, a beach, a tent in the woods, or on a crew ship, just do it!

Create in the kitchen. As we attempt to improve our health and our eating, we have been trying out some new recipes to mix things up a little bit. The kids love to be in the kitchen when we are cooking so we have tried to find small ways to include them. Last week, my husband allowed my daughter to help him bake a cake and I occasionally allow my son to sprinkle a seasoning or two or bring me the dry ingredients. It’s a combination of teaching home economics and quality time also known as two birds, one stone.

Find local events. We live in a large metropolitan area where there is always something going on (except when there is a massive global pandemic happening). Normally, I check Facebook or Eventbrite to see what’s happening in some of the surrounding areas. We have gone to things such as festivals, a pancake breakfast with Santa, music in the park, a pumpkin patch, and a Memorial Day parade in the past and they were all equally different yet, exciting new experiences for us. Finding a local event helps to keep your time with the tribe mixed up a little.

I could go on for a while but, I feel like you are picking up what I am putting down. There is a variety of other things you can do together as a family. Time is fleeting and you only live once; why not spend it relishing in new experiences with the ones you love?

We would love to hear some of your “family first” ideas so, be sure to comment below!

Written by: Teah Ojeda