Whether it is a hot summer night, and the air con is on, bringing relieving cool air… or it’s an ice-cold evening, and the fire place is roaring… there is something special about spending time with the ones you love the most.

Oh, the kitty is purring on the couch. The faithful hound lies on the floor, watching you all with keen interest – content to watch his family. Your family.

Mom, dad, the kids, whether they’re teens, or on the verge of adulthood, or are still young enough to be wearing Spider-Man jumper PJs.

You’re all together. Seated by a table, as you roll the dice and let them fly onto the game board. Two sixes! How lucky! But you are lucky. You have a loving family.

Fun for the whole family: how we bond

The family unit is the basis of society. It’s where our children learn to become part of that society.

And learning is part of the bonding process. A close family is shown to produce well-adjusted adults. Strong families can survive just about anything together.

And strength comes from bonding. Like the afore mentioned board game activity. Board games are great because it encourages more interaction than, say, playing video games together. Not that we’re knocking video games – they have their advantages, like creative problem-solving, but kids have entered addiction recovery centres for being addicted to Fortnite, a very addictive game. Nobody has ever entered rehab for Cluedo. (We think Ms Scarlet it did it in the conservatory with the wrench.)

So, while we don’t stock video games, we definitely have some fun board games to have the family laughing together as Junior lands up going directly to Jail, Do Not Pass Go, and certainly Do Not Collect R200.

Getting creative

With the younger kids, crafts activities with parents keen to stimulate their minds can be beneficial and fun.

Junior making a car using modelling clay while Dad helps him (Junior got released from jail for good behaviour… he ate all his vegetables!) allows him to develop his creative skills while forging a bond with his father.

Mom and Mary Sue painting a picture of the family (it’s mainly coloured stick figures, but there’s hope for her yet) improves her artist’s eye while getting closer to her mother.

Another fun project for the family is painting blank wooden objects like cabinets or trinket boxes. Together, you can make a little cabinet become larger than life with spectacular colours!

Puzzling

Sometimes, the simplest fun is simply putting a jigsaw puzzle together. The family works together to find the right interlocking pieces.

Little by little, the whole picture can be seen.

A family that is picture perfect.

 Please note, all these products are available at PNA.