…that won’t bore them to tears or scare you to death

Peruse Music Stores for Old Records and Reminisce. Okay, you might not want to reminisce too much, but chances are both you and your teen(s) will have a blast searching through the long-forgotten-but-then-revived LPs. Seeing the price of these collectibles now will make you—and your kids—wish you’d hung on to your old N’Sync and Spice Girls records. Or not.

Embark on a Stand-Up Paddle Tour of the Inner Harbour. Learn the basics of stand-up paddle-boarding in the Inner Harbour during a 3-hour introductory course at Ocean River Adventures (oceanriveradventures.com) that will teach you the Hawaiian cultural history of stand-up paddle-boarding, the differences between board and equipment styles, and how to manoeuvre your paddle-board using different strokes.

Join a Running Clinic Together and Enter a Race. Your local community centre, along with various Frontrunners (frontrunners.ca) and Running Room (runningroom.com) stores offer Learn to Run programs that will have you running a 5km or 10km in no time. Well, in 10 to 12 weeks. At the weekly sessions, you’ll learn all you need to know about running in all kinds of weather, biomechanics, nutrition, goal setting, injury prevention, motivation, pacing and more. Classes usually start with a 20 to 30-minute group seminar followed by a group run.

Practice Your Swing at a Driving Range.

Not enough time for a full game? No problem. Improve your long ball drive, iron play, or wedge shots—oh, okay…just swing really hard—and keep your game up to par at one of the Island driving ranges. As Arnold Palmer says: “The more I practice, the luckier I get.” For a list of ranges, visit golfvancouverisland.ca.

Try Climbing. Take the $25 “Taste Test” at Crag X and sample climbing in an indoor gym. There is no safety system instruction during the Taste Test, just climbing. Staff manage all your safety systems for the one-hour visit. After starting on some easier routes, you’ll get a chance to push your limits on the more advanced terrain. No experience is required. cragx.ca.

Hang 10 in Tofino.

As beautiful in summer as winter—with water temperatures that vary only between 1–2˚—Tofino is the perfect place to learn to surf. For a list of lessons, visit tourismtofino.com.

Go Ziplining. If ziplining by daylight isn’t scary enough, try the full-moon zip at Adrenaline in Sooke (adrenalinezip.com). Or in Nanaimo at WildPlay (wildplay.com), try two flights of 91 and 182 metres, spanning the entire length of the park.

Build Something Together. A go-kart, a skimboard, a skateboard ramp, a chicken coop. Find plans for almost anything on YouTube.

Get Matching Tattoos. Haha. Okay not likely, but worth the laugh, watching your teen squirm at the thought. So, too, would be choosing a mutually-agreeable design. For ideas, google “Matching Tattoos.”

Go, Go, Go Go-karting. See if you can keep up with your teen before tripping the remote shut-off switch. In Comox Valley, saratogaracing.ca.

Write a Blueprint for the Perfect Day and then turn it into a reality. Or Go 50/50 and have your teen plan one half of the day while you plan the other half. Then surprise each other with your plans.

Explore a New Area Together—even if it’s just a new neighbourhood. If you’re mobile, drive to another community on the Island and poke around. For an added activity, research your destination beforehand to determine some must-sees.

Recreate Family Photos.

For inspiration, visit then-and-now-photos.tumblr.com. Or, if you have absentee family members, make a family collage or photo album instead. Too often, in this day of digital photographs, shots stay stuck on cellphones or in cameras and never make it into a photo album. Kids, whatever their ages, love looking at old family photos. Make them accessible and enlist their help in the process.

Go Out for Dinner Together to a place that serves a type of food that neither of you have tried before. Try Tibetan, maybe, or Caribbean, Moroccan or Creole.

Create Your Own Sandwich at Red Barn Market. Better yet, hike to the top of Mt. Work first to work up an appetite then head to the West Saanich Road Red Barn (other locations include Vanalman, Mattick’s Farm, Latoria Walk and Oak Bay). Teen-appetite tested and approved.

Visit the Royal BC Museum and then See an IMAX Movie. From documentaries to blockbusters, IMAX fits all ages.

Pretend to be Tourists.

Sure the official version of Tourist in Your Own Home Town won’t be back until 2024, but don’t fret. Re-create a version of your own.

Rent Scooters. Two or one seaters, scooters at Cycle BC Rentals in Victoria are 49cc and require the driver have a regular licence to ride. $16-$19/hour. victoria.cyclebc.ca.

See a Psychic or Do a Tea Leaf Reading. Tea leaf readings at Silk Road Tea in Victoria on Saturdays from noon-5pm silkroadteastore.com

Climb a Mountain. Mt. Work, Mt. Arrowsmith or Mt. Tolmie, match your teen’s interest level and endurance level with a suitable hill. Snacks and energy drinks work wonders and might get you and your teen a kilometre or two further.

Get Certified. CPR, Standard First Aid, Bartending, Food Safe or your White Sail certificate are only a few examples of certificates you could earn together. viu.ca, camosun.ca/ce, royalroads.ca.

Face a Fear.

From scuba diving, bungy jumping—okay, maybe not—and rock climbing to learning to knit or reading a collaborative haiku aloud at a poetry reading, doing something scary together will give you both the “Yes, we did it!” feeling and bring you closer together.

Shop for and Cook Dinner Together. Teach your teen a secret family recipe or signature dish.

Ride the Galloping Goose to Sooke Pot Holes and Take a Dip. For trail maps and information, visit gallopinggoosetrail.com.

Volunteer. For a list of opportunities, visit volunteervictoria.bc.ca, volunteernanaimo.ca or google “volunteer opportunities on Vancouver Island” for specific events.

Pull an All-Nighter. The fun kind, not the kind you’d pull if you were cramming for exams.

Go Float at the Float House in Victoria. One way for a digital detox is in a sensory deprivation and floatation tank where $150 will get you three introductory sessions. floathousevictoria.com.

Hang Out. Literally. At Free Spirit Spheres, unique tree house accommodations for adults (16 years old and up), set among the tall trees of the west coast rainforest. freespiritspheres.com.

While you’re in the vicinity…

Go Underground…Caving at Horne Lake. Caves for both self-exploring and guided tour opportunities. hornelake.com.

Draft a 30 Things to Do List of Your Own—a family bucket list.

10 More Things to Do:

Go technology-free for 24 hours.

Play video games. If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. Go to an arcade. Or try laser tag. Or to kick it up a notch, paintball.

Go to a thrift store and shop.

Take a scenic boat ride on the Frances Barkley to points along Alberni Inlet and Barkley Sound.

Learn something new: to cook at London Chef or sculpt at Opus Art Supplies.

Visit Strathcona Provincial Park and hike the Forbidden Plateau in the summer or ski Mount Washington in the winter.

Kayak the Broken Group of Islands in the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. Reservations are now required but campsites are guaranteed.

Hike to Mystic Beach and cool off under the waterfalls.

Wash the car—and let your teen take you for a spin.

Go tubing on Cowichan River. cowichanriver.com.