Relocating Your Family: 5 Ways to Make Moving Fun for Kids

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Think about how nervous, excited and anxious you feel about moving to a new house. Now, take all those feelings and add to them a fear of the unknown, a sense of powerlessness and worry. That’s how many kids feel about moving. Sure, they’re excited, but they also don’t really know what to expect, and that can be scary. It’s stressful for you, but adults know how to handle it. Children need help processing what a move means, realizing they may not see some of their best friends or go to their favorite places. They need to know that no matter what happens, they will be safe and loved, and they’ll make new friends and find new favorite places. Here are five tips to help make moving fun for your children (geared to kids 4-14) and help them be excited about a fresh start.

Before The Move:

1. Let Kids Help with the House Hunt

One of the best things you can do is bring your kids with you to go house hunting. Hear us out; we’re not saying they should attend every home tour, but they should be the ones that stand out or are real contenders for your future home. Let the kids feel like they have a say in picking out their new home by showing them what could potentially be their bedroom, where they could play in the back yard and give them a tour of the neighborhood, making sure to highlight parks, schools and other fun places. Offer to let them pick out the color of their new room and encourage them to draw pictures of what they want their new space to look like and where they’ll put certain toys.

If you can’t take the kids to tour houses with you (or simply don’t want them to tag along, which is totally fair), take some pictures to share with them or let them look at the listing online. They’ll want to know what their new house will be like, and seeing it, even if it’s just the front of the house, will help them begin to imagine their life in a new space.

2. Throw a Goodbye Party

Children, especially those in grade school, have sweet friendships and bonds with classmates and neighbors and saying goodbye can be challenging.

Throw a little party so they can say farewell to some of their best friends. Sure, there will be sad moments, but it will help bring closure to your child. It will help them understand how meaningful friendships are and deal with life’s sometimes hard moments. Keep it simple, with cupcakes, popcorn or just some popsicles. Plan fun activities to let the children interact and encourage them to reminisce about fun times they had together. Collect addresses from your children’s favorite friends so they can write to each other. Nothing is better than snail mail!

During the Move:

3. Make Packing (and Unpacking!) Fun

There’s plenty of packing to do during a move, so why not make it fun for both you and your child? They’ll love feeling included by putting their stuff in boxes and participating in the packing process.

Let them pack themselves or do it with your help, and give them autonomy to make decisions on what should go in what box. For younger children, let them label the boxes and decorate or color them.

If they don’t seem interested in packing, reward them for a job well done, like a sticker, certificate or maybe a new toy. A great reward is the promise that they’ll get a great big box to play with once they’ve packed up their toys and clothes. They can turn it into a fort, car or spaceship, whatever their imaginations come up with. Or, make unpacking a game by turning it into a race or treasure hunt for specific items. During the move, pack a designated ‘fun box’ that will include any of their favorite toys or loveys, books and snacks that are easily accessible.

If you plan on trying to get rid of some of your child’s older toys, consider being stealthy about it. Find a time when they will be out of the house, and grab anything you know they haven’t played with for the last six months and won’t miss. You’ll be amazed at what they won’t miss. Bag it and either donate or toss it before they get back. Kids have an uncanny ability to find things in the garage, closets or trash cans and bring them back into their rooms.

4. Take a Farewell Tour

When leaving your current neighborhood or city, quickly visit some of your child’s favorites. A drive-by of beloved parks, ice cream shops and friends’ houses will make it feel special and give you all a chance to talk about their great memories from your current home. The driving tour will also give you space to daydream about fun, new memories to come.

Some kids will enjoy taking pictures to look back at their old town once they get to their new home. It’s perfectly normal for children to be sad about moving, and they might even shed some tears. They’ve connected with a place and breaking those connections hurts, but reinforce that there are many happy moments to be had in their new city. Make sure that you stay positive, too!

After the Move:

5. Plan Something Fun

Doing something fun in your new home is an excellent way to distract everyone from the stress of leaving behind friends and a house full of old memories. Plan a special visit to a toy store or ice cream shop near your new home or see if there are any cool attractions, like an amusement park or pool. For younger children, this is a great time to provide a small toy or treat when they arrive at the new spot so they can associate something new and special with their new space. It’s important to have something to look forward to when they arrive, but it is also helpful to maintain your routines as much as possible so the transition isn’t so jarring. Make sure bedtime and dinner routines are kept, but on that first night, make it more special by doing dinner for breakfast or a favorite takeout spot.