Spend quality time with your family by making “dates”

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and The Coca-Cola Company. All opinions are mine alone. #MyHonestTea #CollectiveBias

I wrote about setting priorities the other day, and to spend quality time with family is one I feel is important. In addition to having dinner together each night, each weekend my family committed to doing an activity together outside of the house. This past weekend, that activity was hiking and a picnic!

Make “dates” to spend quality time with your family

1. Agree as a family what activity you’ll be doing together.

2. Pack some drinks, snacks, and lunch to bring with you- but don’t overcomplicate.

Did you know September is National Organic month? I grabbed some Honest® Tea at Kroger via my local Ralph’s store and was excited to see they have special pricing 4 for $5 through October 24! Our favorite flavor is orange mango, but I also like the peach.

Ralphs had Honest® Tea stocked where there are sports drinks and bottled tea. Find a Kroger or Kroger banner store near you.

Until I found Honest® Tea, the bottled tea drinks available were too sweet. Honest® TeaTea is brewed with real tea leaves, just like you’d make at home. I love how this drink doesn’t taste artificial! As a perfect drink for everyone in the family to enjoy, I packed them to enjoy during our hike.

With our Honest® Tea drinks ready to go, we were off. Since I have the pickiest eating kids on the planet, for activities like these it’s easier for us to grab take-out sandwiches based on each person’s preference, rather than having me make something different for each person in the family. This was our plan.

3. Set a time range for your family activity

Our activity was hiking in Palos Verdes, California at Portuguese Bend. We set a timeline for 3 hours which was good to tell the kids so they knew not to complain asking, “When are we going home?” As teens, they are fighting for their independence and we’re in a stage where they prefer hanging out without us! Sniff.

Each member of the family carried food & drinks to lighten the load for mom and dad.

4. Keep it light

For active time together where our main goal is to hang out, we keep it light. This hike was about 2 miles round trip. The beautiful viewpoints allowed us to stop and appreciate the landscape.

5. Keep things simple

Once we found a shady resting area, it was time for lunch! We used the cloth bags we brought to lay out our food and sat on the grass.
I love this new tradition we’ve set for my family to have “dates” with each other. Being intentional about how we spend our time – it’s important! Schedule in time to spend with your loved ones. It seems like it is a given, but when life takes over and as our kids get older, it’s not as easy as it sounds.
If you haven’t tried Honest® Tea yet, grab some while they are having their 4 for $5 sale during National Organic month! If you like tea, you’ll love these bottled drinks.
Visit my post, Prioritize Your Time with These 5 Tips for more ideas on setting priorities!

“Flavor Your Life with an Ounce of Salt.” A lifestyle blog by Jen Oliak.