How many of you struggle at times to keep the kids entertained all summer long without breaking the bank? There are lots of options when you dig and do a little research – here are a few ideas I have come up with and tried to keep my kids occupied.
If your kids are anything like mine, you can spend a morning doing something super fun and then in the afternoon they will say they are “bored”! So you definitely want to make sure you plan enough activities to keep them amused. I personally don’t like to overschedule our weekends, as I think it’s important for us all to have downtime and time for the kids to play independently, without having to be “entertained” the whole time. I also have responsibilities to keep up with in the house and with my work schedule, the weekend is my time to do those things. But I love spending time with my kids doing something different together as a family and creating memories. I want to have fun with them and cherish every day I have with them – but I also want to keep it within my budget.
So, here are some of my ideas that you might not have thought of before:
Library
I know, I know. It’s -predictable and boring. But in all seriousness the library isn’t just for books anymore. At my local library they host cool events like reading to dogs one night a week, they do arts and crafts, story-time, and other events – all for free!
Parks
Another obvious choice – but hear me out. You can make going to the park an event – have a picnic, go fishing, fly a kite, check out a waterfall, feed ducks, play baseball, go on a scavenger hunt, check out a new playground, play in a splash pad. The options are endless – especially if you check out different parks in your area and what they offer. I happen to live by a bunch of state parks and it costs nothing to go and check out the lake, try to catch bugs and creatures, have a picnic etc.
Movies
Seems like an obvious choice – but what is a better thing to do than go to the movies on a rainy summer day? In our area we have a summer movie series where they play older movies (think Coco, Despicable Me 3, etc) for free on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 10am. They also play new movies on Tuesdays for only $5. Who can beat that?! To switch it up and make it fun I have taken my kids to the local drive-in which was a completely different experience for them. Our local soccer club also hosts summer movie nights at the soccer field once a week – it’s a free event where they play movies on a huge screen in the soccer field and everyone gets blankets and camps out to watch the movie together.
Volunteer
This one will take a bit of planning, but it is so worthwhile. Depending on the age of your children, you can volunteer at a local charity for a few hours (or the whole weekend!).
There are lots of charities that gladly accept any help they can get. Depending on your skills and interests, you could help with:
• Animal shelters/adoption events
• Habitat for Humanity
• Soup Kitchens
• School events
• Visiting a nursing home
• Helping an elderly neighbor with yard/housework
• Local church event
Not only is volunteering a great way to spend time as a family, it’s also a good lesson for kids!
Hiking
Depending on the age of your kids, this might be not so much fun! Little kids have little legs that don’t walk as far!
But if you kids are older, then going for a hike is a great way to relax and get some exercise as a family. For our kids, we check out the least strenuous trails because they are still little. Most trails offer at least two, sometimes more sets of trails based on the level of difficulty.
You can use Google to find nature preserves or trails near you. I bet you’ll be surprised how many there are that you don’t know about!
If you plan on taking your dog like we do (good exercise for him too!), then make sure you check before you go that dogs are allowed.
To make the hike even more fun you can take a picnic along, have a scavenger hunt, look for birds or animals, check out the plants… the list goes on!
Bike Ride
This doesn’t have to just be a bike ride around your neighborhood, which I’m sure you’ve done thousands of times. Throw the bikes (or rollerskates/skateboards if you can’t fit bikes) in your car and drive to a different neighborhood or local park and bike ride as a family there. In the area that I live in there is a river and we take our bikes are ride on the dike by the river.
Beach or Lake
Going to the beach or lake is always popular with kids. Who doesn’t love cool water on a hot day? Plan an outing with friends or family to go to the lake or beach together. Dig for seashells, look for minnows, build a sandcastle, go swimming – the list is endless.
Living Room Camp Out
Set up a tent in your living room (or just pillows and blankets on the floor) and “camp out”. You don’t have to spend the whole night there, but it sounds fun to sprawl on the floor and chat, play games or even just watch a movie.
S’mores are optional! (Make them on the stove top or in the microwave).
If you’re a bit more adventurous, then you could also camp out in your backyard too!
Art Night
This doesn’t have to be super complicated – you don’t need to use canvases, you can just do your painting on paper. Do tie dye on t-shirts, or splatter paint wars outside, try a medium you’ve never used before like watercolor or pastels.
It’s fun to do this as a family and compare your pictures at the end. I bet you’ll be shocked at how different they will look, even if you were all following the same directions.
This is absolutely one of my favorite things to do as a family! We always have so much fun and I’ve got some really nice matching artwork from it too!
Movie Night
This is another obvious one, but you can make it special. Have the kids pick a movie ahead of time and carry the theme through the whole evening. Have them dress up to match the movie, make a dinner like the people would eat in the movie. Watching Lady and the Tramp? Make Spaghetti and Meatballs. Watching Moana – put on grass skirts and make a Hawaiian dish for dinner. Throw a load of blankets and pillows on the floor and snuggle up together. Hang up white Christmas lights for a nice ambience.
Cleaning
I haven’t lost my mind – I promise! I’m talking about the fun, BIG cleaning jobs that kids love to help with!
My kids love helping wash the car. It’s something that we do once a month at home and they love soaping the car up, using water guns to clean it off, spraying the hose, and using the shammy to dry it. They also have dollar tree water guns that I bought to put windex in so they can help wash my windows. They think it’s a game.
Cleaning (especially with kids) is all about mindset. If you make it into a game, they will be more than happy to help.
Gardening
Have your kids plant some seeds of their own and watch them grow. If they are older, have them keep track of the process in a notebook, drawing what they see, keeping track of how many days it takes for the seeds to sprout.
Make a Special Snack Together
My kids love ice pops and ice cream in the summer time but I try to keep it as healthy as I can. I bought an ice pop mold from the Dollar Tree and had the kids pick out what fruit they wanted in their ice pops. They picked strawberries, blueberries and kiwi. I got some coconut water and cut up the fruit and popped them in the freezer. In a couple of hours, we had healthy treats that my kids loved and asked to do again.
So that gives you some ideas. What are you going to do?
Just remember that sometimes finding activities for the summer can either be fun or torture. It’s all about your attitude! Think about it with a fun and open mind, and you will have a blast! But if you dread it and think of it as a punishment, then you’ll hate it!
The key to success with most activities is PLANNING! Make sure you plan out your weekend fully and I just know it will be a tremendous success for you and your family!
