Fabulous Fives: Our Favorite Top Five Lists for Tween and Teen Family Time

Parents love to dote on little kids, but teens and tweens can be every bit as fun to hang out with — if not more. Teens are creative, clever, and an absolute blast to spend time with, and they’re generally a lot easier to clean up after than little kids.

Despite their ever-increasing need for more independence, tweens and teens still need plenty of love, support, and family time. And the closer they get to graduation, the more precious every little moment with them starts to become — even if they also need plenty of time to hang out with friends or hide out in their bedrooms. To help you split the difference, here’s a collection of favorite top five lists to fill your family fun fuel tank this summer.

Five Tabletop Game Ideas

1. Play Dungeons and Dragons together at a local gaming store.
2. Teach your kids chess (or learn it together).
3. Try out some new games at Shuffles Board Game Cafe.
4. Print and play some board games (like The Keeyp).
5. Create your own family board game.

Five Video Game Ideas

1. Download a mobile game you can play together (Super Auto Pets is a blast).
2. Play an online multiplayer console game together (Fallout 76 is a favorite for older teens).
3. Invest in a party or multiplayer game like Mario Party.
4. Visit a VR gaming center.
5. Spend the evening at the arcade.

Five Ideas for a Fun Family Night Out

1. Visit a rage room — Tulsa has several and most are ages 12 and up.
2. Try throwing axes — most ax-throwing spots are 12 and up and offer knives or throwing stars, which are easier to handle for some teens.
3. Head to the drive-in with a carload full of blankets and pillows to create a hangout spot with.
4. Watch a concert or movie night at Guthrie Green — they’ll be hosting events all summer long.
5. Have a family campout in your own backyard.

Five Ideas for a Fun Family Night In

1. Use YouTube to host your own karaoke night or sing-along.
2. Use YouTube to learn some new dances together.
3. Host your own family scavenger hunt in the style of GISHWHES (The Greatest Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen).
4. Create the ultimate pillow and blanket fort.
5. Teach the kids a cooking lesson (or make something new together).

Five Family-Friendly Watch List Ideas

1. Psych (available on Peacock)
2. Supernatural (available on Netflix)
3. Doctor Who (available on Max and Disney)
4. Your kid’s favorite anime (for example, One Piece)
5. The entire Marvel catalog

Five Ways to Get Into a Good Cause

1. Participate in the Tulsa Really, Really Free Market
2. Make a point of getting to know your neighbors together and seeing how you can help out.
3. Volunteer with a local charity organization.
4. Fill your car up with water bottles and protein bars and share them with unsheltered folks on hot days together.
5. Volunteer to walk dogs at the animal shelter.

Five Ways to Get Some Fresh Air Together

1. Spend a day at the Gathering Place.
2. Go for walks around the block together.
3. Spend an afternoon hitting up yard sales.
4. Plant a garden in your backyard.
5. Build something together.

Five Big Things You Can Do Together

1. Attend a genre convention like Tokyo, OK (anime and pop culture) or GalaxyCon (pop culture convention in Oklahoma City).
2. Take your kid to a concert you know they’ll love — they’ll never forget it.
3. Spend the day on a ropes course together (or take the gentle route and visit a trampoline park).
4. Go on a float trip together.
5. Visit a theme park (and ride a roller coaster with them if they’re up for it).

Five New Things To Try Together

1. Make it a summer goal to taste test every single slushie in Tulsa — start at QuikTrip and Sonic.
2. Try out all the interesting-looking imported drinks at your neighborhood Asian grocery store.
3. Or try every Ramen noodle flavor you can find over the summer.
4. Load up on pastries at Pancho Anaya in East Tulsa.
5. Experiment until you perfect your own family smoothie or popsicle recipe.

Read Kristi Roe Owen’s Coffee Nebula blog at tulsakids.com/blog for additional tips for parenting teens/tweens, geeky content and more.