We usually look forward to free days, thinking in advance about what to do on our day off. But what to do if what was planned suddenly fell through at the last moment or you didn’t have time to think of anything in advance? I suggest using the following ideas. So, how to spend Sunday, Saturday or any other day off fun and usefully?
- Go walk the 3 streets in the neighborhood and find here 10 corners that you have never been to before or that you didn’t pay attention to
- Write down the names books that you’ve been wanting to read for a long time, but just can’t get around to it.
- Go to the suburbs. Even in the snow. Even in the rain. Even in the heat. Go somewhere you've never been
- You can spend Sunday compiling a family tree of sorts. Write down interesting stories about your grandmothers and great-grandmothers
- Get out the old album and look at all the photos: Do you know all the relatives who are depicted on them? Maybe it's time to turn to your grandmother or mother to determine exactly who is who?
- Go to the hairdresser and change your hairstyle or hair color. Or maybe it's time to radically change your image?
- Clean out your email inbox. Unsubscribe from all unnecessary mailings, delete unnecessary emails, adjust your contact list, create groups for easy storage of important emails
- Let go of all other things and allow yourself to spend Sunday... reading your favorite book. Marina Tumovskaya wrote very interestingly about how and why reading began to turn from a relaxing activity into a “guilty pleasure” on the women’s website myJаne.
- Make a birthday calendar your friends and acquaintances
- Go horseback riding
- Write a paper letter someone you haven't seen for a long time
- Make a video about your family. Who knows, maybe he will become a YouTube discovery?!
- Imagine that you have to write an article for Wikipedia...about yourself - write your own biography
- You can do something on your day off... to get to know yourself: for example, take an interesting test.
- Go feed the pigeons or ducks in the park. If the time of year permits, bring rollerblades or rent them at the park.
- Go for a massage or “swap” a massage session with your husband or girlfriend
- If it's cold make your own mulled wine. Buy wine, fruit, cloves... Don't buy ready-made!
- Plant a houseplant
- Plant watercress, onions, parsley or other greens on the windowsill
- Spend your Sunday or other day off usefully - get busy cleaning your computer: remove all the junk from your desktop, reform folders, get rid of unnecessary programs or install those that have been needed for a long time
- Learn to do a trick
- Write a story about yourself– what will happen to you in 10 years
- Do some interesting origami thing
- Update the playlist on your phone by completely removing old music
- Clean out your closet and shelves and throw it away
- ... and what you don’t need, but may be useful to someone else - take a photo and post it
- Learn to juggle
- You can spend Sunday exploring your wardrobe (as I did in the article about): write a list of new things you need soon,
- Make a selection of tunes that make you want to live
- Buy previously untried herbal teas, and if it’s summer, try collecting the plants yourself and drying them for the winter
- Watch your favorite cartoon from childhood, if possible, you can do this on a day off with a friend or childhood friend
- Create a real or virtual inspiration board– from collages, travel memos, photographs, your favorite phrases
- Make soap self made
- Learn to eat with chopsticks
- Go to a specialty store for unusual spices
- Create your own recipe and cook a new dish
- Get out the garland and decorate the house– who said that garlands are only for the New Year?
- You can spend your Sunday preparing for the next trip: read useful articles about this and that
- Look old-old black and white film.
- Gather a group and play “Mafia” - Have a fun weekend!
- Buy wooden frames in advance, insert they contain photographs or interesting pictures and hang them on the wall
- Make your own decoration
- You can study on your day off reading your favorite blogs.
- Develop your abilities: if you are right-handed, try one day to do all the “right-handed” tasks use only your left hand, if left-handed - only right-handed
- Continuing the topic: insert reliable earplugs into your ears and spend several hours like this(including on the street) or blindfold yourself and try to move only by touch(at least around the house). Do this on the weekend with your family and gain valuable and rare experience!
- Make a big crossword puzzle
- Find out, what is face building, do a few exercises and decide, maybe it’s worth continuing?
- Go to a zoo or animal exhibition
- Start keeping a diary, your own blog or website.
- Make your own top the best ideas on how to spend Sunday
Wife and mother of two children. During the years of maternity leave, I realized the value of time and decided not to waste it on boring, uninteresting things, including office work. I am mastering the art of photography, changing bad habits for useful ones, learning to manage the most important things and see the magic in every day full of children and worries.
How is your day off? Is it always possible to spend it with pleasure? Does he charge you with positivity?
There was a time when we strongly associated Saturday and Sunday with a long string of household chores, fatigue and often quarrels. Naturally, on such days we did not recharge with energy, but lost the last drops of it.
Now we are convinced that the weekend is a great opportunity to relax, recharge with positivity, and share moments full of love and joy with loved ones. This is the “golden fund” of the family. Something that strengthens relationships and brings us all together. And what years later will remain in our memory as warm memories.
Through trial and error, we found our own way to spend the weekend correctly.
For those who are also looking, we offer ten tips that will help you, in any weather and with any financial capabilities, have a real chance to create your own day off.
Quote on Twitter
TIP 1. Plan your day off in advance
No, of course, there are happy accidents when improvisation goes off with a bang, and everyone is happy. You can not invent anything in advance and surrender to the flow of circumstances - but be prepared for the inevitable loss of time in a desperate search for ideas, which, moreover, may never appear. Before you know it, evening has come, you'll be back at work tomorrow, the weekend is over, and you haven't even felt anything...
Or you can not trust such an important matter to chance, but take everything into your own hands, decide how you want to spend this day, write a detailed script, prepare everything you need and act! In this case, an unforgettable weekend is almost inevitable. 
TIP 2. Be prepared for the fact that... the plan will “fly”!
If you are a master of time management with extensive experience, you can safely move on to tip #3 - this will not happen to you! But if you have a child, and especially more than one, then you, like no one else, know that it is almost impossible to predict how much time it will take for a long breakfast or for an unscheduled “well, at least a very short war” just before leaving the house: )
The main thing here is not to get upset, not to look for someone to blame and not to cancel anything. Your plan should be flexible: if you didn’t leave the house at the appointed time, save time on something else, but don’t leave the intended path. And in case of rain, wind or volcanic eruption, you must have a plan “B” in stock.
TIP 3. No cleaning, cooking or other routine tasks!
Personally, it’s not funny to me, but sad to read popular jokes like “And you also call the day when you cook, wash, and clean a “day off?”” Do you really want to spend those few days on this when you have a real opportunity to spend time for fun and with loved ones? No? Then put a taboo on these boring things on weekends (“when then to do them” is the topic of another article). Decide once and for all that you dedicate this day only to the most important things in your life. I hope your priorities are set correctly :)
Tip 4. Start a family tradition.
What, as we know, makes a family strong. Something you will look forward to with trepidation all week and then remember with warmth:) Anything can become a tradition, the main thing is that it is interesting for you and your children. Reading together with hot chocolate, singing karaoke, watching vintage filmstrips, sitting on the balcony with gingerbread, playing a board game or, for example, we have a fun baking of buns with the whole family with a tea party at the end...
TIP 5: Go on an adventure!
Real or fake.
Dangerous or not serious at all.
Thought out in advance or completely unexpected.
In the forest, in the city, in the yard or right in the apartment!
Depending on your imagination, capabilities and preferences...
Something unusual, exciting, with the obligatory participation of adults and children.
Climb a mountain, get lost in an unfamiliar part of the city, find a treasure, escape from pursuit, save a baby penguin floating on an ice floe into the open ocean! Dress up as Indians or primitive people and light a fire on the floor of your living room :)
Don’t look down on such entertainment, relax, and you will certainly enjoy not only the creative activity, but also the joint one! - preparation of the quest, an enthusiastic sparkle in the eyes of the children, but also their own excitement - it will appear! Checked! :)
TIP 6. Down with gadgets!
No matter how much we talk about the usefulness and irreplaceability of devices, they still receive an undeserved amount of our time and attention. We are distracted by our smartphone even when we are not holding it in our hands: we are waiting for calls and notifications, consciously or not. We are ready to answer almost at any time, and in free minutes - to go online...
Give them up on this day. Turn it off, put it away, forget it! Enjoy the moment. Warn those who may call you in advance. Print out what you plan to read the day before. Write on paper. Don't turn on movies and cartoons. However, sometimes, for a change, we plan a family viewing of something atmospheric.
But music, on the contrary, helps us enjoy the moment, so it always accompanies us.
TIP 7. Say “no” to sleeping, overeating and “sofa” rest!
A day off is not a reason to sleep until lunch, eat fried potatoes with mayonnaise and lazily lie on the sofa with the TV remote control - “I deserve this at the end of the work week”! - you deserve more! If you have already developed a healthy morning ritual with early rise, sports and a walk in the fresh air, then under no circumstances deny yourself this pleasure on your day off. After all, in order to live this pause between working days to the fullest, you will need all your energy and health.
And if there is no ritual, and you only dream about sports, then maybe today is the day to start? :) 
TIP 8. Plan something useful.
From the long box. Something you “just can’t” find time for. Just don’t forget tip #3 - no routine! Your business should bring pleasure, the goal is the same - spending time together. Perhaps you have long wanted to make a “family tree”, or maybe some kind of handmade decor for your home. Or finally write a family constitution. Or brainstorm ideas for a joint holiday... Think for yourself what will be interesting and useful for you at the same time!
TIP 9. Do a good deed for each other.
Give your partner alone time for at least half an hour, taking care of the children. You'll be pleasantly surprised. Give a gift. Make a small wish come true. Show care and understanding.
Doing a good deed for a loved one is not only a valuable contribution to a relationship, and not only a benefit to your partner. This is for you first and foremost! After all, it is you who will receive satisfaction and a huge surge of energy from what you have done!
And don’t forget to thank your partner in turn! Never forget:) 
TIP 10. Be in the moment!
Focus on what's important. Enjoy each other's smiles. Allow yourself to be infected by the children's delight. Talk about your feelings. Don't hide your emotions. Admire simple things. Watch slowly. Let true joy into your soul!..
Record these moments, again realizing their pricelessness!
We do not insist that these rules are universal for all families. Yours may have completely different laws.
You don't have to try to use all ten tips on your first day off. Choose one or two to start with. Even if it doesn’t work out, try the same or different thing again. Follow the tips that are right for you, adapt them to suit yourself, come up with your own ideas and rules - create your perfect weekend!
Weekends with the family should be held without TV and tablets, this will help everyone in the family get closer. It doesn’t matter how you spend time with your family on the weekend - at home or outside. The main rule is to plan your weekend so that you can smile and be charged with positive energy throughout the week.
Every family has its own traditions of spending time on weekends. For some, cleaning the apartment together is enough, while others go to visit their parents. But in order for the weekend to pass with maximum benefit and everyone to enjoy it, you need to plan your actions in advance.
For example, if there is a small child in the family, and the parents want to spend time just the two of them, then you can agree with one of your relatives to babysit him. Tickets for cinema, theater or other cultural events should also be purchased in advance. If you want to spend the weekend with your children, you need to make sure that they do not have their own plans for these days. This is especially true for older children.
What to do at home?
Relaxation is not just about going to the movies or going for a walk. You can spend your time well and usefully at home. For example:
- Start your day with a special breakfast. It is necessary to prepare for the day off from Friday. You should think over the menu, ask the children what they want for breakfast. Let special breakfasts become a real tradition.
- Arrange a family photo session. On weekends, you can arrange filming with the participation of all family members. If this becomes a mandatory weekend program, then parents can look at photos of how their babies grow.
- Have a board game night. You can play Monopoly, Scrabble, Lotto. Currently, there is no shortage of such games and you can find anything you want in stores. The main thing is to pay attention to the age markings, otherwise children or adults may find the game uninteresting. In addition, you can make a board game yourself, adding interesting prizes.
What to do in the city?
If the weather outside is warm and sunny, then it is better to spend time outside the house. Where to go and what to do? There are many options:
- Have a health day. Your vacation can be spent usefully if you start the day with morning exercises and avoid eating harmful foods for the entire weekend. You can go to the pool with your family or rent bicycles and rollerblades. At the end of the day, take an evening walk.
- Visit the entertainment center. In the shopping center you can find recreation for every taste: boutiques for pleasant shopping for adults, playrooms for small children, cinema, cafes, etc.
- Go to the planetarium. Rest can be more relaxing, for example, in a planetarium. It's not just interesting, but also useful. = You can get acquainted with the solar system, constellations, distant planets.
- Visit a museum . A very educational and interesting activity that broadens your horizons. In addition to the museum, there can be any cultural event.
You don't have to have a big budget to have fun with your family.
Rest outside the city
Lovers of active recreation can spend a day off in nature. Great options would be:
- Hike. Tourism is a great way to bond as a family and strengthen your relationships. You can go to the nearest forest or grove, or go out to the lake. Children like such entertainment, as they can play ball and other games, and parents are usually attracted to barbecues in nature. Before the weekend, you need to build a clear route so that it suits all family members. It is not necessary to walk the entire route; you can travel partly by transport, especially for families with small children who get tired quickly. You should definitely take water, a charged phone with a map and a camera with you.
- Kayaking. You can have a massive fun weekend with family friends. For the first time, you should choose a simple route and a place equipped for an overnight stay. Tents and kayaks can be rented.
- Picnic - This is a strengthening of not only family but also friendships, so it can also be done with family friends. You can breathe fresh air, eat delicious food, talk. Meanwhile, the kids run around and play to their heart's content.
- Go to the sea. If finances allow or the family lives near the sea, then a trip there would be an excellent option. A holiday at sea, even for a few days, is not only useful, but also very romantic.
Families with small children need to pay special attention to their development. At the age of three, all the foundations of good upbringing can be laid in a child and a lot can be taught.
Here are some interesting ideas:
- Organize a home performance. Not only adults, but also children of any age can take part. Parents must come up with a program in advance, find costumes, and draw a poster.
- Learn how to do magic tricks and show them to your child. Such entertainment will shock the baby and immerse him in the world of illusions.
- Have a game day. You can buy beautiful puzzles and put them together with your baby. Play hide and seek or any other games that the child likes.
- Plant a tree with your child. This activity is not only interesting for the baby, but also useful, because you can then take care of it and water it. This activity will develop in the child responsibility and love for nature.
- Visit the zoo. Children are incredibly inquisitive, so they will be interested in looking at big animals and feeding them.
- Fly a kite . A fun activity that will help parents remember their childhood.
- Bake a pie or gingerbread cookies and let your child decorate them . This dish can be presented to dad, who will be proud of the baby.
Where to go with your family? This is a question to which there is no definite answer, because each person has his own preferences, hobbies, and desires. But there are many general ideas that will help you find the right option. Moreover, most of them are budget-friendly ways to have fun with your family.
Vasilina Ivashko | 07/10/2015 | 364Vasilina Ivashko 07/10/2015 364
Some people look forward to the weekend: you can have a great rest with the whole family. For others, Saturday and Sunday cause weekend neurosis and family quarrels. Why is this happening?
I believe that the attitude towards family holidays can become a stumbling block. Some family members are satisfied with the lack of entertainment and the presence of a sofa, while others crave new experiences and varied outdoor activities.
It seems to me that the weekend should be interesting: this time can be spent strengthening family relationships and getting a lot of new impressions.
I'm not against spending the weekend calm and quiet. But this should not become a habit.
Organizing a holiday on a day off should be taken seriously:
- planning won't hurt;
- You should be creative when coming up with weekend plans;
- It is advisable to try to find compromises that are simply necessary in family life.
A story from the life of an unmarried friend
My single friend Christina recently complained that she doesn't like weekends. After all, there is so much extra time that needs to be planned. For a family lady, everything is simple: cleaning, cooking, a trip to the lake with the whole family, jogging together...
But free Christina, as the weekend approaches, begins to experience tension, anxiety, and dissatisfaction with herself. And all because on a day free from work, a girl often suffers from a lack of activity, communication and a change in the rhythm of life.
Although I will tell you that many married ladies (including me) do not like weekends: when the interests of spouses and children do not coincide. For example, my husband likes to spend weekends in front of the TV, and I like to visit museums, theaters, and go on excursions. Children are only interested in going to the cinema.
The weekend problem is relevant for many Russians, regardless of their marital status. People's activity is usually limited due to the insufficient development of the entertainment sector and low well-being.
We are looking for compromises regarding rest
I believe that anyone who just wants to relax on the weekend can do so. Do you have different views on vacation in your family? Look for compromises.
Spend one weekend as your husband wants, another as you want, the third as the children want. In any case, choose entertainment that will be interesting to everyone. Even if you love what you do and consider it the best thing in the world, your son and husband are unlikely to share your enthusiasm.
What options for a weekend getaway can be implemented?
- camping in the woods;
- picnic with board games;
- sports team games;
- relaxation on the lake;
- visiting the zoo, etc.
Of course, compared to Christina, I don’t spend a lot of effort and time trying to figure out what to do on the weekend, because I always have enough to do. But, in fact, household chores are still the same work. And weekends are needed for relaxation. So every weekend I try to come up with fun things to do for my husband and kids.
And I urge you not to be lazy and offer your family interesting options for spending time. And, of course, bring them to life. This way you will strengthen your relationship with your husband and children, which is very important.
It's coming to an end, and as the weekend approaches, the question of how to spend the long-awaited days of rest increasingly arises. For those who do not want, as they say, to lie in front of the TV all their free time, but are determined to visit various interesting ones, we are ready to offer a lot of options.
Let's try to get to know some of them better.
Section 1. Where to go for free
Don't despair if your family's budget is limited. Despite the fact that the Russian capital is considered one of the most expensive cities in the world, there are plenty of places where you can relax cheaply or even for free. Surprisingly, such leisure activities can include visiting museums, theaters, concerts, discos and yoga classes.
Many Muscovites and city guests believe that the most interesting places to walk are parks. First of all, these include Babushkinsky, Perovsky, Kuzminsky, Tagansky, Izmailovsky, Tushinsky, Filevsky, Krasnopresnensky, as well as the Baumansky Garden, Muzeon and the Hermitage Garden.
By the way, in Gorky Park and in the Pioneer cinema you can do yoga on weekdays. Not everyone knows that all playgrounds are equipped with changing rooms, and those who wish are given mats.
Free dance lessons are held in Gorky Park. There are also many night youth discos with free entry. Weekends can be spent at Squat Café, Bilinqua or Cuba Libre.
Section 2. Cultural events for free? It's real!
When talking about the most interesting places in Moscow, one cannot fail to mention numerous exhibitions and museums. It should be noted that every third Sunday of the month the best museums in the city open their doors to visitors completely free of charge. In addition, the Water Museum, the Metro Museum, the Museum and the Museum of Light are happy to see their guests every day. They are also open to the public.
The Moscow Event Theater on Varshavskoye Shosse offers free performances. If you like the production, you can pay from 100 to 500 rubles for a ticket. However, it is worth paying attention to the fact that you need to reserve seats in advance by phone or on the theater website.
Do you love classics and are looking for interesting places? Moscow is exactly the city where lovers of beauty should go. For example, you can enjoy the music of famous composers of the world in the Rachmaninov and Small Halls of the Moscow Conservatory. Free performances of chamber ensembles and choirs, international festivals, and concerts of organ music, violin and piano are constantly held here.
You can see the panorama of Moscow at Sparrow Hills, where observation binoculars are provided for this purpose. The capital is rich in other attractions: temples and monasteries, nature reserves and ancient estates.
Excursions to these places do not require special expenses.
Section 3. Moscow Zoos
All kids love watching animals. That’s why, when talking about interesting places, one cannot fail to mention zoos.
Many will agree that this is an ideal place for a family holiday. Contact menageries will allow children to get to know the animals better. Here you can pet and feed them, and while children communicate with charming representatives of the fauna world, adults can relax or have a snack. Zoos "My Little World" on the street. Tushinskaya and “Animals as Toys” on Novoyasenevsky Ave. welcome their guests of any age.
A special pride of Moscow is the Moscow State Zoo, which houses various species of animals and birds. This is the oldest and largest zoo in Russia.
Section 4. Water parks of the capital
There is an opinion that the most interesting places are located in the center of Moscow, which means that getting to them is not entirely convenient, to put it mildly. This is nothing more than a misconception. For example, those who live in more remote areas are probably closer to huge entertainment complexes, which, as practice shows, are rarely built inside the Garden Ring.
For example, the largest water park is “Moreon” in Yasenevo. The complex is equipped with extreme slides, a swimming pool and a children's playground, massage baths and steam rooms, cafes and bars. The pools are surrounded by tropical plants and palm trees. Another water park, Kva-Kva, is no less attractive. There are also water slides of various heights, children's attractions and pools, water cannons and a jacuzzi. On Saturdays, night parties of the Shine project are held in “Kva-Kva” (Mytishchi).
The Aqua-Yuna water park has opened 8 km from Moscow with a new surfing attraction. The park is divided into children's and adult areas. There are a total of 9 slides ranging from 2 to 10 meters in height, some of them have a high-speed descent.
Section 5. Interesting places. Moscow and its theaters
In the center of the Russian capital there is the only anti-cinema “Kino House” with closed halls, karaoke and video games. This is an unusual establishment - the halls have cozy sofas, board games, karaoke, 3D. The romantic atmosphere in small rooms is conducive to dating, and in large rooms you can spend time with friends.
The performances resemble a black and white cartoon. The silhouettes on the canvas seem to come to life and simply fascinate the audience with their performance. Special transformable chairs allow you to watch the performance from any corner of the hall. Children will simply be delighted to visit this establishment.
The famous Yuri Kuklachev Cat Theater delights the public with performances of its pets. A unique world of kindness and warmth reigns here, cats perform with dogs, and an adult feels like a child.
Section 6. Conquering the depths of the sea
Many will agree that you can endlessly talk about interesting places in Moscow. “Where should we go?” - such a question is probably asked extremely rarely in this city. More often than not, local residents and guests of the capital try to solve the problem associated with the lack of time to cover everything they want.
For example, why not admire the beauty of the underwater world at the aquarium on Chistoprudny Boulevard, 14? The exhibition consists of more than 200 aquarium complexes, home to various species of fish and sharks. The store provides a wide range of aquariums and equipment for them. Visits to the aquarium are available daily by appointment. The Shark Feeding Show is held twice a week.
The largest Oceanarium is located on Dmitrovskoye Highway, where you can observe the underwater life of the inhabitants inside a tunnel. Representatives of flora and fauna from all over the planet are collected here. Visitors can watch a colorful seal show or shark feeding.
If you want to swim with dolphins, then feel free to go to the dolphinarium at the All-Russian Exhibition Center. The pleasure is not cheap (5,000-10,000 rubles), but emotions for a lifetime. The cost of the dolphin show is 400-1200 rubles, depending on the location. After the performance, you can take a photo with or take your child on a boat pulled by dolphins.
Section 7. For lovers of stars
The Great Planetarium is one of the best planetariums in the world, being not only an educational center, but also a star theater where you can take a tour through time and space.
The complex includes the Urania Museum, the Lunarium Museum, the Sky Park, and the Big and Small Star Halls. Interactive and space exhibits, educational games and 4D films allow you to learn about space and space discoveries.
Section 8. Winter fun
In winter, the oldest ice skating rink with two skating areas operates in the Hermitage Garden. For the convenience of visitors the following are provided:
- figure skating school;
- children's Corner;
- locker rooms;
- skate rental;
- cafe.
Another skating rink in winter is open near GUM from 10 to 24 hours. Its ice cover does not melt even in weather of +10˚С, and the evening lighting creates a special fabulous atmosphere.
So, having familiarized yourself with the list of proposed options, it is quite possible to conclude that Moscow is ready to offer interesting places for every taste and income. And all visitors need to do is have a positive attitude and be prepared to be surprised.