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By Erin Pittman
There’s something hopeful about a brand-new calendar. Fresh pages, fresh goals—and a chance to create new rhythms for your family. This year, instead of resolutions that fizzle by February, try something more fun: start a new family hobby you can enjoy together all year long.
From crafting to geocaching, game nights to giving back, Prince William is full of places and programs that make it easy (and affordable) to get started.
Get Crafty Together
Crafting is one of the easiest hobbies to adopt because you can scale it to any age or budget. Younger kids
can start with simple projects—paper collages, painted rocks, homemade cards—while older kids and teens can explore drawing, sewing, or digital design.
Prince William Public Libraries offers regular arts and crafts programs for children and families, including
STEAM projects, hands-on workshops, and creative clubs at branches across the county (pwcva.gov/
department/library). Check the events calendar at your favorite branch and pick one program a month to attend together. Turn it into a ritual: library program, then cocoa or a treat afterward.
If your family is ready to go deeper into the arts, the ARTfactory in Manassas offers visual arts classes, theatre, and dance for kids and adults (virginiaartfactory.org). Consider signing up for a family painting night or signing up for a class together.
Try this: Start a Family Gallery Wall at home. Every month, each person hangs one new creation—no
comparisons, just celebration.
Discover Geocaching Adventures
If your crew loves mysteries, gadgets, and the outdoors, geocaching might become your next obsession.
It’s essentially a global treasure hunt using GPS coordinates—and Prince William is dotted all over with caches, especially in parks and historic sites.
Prince William County Parks & Recreation oversees many of the local parks and trails where caches are placed.
Manassas National Battlefield also features virtual caches, where you complete challenges like answering questions or snapping photos at historic spots rather than finding a physical container. Read more at princewilliamliving.com/geocaching-treasure-hunt.
To start, download a geocaching app, choose an easy cache nearby, and head out together. Don’t forget to
load up on small trinkets you leave behind when you find a cache.
Try this: Declare one Saturday a month “Treasure Hunt Day,” and explore a new park each time.
Make Volunteering Your Shared Superpower
Volunteering is a powerful family hobby because it blends quality time with a sense of purpose. Kids see
firsthand how their time and effort can make a difference in their own community.
Volunteer Prince William connects residents with local organizations that need help, from food
distribution to special events and more (volunteers.volunteerprincewilliam.org). Habitat for Humanity Prince William County also offers volunteer opportunities that support building and repairing affordable housing, with roles for a range of ages and abilities depending on the project (habitatpwc.org/volunteer).
Families can also find age-appropriate projects—like food drives, park cleanups, or sorting donations—
through community roundups of volunteer opportunities and nonprofit feature articles on our website:
princewilliamliving.com.
Try this: Choose a cause as a family—housing, the environment, animals, or hunger—and commit to one
volunteering activity per month. Start an online journal with pictures and how each family member felt after the experience.
Level Up Family Game Night
Strategy games are a fantastic way to sharpen brains and strengthen bonds. Cooperative games encourage
teamwork, while competitive games teach kids how to win (and lose) graciously.
Start by rotating who picks the game each week—everything from classic board games to newer cooperative titles, card games, and even role-playing campaigns that older kids and teens can help lead.
Prince William Public Libraries hosts gaming programs and events, including game-based activities for kids and families. These are great times to try out games before investing in them yourself.
Try this: Create a Family Games Trophy (even a decorated plastic cup works!) and award it each week—
not just for winning, but for best teamwork, funniest moment, or most creative strategy.
Build a Year of Shared Memories
The best part about turning hobbies into a family tradition is that they’re flexible. You can start small—one
new craft project, one geocaching outing, one volunteer shift, one game night—and build from there.
To keep your new hobbies from fading by February, try:
- Putting them on the calendar. Treat your new hobby time like any other important appointment.
- Letting everyone have a voice. Rotate who chooses the craft, cache, volunteer event, or game.
- Celebrating progress, not perfection. It’s fine if your painting is messy or you can’t find every cache. The goal is time together.
With rich resources like libraries, local parks and historic sites, volunteer networks, and arts organizations, families in Prince William don’t have to go far—or spend a lot—to start something new this year.
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Erin Pittman is the Editor in Chief of Prince William Living and a mom to three awesome kids. Some of her best memories involve family time spent playing, creating, volunteering, and treasure hunting together. She can be reached at epittman@princewilliamliving.com.
