low cost fun activities

**PrairieRose** · 05-07-2006, 05:52 PM

Homemade popcycles come to mind....my kids used to love them made with leftover pick juice (not good for them I know....but they'd drink the juice when I wasn't looking anyway

). We used to spend days at the public pool, with our own drinks and snacks packed in a cooler, take the kids to the park in the evenings, go to the free kid baseball games (with aforementioned drinks and snacks in tow). We loved going to the lake too. That was always fun and we did everything we could to make it less expensive. Recently my dd left me a journal when she went on an extended trip. In it she wrote, I can still taste the sand in our sandwiches at the lake.....

Take a day trip to a historical place nearby that you've never visited. That's always fun.

Next....

**sunshine** · 05-07-2006, 06:15 PM

concerts in the park

swimming in the lake

various festivals (check the area newspapers for what's available)

**miss_thrifty** · 05-07-2006, 07:15 PM

homemade slushies and milkshakes made of crushed ice and powdered milk and favourite item or flavour.(blender)
biggest bubble blowing contests
bbq on backyard (friends and family)- potluck
homemade water slide- use long pices of tarp(used for camping) make sure ground is flat as possible(if too bumpy-kids find it too hard on their stomachs) or slopes id great, make sure its really wet and hose runs all the time.
On hot days- kids pick favourite movie and we wold have slushies and popcorn or veggie and dip.Also box of jello pudding mix in blender with crushed ice and milk.

**Kimberlina** · 05-07-2006, 08:13 PM

Kid fun: bubbles, lots of 'em, sidewalk chalk, swimming (even a cheap kiddie pool is fun,) gardening, definitely making "juicy bars" (popsicles made from DD's leftover fruit and yogurt,) picnics anywhere, going to the air-conditioned library on really hot days, playing in te sand box (again, cheap kiddie pool works great for this)

Adult fun: free concerts, yard sales to get a shopping-spree fix on the cheap, gardening, swimming, the beach (only cheap if you live near one and take your own food)

**pkellyc** · 05-07-2006, 08:23 PM

When the kids were small we took trips to our local park with p and j sandwiches for picnic lunches, spent lazy afternoons with our feet in the kiddie pool, ate mountains of watermellon and popsicles, the beach, the lake, hikes, parades, walked to the summer reading programs at the library, went swimming in my brothers pool, camped out in the backyard, as a matter of fact we camped out in the livingroom, it was the only room back then with an airconditioner. We cooked on the grill, toasted marshmallows, watched the stars, played catch, frisbee, baseball with the cousins, we went to drive in movies with a couple of lawn chairs and sleeping bags in the back of our truck, fireworks that we watched for free from the top of a hill, that our local amusement park displayed on a weekly basis. We too went to the local concerts in the park with our picnic supper in tow. Special treats of dairy queen icecream and trips to our local hot dog place to eat on their picnic tables. A membership to a aquarium gave us countless hours watching the seals at play.

Growing up we had no pool and when I was little I remember my mother filling the tub with a couple of inches of cool water, she then let us put on our bathing suits and let us "wash the tub". She also would pop a ton of popcorn and let us sit on the back steps after dark like "grownups" while we ate it.

**Lmullin** · 05-07-2006, 09:03 PM

While it's not free actually, we can swim at the Y with our family membership.
The park is a big one that we take advantage of. We also have a nice yard so we invite lots of folks over to play and hang out and just chill. To avoid feeding all these folks, sometimes we invite them over for "after dinner drinks." The adults have a few drinks (that everyone provides) and the kids run around and play until the bugs come out. We also have a chiminea which is a lovely way to spend an evening in the summer watching an outdoor fire and roasting marshmallows.
I love to take walks with the kids and go for bike rides. A small kiddie pool out back is also nice. I loved the idea about an old tarp and hose to slip around on! How clever... A museum membership (if you have children's museum nearby) is a very economical way to get out of the heat and into AC year round! We spent 100 bucks on a children's museum membership which admits 6. We have one such museum 5 miles away and another about 25 miles away. We visit them almost weekly so it really pays off. Of course the library is great and free.

**lilk** · 05-07-2006, 09:15 PM

We enjoy taking hikes in the woods behind our house and taking a pic-nic. Playing all sorts of out door games, volley ball, basket ball, or just kicking a ball around. Walking in the creek, with old shoes on. Riding bikes. Toasting hot dogs over a small fire in the yard. Catching butterflies, lightning bugs. We spread out a large blanket in the yard and read stories together. If its really hot we have water gun fights, or use old spray bottles. And sometimes we just stay inside and play board games and avoid the heat.

**frugalnana** · 05-07-2006, 09:32 PM

When the kids were small we went to alot of outdoor events at the fairgrounds. Dog shows, flea markets, the beach and the park. Used to take our own drinks and snacks to save.
My dh and I go to sons to fish and cookout. We also go camping. Since we both love softball (stepdaughter) used to play. We go to all the games at the park and watch. We know alot of the families and some of their grandkids.

**treeluva** · 05-08-2006, 01:06 AM

PLAYGROUNDS! Us moms get together and bring all the kids, with lunches. THe kids play ALL DAY, the moms get some socializing time with each other, and the kids are TIRED when its time for bed!
Also, cheap dollar movies when it is too hot outside, (We used to do this once every 2 weeks when I was growing up, we thought we were so cool going to the "show") and playing badmitten was one of my all time favorites. We would get flower seeds and plant them in the spring, then watch them grow all summer...... funny, those were the only flower beds that we ever weeded, the ones that we planted..... ride bikes, go to yard sales with 2 dollars in our pockets....(we were always so excitied about getting to "shop") making sugar water (yeah yeah, maybe no so great for the teeth... but we only got to do it on Fridays) go fishing at the lake (of course, I dont remember us ever having bait.... lol, we were so young, we thought it was just cool to have a snoopy pole.... when we got a bit older we started getting bait) walks around the neighborhood, the trampoline (yes, start up cost can be a couple hundred, but the thing got used EVERYDAY..... FOR YEARS!) making kool aid pops...... kiddie pools...... oh, the joys of summer!

**leezza** · 05-08-2006, 04:02 PM

Well what DH and I both remember doing with our families growing up that was fun and still is, going for a Saturday or Sunday drive, visit a neighborhood you have never been to, see where that new road they just built goes to........I even remember sometimes we would just go for the short drive to the local ice cream shop for a cone......

Unfortunately the driving part is no longer frugal unless you keep within a very small area!

leezza

**ewokgirl** · 05-08-2006, 11:56 PM

The library! Take advantage of any programs. Also, schedule at least one trip there weekly. Other than going on vacation, I think going to the library each week was my favorite summer time activity.

Churches will be running VBS programs all summer. If you're into church stuff, don't hesitate to send the kids to various VBS programs. Churches always welcome visitors, and your kids will have a blast. Just make sure they're not all running the same program. (Southern Baptist churches, for example, tend to all use the same curriculum.)

**Dave'sGirl** · 05-10-2006, 06:07 AM

What a fun post! Leeza, you could do that trip around the neighborhood with your bicycle

**PINKDUCKY** · 05-11-2006, 04:19 PM

Bubbles and sidewalk chalk outside, we also go to my moms house - she just put in a pool. My kids love the beach too, but over here we have to be careful esp now when the waves get too rough. I definitely need to teach the 2yr old how to swim this summer!

**frugalfoster** · 05-11-2006, 06:39 PM

PINKDUCKY....everyday is like summer for you....you live in one of the most wonderful places on earth.....I'm envious. I live in Washington State and we have a cabin up in the mountains (base of Mt. Rainier) so hiking is the activity of choice.

**YankeeMom** · 05-12-2006, 07:59 AM

I haven't read the entire thread, so forgive the repeated ideas (time constriction right now)

-parades & festivals. I like to get our local paper or check on our city's website & their calendar online to see when their parades & free festivals are. This month there is an Armed Forces parade, then free admittance for military families into the local zoo. Next month there is a Dairy parade then free ice cream afterward at the Dairy Festival.

-the library. Almost all of our libraries offer summer reading programs. Kids read books and get rewards based on either the number of books or number of pages read (or read to them for the younger non-readers).

-the park/playground. We live close to three city parks (not including the parks at the schools). Our city offers another summer program that on the weekdays from 9am to noon they have youth volunteers stationed at the playground to organise games, coloring, other activities. Out in the more rural areas, they have something called "Recreation" and once a week they take all the kids who sign up (free) on a field trip to the beach (lake).

-camping in the backyard. My boys are actually camping in their bedrooms tonight

they're too excited to wait until warmer weather.

-sidewalk chalk, bubbles, water balloons

-picnics outside, either in the backyard or at one of the parks.

-our city also offers free t-ball and free swimming lessons to city residents. City residents also get free or reduced (can't remember what they decided this year) admission to the city pools.

My biggest tip would be to explore your city/town and what it offers. You may be surprised at just how much there is that is free