Five Inexpensive Ideas for Family Fun

Most people today find it harder than ever to make ends meet, and keeping the kids entertained isn't always easy--or cheap. My daughter jokingly offered to let me have her teenagers, since it costs so much for them to date and even just to go to the movies. While I would welcome them, I know she was just kidding. If you need some fun ideas for family fun that won't break the family piggy bank, try these five inexpensive ideas for family fun!

Board Games: Board games are some of the best sources of fun for almost any age group. Games such as Scrabble, Monopoly, Game of Life, Trivial Pursuit, or Scattergoriesare fun for the entire family, and games like these encourage interaction between family members. One of our family favorites is Balderdash.

Card Games: Card games are readily available and cheap to get hold of. There are many sites on the Internet that have card game rules, if you need to brush up on how to play them. While teems may resist a bit at first, they will enjoy playing family games, too. My family's favorite card game is Phase 10, but we enjoy UNO, too.

Arts And Crafts: This option can be as cheap as you wish. You can use interesting sticks, stones, shells, and feathers collected on a family hike. These items can be strung together to form hanging ornaments, or glued to a picture frame, or even to make a wall hanging. With crafts, your imagination is your only limit, but if you are having trouble deciding on a craft, there are lots of online sites with craft ideas and instructions.

Invite Friends Over: Have your kids invite a few friends over for the day. Be sure you have some games or activities planned, such as a badminton set in the yard, or set up some relay races in the back yard or at the park. Sometimes a group of kids can be a handful, but generally things don’t get out of hand and your kids will always have a lot of fun with a few friends around. The more friends there are, the more easily they come up with their own (usually free) entertainment. It’s a winning solution. And, if you really want to make the most of the opportunity, why not let your kids have a hobo feast? They should have each of their friends bring two cans of vegetables. Cook a pound of ground beef till done, drain, and then start dumping in whatever the kids bring. Add two or three cans of tomatoes, heat thoroughly, and serve with crackers! (You might want to add a little salt and pepper for taste.) The kids will be surprised at how tasty it actually is!

Get Cooking: Have a cookie baking day. Have each child select a cookie recipe, then work with them to bake them up. Have them put a selection of cookies in some paper plates, wrap with colorful plastic wrap and tie with a bow. These are great to share with neighbors, and friends. Or, let them have a homemade pizza making party. After the pizza is done, they can enjoy eating it! Cooking activities are not only fun, they are educational, since they teach your kids a bit about cooking and measuring?

Having fun without spending a lot of money is not hard, it just takes a little thought a preparation. What is your favorite way to have cheap family fun?