This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of On-Cor. The opinions and text are all mine.
You may have noticed that I didn’t make a New Year’s Resolution post this year. Usually I have a long list of goals that I want to work on throughout the year but this year I decided to keep it simple and really focus on what was important. In years past I had a laundry list of things like “read 10 books” and “save money” and that was great and all (and still things I’d love to do) but this year I have only two things I’m going to focus on- self-care and more family time. For the later, I brainstormed things I wanted to do more of with my kids in 2018 so I thought I’d share them. Obviously, “more family time” is really broad but I figured I’d come up with 12 ideas- one for each month of the year- of what I want to do more of with my boys.
I want to eat dinner together more often.
We used to eat dinner together every night but it doesn’t happen as often as I’d like it to anymore between sports schedules and work schedules. I’ve found that making easy meals, like On-Cor Frozen meals, is the best way to make this happen because they are ready in just minutes. I’ve stocked up on some of our microwave favorites and hearty entrées, like the Macaroni & Cheese, Penne Pasta & Meatballs with Tomato Sauce and the “Selects” Lasagna with Meat Sauce, so I’m always ready for “one of those” nights I’m too busy to cook.
I want to travel more as a family.
This past year we didn’t go nearly as many places as I would have liked to so I hope to travel more in 2018. Traveling with my family and introducing them to new places is one of my favorite things to do! Hopefully we will visit a handful of places here in the Midwest and take at least one or two longer vacations.
I want to have more family game nights.
We used to have game night pretty much every Friday so I’d love to get back to that now that the holidays are over. We got a number of new games as well so there are plenty to play. Whether we sit in front of the cozy fireplace or play on our back porch in the warmer months, game time is a great way to start the weekend off right.
I want to bake more with my kids.
Lucas baked cookies with Daddy on New Year’s Eve and it made him so happy! Though baking can be very messy I think that it’s something that is worth the mess. (Plus warm cookies out of the oven are one of the best things ever.) I have a new cookbook with kid-friendly recipes that I can’t wait to make with my kids.
I want to spend time together exploring local towns.
When the boys were younger we’d visit a new local place weekly and it was so fun to discover all the things there were to do that were just a short drive away. From going on paddleboats to visiting the zoo to hiking to a hidden waterfall, spending the day together exploring local towns is a fun way to spend the day together (and it’s much more enjoyable than spending the day cleaning!)
I want to spend more time doing puzzles together.
I love puzzles and the boys do as well. We have a big table in our tv room now that’s perfect for puzzles so I hope to always have a puzzle out that we can work on here and there.
I want to go on more family walks.
Walking around with no destination in mind is a nice way to spend an afternoon. Whether we are walking slowly down a bike path on a warm, sunny afternoon or exploring the streets of a little Michigan town on a cold, snowy day, it’s nice to just spend time together walking around and seeing what we find.
I want to spend more time crafting together.
In 2018 I hope to make a lot more crafts together. From decorations to gifts, there is so much that we can make ourselves and I think it would be fun to create things with them.
I want to spend more time playing with my boys, especially when they are playing outside.
Whether it’s playing tag or tossing around a football, I hope to participate in whatever my boys are playing instead of just sitting and watching them play.
I want to spend more time camping.
I’ve camped since I was a little girl and last summer I really came to realize all the amazing benefits of camping. There’s just something about being in nature, away from most of our technology, that creates the perfect atmosphere for quality family time making great memories together.
I want to read more books together.
When the boys were little we read books every day but now that they are older we don’t read together as much. I want to find some good chapter books and read them together, a chapter at a time.
I want to spend more time together talking (and truly listening).
My boys are getting older and I’m realizing that soon enough they are going to prefer talking to friends over their mom. I really want to practice being a better listener, even when they are telling me hour long stories about stuff they’ve watched on YouTube.
There are so many ways to connect as a family and I’m looking forward to a year of rediscovering all of the fun things we have done in the past. What is your favorite thing to do with your family?
If you are busy, but still want to make meal time together a priority this year like I do, you’ll want to check out On-Cor’s line of entrées. On-Cor is just a freezer away for an always easy, always satisfying and always ready solution for “one of those nights.” Their frozen, fully-cooked meals are conveniently packaged and ready to heat and serve so you can spend more time making memories and less time in the kitchen. The multi-serve entrée products feature popular flavors and varieties including Macaroni & Cheese, made with 100% real cheese, which is one of our favorites.
For your next family meal, head to the freezer aisle of Jewel (or check out the store locator at www.on-cor.com) to pick up one of On-Cor’s entrées. You’ll also want to enter the giveaway because it includes a coupon for a free On-Cor entrée!
I’d love to hear what things you love to do with your family and what New Year’s Resolutions you have in the comments below.
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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of On-Cor. The opinions and text are all mine.
You sound like me! There is SO much I want to do with my family! You only get so many years and it can be hard to pack it all in there. We make sure to eat together almost every night. We put phones away and just talk! I Love it!
I love getting outside with my family. We live within walking distance of a river, and spend a lot of time there. It makes doing even little things, a bit of adventure for us.
I want to eat dinner with my family more often, too. It’s hard with all our activities, but I am going to try!
There are so many things I want to do more of with my family. Cutting down on my time in the kitchen helps me do them!
This is such a sweet list! Exploring and adventure are on my list, too for 2018 – I just want to break free from the everyday routine!
We like to spend time as a family by doing activities together, eating meals together and playing games or toys.
I’m really making an effort to do more fun things with my family! This weekend we spend time in Sedona and really enjoyed the lovely red rocks! I also need to do a better job of eating at home as a family!
Love the post so sincere and well intended. All kids want is to be given a little attention. Listening and talking is so special
This is so nice! It is so easy to get caught up in life and before you know it weeks go by before you do something together. My family loves to explore the outdoors together, whether it’s fishing or hiking.
First off, your kids are so adorable! Dinner together, just talking, is one of my favorite things to do with my kids! I hope you get to do these things more with your kids!
Oh I love all of these!
They grow up so fast and you realize how much you missed out with life flying by.
I think I need to steal some of these for my own list :)
I want to do a lot more with my kids this year as well. You’ve got a wonderful list and most of these would be on mine as well. That mac and cheese sure does look delicious too!
We like spending time at a local park taking hikes.
I love your list of things you want to do with your kids this year! The time goes by way too fast until they are grown so it’s important to savor the moments.
I so would love to travel more with my kids. I want to enjoy our time as a family!
A great post for the new year. Starting off with some great goals and that mac n cheese is making me hungry!
I really love these ideas! Realistic and fun goals for this year!
My kids are growing as well and they need my time. I am completely agree with you even I too have some similar goals for 2018.
we like to go hiking together
We have family game nights and also go on bike rides when the weather allows it.
We love to watch Disney movies!
One of my favorite ways to spend time with my family is by having dinner together. I love when everyone is home and we can all sit down together to enjoy dinner and catch up.
We like to hike and camp together.
My resolution for 2018 is to spend quality time with my family. Everyone is so busy with their lives — I’m going to make a real effort to do something special once a month with my one of my grown boys, parents or sister.
I love going hiking with my family when the weather is nice.
We like to eat dinner together
One of our favorite ways to spend time together as a family is playing board games.
I like to have BBQ’s with them
We like to play board games.
we like going to the park and movie night
We like to have family movie night with popcorn and snacks.
We like going for walks and talking about our day after dinner!
i like to spend time with my family outdoors, especially in the pool when the weather is nice.
We always eat dinner together, and take our puggy on walks.
We like to go for walks, play games and watch movies.
We love to play board games.
I like to spend time with my family cooking a huge traditional meal and then eating it together. I don’t like doing the dishes though!
watching movies together or having dinner or just sitting around and talking with each other
I love game nights, movie time, and even homework time.
We spend family time riding bikes, taking walks and movie nights. The best time is our time spent together.
Lately we’ve been painting rocks and putting positive remarks on them and going to put on friends’ porches and in the community to encourage people.
arts and crafts when inside and we love to go out and fish and the kiddos like riding the tractor with Papa and feeding the neighbor horses every time we buy a bag of apples for them. We like being outside and getting away from the tv.
Playing board games!
I love playing games with my son. Whether it’s make-believe, puzzles, or just being silly, it’s always a blast!
I am so excited that my kiddos are getting old enough to play games. Their Dad and I love board games and my toddlers are just getting to the point where they can sit still long enough to play. Playing together as a family is definitely one of our New Year Resolutions in 2018.
I like to spend time with my family watching movies or playing out in the yard. Really as long as we are all together I’m one happy Mama!
We, as a family, operate our cat shelter and feed the feral cats in the woods that we do our best to take care of.
I like to have family movie and game nights! Everyone has a ton of fun, we have lots of snacks, cuddles, and laughs doing our favorite thing!
I love cooking with my kids my son has to eat GF he has celiacs so we cook and then we watch great movies together or play games too.
I like to go to state parks and other such places and hike with my family
That’s such a great list… I want to indulge my kids in more creative activities this year…
Kids activities and balance of family life is one of the hardest things we do as parents. I know many times I am tired and I want to say no to a simple game or reading a book but I also know those times we say yes even though we are tired end up turning into special moments with our kids.