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Weekend activities for our family of five get expensive. Right now we want to teach our kids how to have fun without spending money. It is easy to get caught up in the money traps of fun activities. Trampoline parks, kid zones, and much more.
Therefore, money saving tactics need to be imposed because we who are parents from the 80’s remember when entertainment didn’t cost a dime. My parents thought the outside world of nature was full of activities.
Here are a few ways to beat boredom and still have a no spend weekend with kids.
Teach Kids to Find Free Activities
First, sit down with the kids and make a list of all the things and activities that are fun, and free. Free is the keyword. No over priced water parks, bring it home and set up the sprinkler. Enjoy a fun bike ride with your kids, and teach them the safety rules of biking. We always practice the buddy system, so make sure if they are going out on their bikes there are at least two or three together.
Another fun activity is playing an age old fun game of capture the flag. We used to play that and hide and seek until the street lights turned on. If you’re worried about them not wanting to get outside turn the air off, set up some fans around the house. Also, fans will save you money on your electric bill.
Finally, if they want to get a breeze and stay cool outside have them try out a set of wheels. My kids roll around on these everywhere they go, and the best part is they grow with your kids shoes. Razors are 100% better than belies, and cost less.
Set A Weekend Budget
Set a weekend budget of no-spend. Don’t go out to eat, fix whatever is in your pantry. Potluck style can be a lot of fun. In addition to staying in, don’t rent any movies. Read together as a family. Play some board games and see who is the ultimate winner of all. It is important to note finding games for all ages is important. We tried chutes and ladders with our older children, and they still enjoyed it!
A card game we have all come to love is called garbage. I love to sit down with my boys’ and play UNO or Skip Bo. Too much technology has taken away our ability to find fun around us.
Plan An 80’s Day of Games
Back when I was growing up people didn’t entertain their kids. Looking back it was definitely a generation of figuring it out. Build some resiliency this summer and shut off the screens. Here is a few fun games that will make your budget scream with happiness. Make ice cream floats, play a few 3 legged races, and grab jars for fireflies. Make it a night to remember and let the kids hang out until they see the street lights come on, even if it is in front of your house. Let them be outside as much as possible.
Have A Movie Marathon
Host a free movie day. We get most of our movies free or at discount movie stores. If you only do streaming that is ok. Prime has a lot of movies for free, and so does Pluto. Set up a popcorn station, Shop Summer Party Supplies at Dollar Tree“>Dollar Tree candy station, and fill up on pop. It is sure to be a night to remember.
Summer 2024 is going to be one where you declare that your kids have fun without screens. I can’t wait for my kids to have an 80s fun filled summer where I show them all of the ways we used to enjoy summer. Look for my 80s bike adventure in the future!
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We are doing fine financially–but both of us have always been savers. It was the way I was raised. So I buy used, and we pay for it up front. I do use credit cards–but we pay it off every month. I use them more for the rewards–every year I get gift cards for the teacher’s gifts and my brothers-in-law with the rewards. So we keep saving as when we buy a car–we want it paid for. We have never had a car bill, never had credit car debt. We do have a mortgage, but we are paying extra to try to get that paid off as fast as we can. We are careful with our money, we work hard, and God has blessed us. I know that some people do all the things I do, and still struggle so wherever someone finds themselves, we have to rely on the Lord and stay humble and keep eternity in view.
Ugh, I hate credit cards! They got me into lots of trouble, or rather I LET them get me into trouble. I am now almost completely debt-free, just a bit of student loan left. I don’t ever want to live the way I used to. Nice post.
Oh yes, we tend to save even more when more money is coming in! Very important for us! And I had a bad experience with credit cards in college – I won’t use them now at all!
I agree with putting away the credit cards!!! From my parents’ example growing up, I learned to spend and use credit cards carelessly and not pay off debt until I left college with thousands of dollars of debt. I write about some of this in my blog post here: http://www.whatsonmymindgrapes.com/2009/02/19/beat-the-man/
Definitely thankful for freedom from credit card debt, though now it’s school loans we are battling. 🙁