Cheap, Awesome and Fun
Last night, I reached out to my facebook friends/fans for some ideas about cheap, quality fun with kids. I got a GREAT response, and some really creative ideas!
Cha-Ching! Hear those savings rack up!
Here was my question: Answer this: What’s the cheapest, most awesome activity you’ve done with your kiddos? C’mon! Give me “bang for the buck!”
Rob said: “Mid summer, indoor snowball fight with lots of balled up paper…lots of paper. Ambushing the first person to come into the house from behind the couch is priceless.”
Totally fun! What a way to help recycle last week’s newspaper, and you can be sure the kids will love it.
Catherine offered: “Mancala or connect 4 tournaments because they turn fast and nobody gets bored….and I have a hard time dealing with Monopoly:) The fire pit is great, but that’s not till winter. Sometimes we just put on iTunes and dance which is probably very entertaining for my neighbors…”
We haven’t broken out Mancala yet, but we just tried Connect 4 and while we’re still in the early stages of learning, it offers GREAT potential and really gets the wheels turnin’. I got mine last Christmas season at Walmart, and I think it was only $5 or so, too! I absolutely love dance-a-thons, and chuckled about her comment regarding the neighbors. I’ve had that very same thought, many times myself!
Mary Kaye suggests (for those in Wisconsin): “An inexpensive summer outing is to head up to Bay Beach in Green Bay. Tickets are 25 cents and most rides are 2 tickets. The park is right on the shores of Lake Michigan. It’s a little gem.”
I’ve not yet been there, but have heard only great things about Bay Beach. Throw in a visit to Lambeau Field, and any Green Bay Packers fan-in-the-making will get their proper introduction to some serious state heritage.
Erin and Amy both offer different spins on scavenger/treasure hunts:
Erin (Tireless mother of four boys!): “For lunch or dinner when I’m home alone with the kids, I make a scavenger hunt for the boys. I hide clues around the house and they have to find them and head on to the next clue. Depending upon what we are having for dinner, they either find part of there dinner at each clue or play money. their food or money and meet at the final resting place… Read More. (If it is money, they then have to use it to buy their food at the “restaurant”. They love picking off the menu. ) At the end, we sit in front of the fireplace for a living room picnic.”
Amy: “I love the scavenger hunt idea too!
never thought about having them collecting anything along the way.
i do treasure hunts, and the girls love them. i have both hand drawn (therefore sad looking) clues on notecards, as well as pictures i took of somethings in the house and in the yard. the last clue usually leads to some special treat – like ice cream cones, or a small prize.
they love both the end result and the journey!”
Seriously, my friends… The above suggestions are all amazing, and times your kiddos will cherish forever.
Join the discussion and meet these fantastic parents on Facebook!
We love to have family theme dinners once every few months. Pick a theme – come in costume – make a few things to eat that match your theme and have fun! We did "breakfast in Belgium" last and everyone came in pajamas, we ate Belgian waffles and breakfast for dinner and we watched "Bedtime Stories". We have tons of memories and even better pictures. We've done colors, countries, mythical creatures, and periods in time. Get creative and go for it!
Indoor snowball fights are the best! We played those at school and retreats as ice breakers. You would write something about yourself on the paper before you crumple it up, then start the snowball fight and then pick one up and find the person!
It's been a while since I was a kid, but nowadays, my friends and I still get together and act like kids, haha. One of our favorite activities is getting together at someone's house and each of us brings a favorite board game or card game to share. That way, you can play new games you don't have at home without having to buy them and also playing with lots of people besides your family!
Another fun activity I've done with friends is a food workshop. My friend Dan is Italian and he and his mom invited us over to teach my siblings and I how to make their delicious family recipe meatballs. It was a great hands on activity and there was something for everyone to do. We had great fun learning how to make real Italian meatballs (we're used to buying frozen!) and we helped them make dinner!
I love the theme dinner night! I have to try that with my family. =)