You’ve Got A Friend In Me

How to Be an Awesome Aunt and Friend to Your Nieces and Nephews

50 ideas/activities to do with your nieces and nephews

Be there for their parents – offer to babysit or go grocery shopping for them.

Listen – pay attention when your nieces and nephews talk to you

Play – kids love nothing more than to play and will appreciate the time you take with them

Show up – be there for big events in their lives

Read aloud – help them with their reading in school, have them read to you and vice versa

Show them off – be proud of them when you are with them, introduce them to your friends

and coworkers.

Go shopping – take them shopping, maybe for a special gift just for them

Be a kid – don’t be afraid to let yourself be a kid and act like a fool around them

Don’t be afraid to embarrass yourself – they will love it and you will all laugh

Play make-believe – allow them to teach you the art of imagination. Something we have lost

in the busyness of our lives

Spend one-on-one time with them – take your nieces and nephews out on a date, one at a

time, allow them to tell you what’s going on in their lives

Trampoline – kids love to jump on the trampoline, this can be a great way to interact with

them

Go for walks – this can bring out some great conversations

Races – races in the front yard are a summer treasure. Red light, green light. Mother May I?

Duck, Duck, Goose – a great game to play with all your nieces and nephews

Photo book – make a photo book of you and your nieces and nephews. Something they can

have to remind them of you and the wonderful times you have together

Photo collage – make a photo collage of you with them

Tickle fights – random tickle fights to lighten the mood or just to start them laughing

Phone calls – Call them on their birthday or just to say hi and ask how their day was

Blankets – Make them a blanket for their birthday or just because you love them

Going to the playground – take an afternoon and go to a park and swing and go down the

slides and watch the enjoyment on their faces

Go swimming – take them to the pool and enjoy the water

Be interested in their lives – know their interests and hobbies and be involved in their

activities

Talk to them – address them as they walk by, don’t just ignore them, say hello when you see

them

Give lots of hugs – you can never give too many, let them know you love them

Attend their sporting events, dance, piano recitals, etc.

Just Dance – a fun game to get you laughing, even if they laugh at you

Watch movies with them – let them tell you what their favorite movie is, take an evening

and watch it with them

Got to the aquarium

Go to the zoo

Go to a children’s museum

Take pictures with them

Make a fort

Watch the stars

Look for shapes in the clouds

Be available for them – as your nieces and nephews get older, you may be the one they turn to

for advice, be their confidant

Teach them a skill – baking, crafting, skiing, a sport

Be their cheerleader

Take them for ice cream

Have a sleep over

Go hiking together

Go bike riding together

Send a birthday card or just a letter in the mail, it will make them feel special

Call them to see how their day was

Build a sand castle

Go fly a kite

Take them to the circus

Attend their baptisms, church activities

Have a day centered around them

Give them your time and attention – put down the cell phones, ipods, ipads and computers,

which can isolate you from those in your own home and be there for them. It means more to

them than you will ever know.

I know some of these ideas are fairly simple and might seem like nothing, but your nieces and

nephews just want to a friend. Someone they can talk to and be themselves around. Your time and

attention will mean the most to them. My nieces and nephews are younger and sometimes I feel like

they think I’m boring and uninteresting, but there have been many times that I have seen the pure

joy in their faces when I’m with them. They will call me to tell me about a new toy they got and are

so excited to show me. They want to invite me over to play Just Dance or jump on trampoline or

come to my house for a sleep over. We can be best aunt/friend to our nieces and nephews if we

simply take the time and give them the attention they so lovingly deserve. When you are with them,

be WITH them. Be in the now, not thinking of what you have to do later that night or tomorrow or

what is going on with work. Enjoy the time you have with them.