What to Do for the Long Weekend: 10 Family Activities to Enjoy

Yearning for some time off? This 2024, there are several long weekends, which means more rest days for you!

Wondering what to do for the long weekend? Even if you don’t have any out-of-town trips planned, you can still prepare a fun and productive mini vacay. To help you plan your long weekend, we’ve listed some exciting activities your family can enjoy.

What to Do for the Long Weekend: 10 Ideas

From day tours to spring cleaning, you and your loved ones have lots of fun options. Check out these family weekend activities:

👉 Go on a Day Tour

what to do for the long weekend - go on a day tour

Take your family around town and check out the most talked-about and IG-worthy hangouts you've never been to. It's the perfect chance to visit that night market you’ve been meaning to explore. You can also take a trip down memory lane and see how the places from your childhood or student days have changed.

If you can make room for a city tour, why not visit Manila? Check out Intramuros, the National Museum, and Escolta. Bring your family to Binondo for an afternoon of cheap, delicious food and window shopping.

If you want to explore further away from the metro, check out Angono, dubbed the art capital of the Philippines. Visit the Blanco Family Museum, Nemiranda Art House and Gallery, Tiamson Art Gallery, and more.

👉 Go on a Food Trip

What better way to broaden your horizon and explore other cultures than to go on a food trip? Broaden your family’s culinary horizon by visiting restaurants serving foreign cuisines. Relish the oriental flavors of Chinese food. Explore the richness of Indian dishes. Let your kids try sushi for the first time.^[1]

But don’t just go in blind. Before you go on this exciting family weekend activity, keep the following things in mind:

Check out which dishes align with your family’s religion.
Make sure the food won't aggravate any health issues.
Read online reviews to get an idea of the restaurant’s authenticity.
Try fusion cuisines to acclimate your family’s taste buds to new flavors.
Be respectful. Don’t make snide remarks. Refuse politely if you're offered food you’re not comfortable with.

💳 Use a Credit Card for Your Family Food Trip

To enjoy discounts, points, cashback, and other dining-related perks, use these credit cards. Don't have one yet? Apply via Moneymax:

Credit Card	Annual Fee	Dining Features and Benefits
UnionBank Rewards Credit Card	₱2,500	3x rewards points at restaurants 1 rewards point for every ₱30 spend
Metrobank Titanium Mastercard^®	₱2,500	2x rewards points on dining 1 rewards point for every ₱20 spend
Metrobank Platinum Mastercard^®	₱5,000	Up to 50% off on premium dining offers 1 rewards point for every ₱20 spend
Metrobank World Mastercard^®	₱6,000	Up to 50% off on luxury dining deals 1 rewards point for every ₱20 spend
HSBC Red Mastercard	₱2,500	Up to 4x rewards points on dining 1 rewards point for every ₱20 spend
HSBC Gold Visa Cashback	₱2,500	5% cashback on dining transactions
Security Bank Complete Cashback Platinum Mastercard	₱3,000	2% cashback on dining
BPI Amore Platinum Cashback Card	₱5,000	Up to 4% cashback on dining or online food purchases

👉 Organize a Potluck

We're all guilty of missing important gatherings with family and friends. Fortunately, long weekends can help you compensate for that.

Organize a potluck party and invite your relatives or friends to come over. Bond with your family over cooking and preparation.

Make the party more exciting with a few games—a few prizes should convince your loved ones to join in! If you have family or friends abroad, invite them to the festivities via a video messaging app.

👉 Earn Extra Cash

Wondering what to do for the long weekend? Be productive and teach your kids how to be enterprising!

There are many short-term business ideas to consider. Some can eventually become a permanent source of income. Try these income-generating family weekend activities:

Set up a garage sale – Open your garage to your neighbors and sell used items, such as clothes, appliances, and furniture.
Sell barbecue – Make money out of your grill master skills by selling barbecue on sticks. Other than pork or chicken, consider selling Pinoy favorites such as isaw, chicken feet, and hotdogs.
Sell finger food – If you don’t feel like getting exposed to smoke, why not sell well-loved street food, such as fish balls, squid balls, chicken balls, and kwek-kwek?

👉 Start a Vegetable Garden

It’s not too late to be a plantito or plantita. Plants will always be in vogue!

But instead of taking care of ornamental greens, you can start a vegetable garden. If you have space, you can plant tomatoes, herbs, eggplants, green onions, lettuce, and toge.^[2]

This long weekend idea will teach kids the value of hard work. Eventually, they may be able to appreciate the noble efforts of farmers.

👉 Go Grocery Shopping

Many adults find grocery shopping therapeutic. It's one of the best things to do on a long weekend! However, this may be challenging for families with kids, as little ones will definitely put whatever they want into the cart.

So why not make this an opportunity to teach them about responsible shopping? Gamify the trip by assigning your kids to pick certain items on your grocery list. As a reward, let them pick out a treat.

After your trip to the grocery, bond over a delicious lunch or snack.

👉 Exercise with Your Family

Sure, staying in bed all day and browsing cute animal reels on Instagram is fun and all, but why do that when you can focus on your physical and mental health?

Hit two birds with one stone by starting or continuing an exercise regimen. Wake up your family this long weekend and go jogging. Catch up amd share stories as you jog or walk around the block.

Isn’t it nice to burn calories with people you care about?

👉 Learn a New Skill Together

You probably promised yourself years ago that you’d learn how to speak Korean so you wouldn’t need to read subtitles when watching K-dramas. Now that there’s an upcoming long weekend, it’s time to make good on that promise. Make it more fun by getting your family on board!

Here are other new skills you and your family can learn together:

Pottery
Painting
Playing new musical instruments (piano, guitar, ukulele, etc.)
Cooking
Baking
Sewing
Crocheting
Knitting
Taking pictures
Editing videos (especially for those interested in vlogging)
Riding the bike
Riding the e-scooter
Coffee-making
Woodworking
Playing sports (basketball, badminton, etc.)
Saving and investing money

👉 Do Some Spring Cleaning

Bring out the new curtains and prepare your handyman tools because it’s time to do some home improvement! Organize the clutter, upholster worn-out furniture, and redecorate your lovely home. It’s time to channel your inner Marie Kondo^[3] because you have some spring cleaning to do!

Make it a fun weekend activity rather than a chore by doing it with your loved ones. If you have kids, this is also the perfect opportunity to teach them how to clean up after themselves.

👉 Organize a Movie or Karaoke Night

Nothing beats the charm of just staying at home and enjoying each other’s company.

If you're going with a movie, make sure to stream only child-friendly titles. Better yet, let the kids pick the movie for this family weekend activity.

Get the popcorn ready. For a more festive option, get a box of pizza delivered to your home.

If you prefer a karaoke night, take things up a notch with some barbecue or K-chicken. Just make sure to stop all the fun before the neighborhood’s usual bedtime!

Final Thoughts

Long weekends offer the chance to bond with your family and make new memories. When planning what to do for the long weekend, don’t worry too much about the budget. After all, some family weekend activities are meant to be enjoyed at home!

You just need to be creative. Have each family member suggest an activity and take things from there.

Enjoy making long weekend plans for your loved ones!

Sources:

^[1] 16 Sulit Sushi Options Around Metro Manila for as Low as ₱85! (Booky, 2022)
^[2] 10 Best Vegetables for Your Container Garden (The Spruce, 2022)
^[3] Tidy Tips Archives | KonMari

Long Weekend at Last! 10 Ways to Spend Rest Days with Your Family

Jay Pagkatotohan