Ideas for a great labor day weekend

This Labor Day, skip the big parties and barbecues and enjoy spending your day off with the family. Whether it’s low-key or action-packed, Labor Day provides the perfect chance to relax and connect with your family. Try these activities for a fun, family-focused day.

1. Hiking
Grab backpacks, comfortable shoes, and layers of clothing, and a lot of water, and take off on a nature hike at a nearby park or nature reserve. Teach kids how to read a map by downloading a map of the area online or grabbing one from the park’s office. Bring along a book on leaves and birds to explore and name all that’s around you.

2. Volunteering
Check-in with your local food bank, animal shelter, or religious organization and see what sort of volunteering opportunities they have for the long weekend. Many non-profits schedule their fundraising efforts around Labor Day weekend, so it’s a perfect time to get your family plugged into a cause close to your heart.

3. Food festival
Get your taste buds revved up and visit the nearest Labor Day food festival. From the Southeast to the Northwest, there is plenty of fantastic food finds during Labor Day weekend.

4. Make a movie
Grab your video camera and make a documentary of a day in the life of your family. Interview family members about their favorite things to do, memories from the past, and hopes for the future. Be sure to catch plenty of fun family moments — you’ll treasure this for years to come.

5. Local sporting event
Root for the home team and attend a local sporting event in your area. From major league to little league, your family will enjoy taking in the excitement of a game together.

6. Try a new cuisine
Explore a cuisine that the kids have never tried before, like Ethiopian, Korean BBQ, Brazilian, or Japanese. Before heading to the restaurant, spend some time researching the region, locate it on a map, and find out a few unique customs.

7. Make and fly kites
Using a traditional kite pattern, paint and decorate kites using glitter, markers, ribbon, and whatever else you have on hand. Using plenty of string and a good gust of wind, fly the kites outdoors. Make it a competition and split into teams, challenge one another to see which kite stays in the air the longest.

8. Freezer cooking
Perfect for a rainy Labor Day, organize your kitchen into workstations and have the family create meals to freeze for the months ahead. Casseroles, cookie dough, and pasta sauce work the best. You’ll enjoy the time together and the money savings!

9. Backyard camping
Get up early in the morning and head out camping — in your backyard! Bring all of the supplies necessary for a day and night out and restrict going inside the house to emergencies only. Pitch a tent, roast marshmallows, tell ghost stories, and sleep under the starry skies. This is a perfect way to introduce kids to camping.

10. Talent show
Who knew Grandma was such a great dancer? At breakfast, introduce the idea for a family talent show night. Throughout the day, have someone make the program, while the performers have the day to prepare. Have your camera ready!