One of the biggest challenges that I’ve found as a parent is coming up with activities that are fun for the whole family. Can you relate? I do a lot of small things during the week with my kids, like reading, going to the park, baking, and playing board and card games, but any activity that we do as a family on the weekends (that takes more than 15 minutes) is much more geared toward Philip and my interests. I want to spend time together, but have no desire to play cars for an entire afternoon (sorry, that’s about as boring as it gets in my book). I certainly don’t need or want to do something big every day, but every few weeks, on the weekend, I want something bigger and special.

Yes, there are a million crafty and creative ideas on Pinterest that could take up an afternoon, but they often take so much effort. I mean, the prep work alone — choosing an idea, gathering materials, and then prepping for the activity — is practically a whole day of work in and of itself. Then I end up making the entire craft myself because it’s too complex for a 3-year-old, or it comes out totally differently than I planned, or it’s not even that fun of a project after all (and I just spent a day preparing for it), and that just sucks all the fun out of it for me.

Apparently this is bringing out some baggage…whew.

Basically, I want quality play time with my kids, but I need activities that are easy, a little creative, require little to no prep work, and take up at least a few hours of the day. Is that too much to ask??

It turns out it’s not.

TogetherBox is a brand new monthly subscription box that pretty much fits this bill perfectly. They sent us a box a few weeks ago and as soon as I opened it, I was sold. The first month’s Box, which they call the Bug Box, was filled with a bunch of really cool, but simple, materials that were good for at least five Bug-themed activities (some more extensive and some quick and easy). The best part is that all the activities work for kids of all ages, and can all be adapted to fit your time frame, situation, and needs. For me, it was a heaven-sent box. We spent an entire day, on and off, doing each of the activities. We got out of the house, did smaller activities at home while the baby slept, did some as a family and some with just Peanut and me, and we overall had the funnest day. There’s a few photos of our day below!

Today I’m teaming up with TogetherBox to give away two Bug Boxes to two lucky winners! Enter below (or if you can’t wait, use code ‘merricksart’ to get 50% off your first month!)

Enter with the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win one of two Bug Boxes from TogetherBox! The giveaway will run through this Friday at midnight!

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