THE council tasked to strengthen family ties is giving out 15,000 free tickets to tourist attractions such as the Singapore Flyer to get families to spend time together.

The National Family Council on Wednesday unveiled its plans for its annual month-long National Family Celebrations, aimed at getting families to make and spend time with their loved ones.

For example, on May 30, families can take their families to the free 'Family Day Out Carnival' along Singapore River, where they can take part in activities such as puppet shows and Lego building competition.

A recent straw poll by the Council of more than 300 Singaporeans showed that close to six in 10 people surveyed say they don't spend enough time with their families and most of them want to spend more time with their loved ones.

Already, four in 10 eat with their families at least four times a week and a similar number go out with their families at least once a week.

And family 'comes first' for 60 per cent of those polled, making it most Singaporeans' top priority in life.

This is followed by priorities such as going after personal pursuits and health.

Mr Lim Soon Hock, the council's chairman, said the poll was done to get an 'instant pulse' on how Singaporeans feel about their families, and the findings are consistent with past national surveys, which shows that people want to spend more time with their families and are close to their kin, for example.

Details of how to win the free tickets and the celebrations can be found at this website www.nfc.sg.