Sometimes I say something silly instead of telling my kids off.

It creates enough of a distraction to break the cycle of whatever thing is escalating, gives everyone a giggle and we can move onto the next thing.

I will second the singing/dancing/putting funny outfits on thing too.

Another suggestion for FUN is to have a Friday Night Family Night. Essentially this is a no-tv no-screen no-device event where you have something simple for tea or even takeaway (to cut down on after dinner chores) and then everyone sits down to play some games together. Doesn't really matter what the games are or even if they are jigsaw puzzles or even a simple shared craft thing, it just matters that everyone's together looking at each others' faces and smiling.