Families are invited to a free day of fun in The Iveagh Gardens on Sunday when activities will include arts and crafts workshops, storytelling, fun sports activities and children's entertainers.

Family Day Picnic will celebrate the growing diversity of families in the city, and coincides with International Day of the Family, a celebration of the changing face of families and family life across the globe.

Speaking at the launch of the family day out, broadcaster Ray D'Arcy said: "Mothers' Day is for mums and Fathers' Day is for dads, but Family Day is for everyone to celebrate all types of families."

Hundreds of families are expected to take part in the exciting day of games and sports organised by One Family, a national organisation for one-parent families in Ireland.

Karen Kiernan, director of One Family, says: "Each census tells us a little more about the changes that Irish people are making in their family life, and I expect we will see increases again in one-parent families, step-families, blended families and same-sex families when the new statistics are out."

Celebrate

She adds: "Family Day Picnic is an opportunity for all families to celebrate. It's a time to remember that it is the quality of the relationships and the love that is important, rather than exactly who is in your family."

Families are encouraged to bring a picnic with them to enjoy during the day, which runs from 1pm to 5pm in The Iveagh Gardens, one of the city's most beautiful gardens, located off Clonmel Street in Dublin 2.

The Iveagh Gardens were designed by Ninian Niven in 1865, and landscape features include a rustic grotto, sunken formal lawns with fountains, woodlands, archery grounds and rockeries.

Ray D'Arcy says: "Everyone is so busy these days that family members don't spend as much time together as they once did. Family Day aims to rectify this by simply encouraging families to have fun and spend time together."

Sponsored by the EBS Building Society, the day will be full of surprises for families, with family fun such as treasure hunts, family X Factor-style competitions and face painting.

If you can't make the picnic, One Family is encouraging parents to organise their own event to celebrate International Day of the Family by logging on to www.familyday.ie -- plus everyone who registers will be in with a chance to win €1,000 by submitting a photograph from their family day to the site.

• The changing face of families in Ireland