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When you’re living a frugal life, the idea of “family fun” can be intimidating since so many family activities available involve spending a lot of money. We often forget that some of the greatest family activities are free or very inexpensive. Our Saving Sense Newsletter will bring many of these activities to light, so be sure to subscribe. In the meantime, here are a few frugal activities we thought your family might enjoy…

Raising Butterflies in Your Home!

This is our most recommended family activity for so many reasons; it’s very educational, it’s enjoyable for all ages, it adds to the beauty of your neighborhood and our planet! For about $15-$30 at Live Monarch, you can get everything you need to raise your own butterflies! That includes milkweed cuttings to plant and feed, a caterpillar home, educational information on raising your butterflies, caterpillar eggs or babies, and more! Considering that the raising of the caterpillar to butterfly lasts for several weeks, $15-$30 makes this a very frugal activity for all to enjoy. The warmer months are here, so now is the perfect time for this frugal family fun!

Note: This is also an excellent activity for summer school and summer camp programs! Best of all, Live Monarch will give a discount to educational facilities ordering any of their butterfly raising tools!

 

Fun in Nature!

Aside from the sheer beauty of spending time outside with your family - it’s also excellent for your family’s physical and emotional health! Aside from the cost of gas driving to the park, this activity is FREE and always fun! Most families don’t even realize how many beautiful parks are w/in 30 miles of their homes. Be sure to check FindLocalParks.com for a list of parks in your area. Some great ways to spend your time outside; hiking, scavenger hunting, searching for creatures, playing a game of tag, passing a ball, playing on park playgrounds, a family game of hide-n-seek, fishing, a search for treasure, observing birds and flowers, etc.! The possibilities are endless, and the memories that come from this time spent together will last a lifetime.

 

Movie Nights!

A wonderful family activity includes a good ol’ movie rental and some popcorn. Single bags of popcorn for microwave popping are around $1 and a movie rental can vary from $3-$5. That’s a night of family fun and bonding for less than $7!! You can spice up movie nights by playing a board game while you watch the movie, making s’mores in your fireplace, making ice cream sundaes, etc. Every movie night can feature a different activity to keep things fun and unpredictable! We recommend joining Blockbuster’s Home Delivery program. You can sign up for a $10 plan which allows you to choose movie rentals from your computer and have them delivered to your home automatically. The best part is….you can bring the movies that come to you in the mail to any local Blockbuster store and trade them in for an in-store movie for free! They also allow you to signup fo their free trial just to see if the plan works for you! If you’re a family that enjoys watching movies, this is a great way to save on movie rentals and on entertainment, in general. No matter how you go about it, Movie Night is a fun frugal activity that will leave your children with warm memories!

 

Watch it Grow!

Planting seeds, flowers, and other plants as a family is a wonderful activity for so many reasons. Most importantly, it is very educational for both children and adults. Aside from learning about the process of planting and what it takes to grow a plant, this activity also teaches aspects of responsibility and the importance of taking care of living things. This activity is also great for the environment and while you plant together, you can use the opportunity to discuss love and care for our planet. In addition, you can choose to plant fruit and/or vegetable plants which will then provide you with fresh, frugal foods! If you’re going to pot the plant, be sure to allow the kids and/or yourself to paint the pot for added fun that will add sentimental value to the plant.
 

 

Homemade Fun

One activity that is enjoyable and for adults and children of any age is coloring.  You’re never too young nor too old to sit down and create with one another.  Here’s a recipe for both homemade sidewalk chalk and bathrub crayons.  Aside from the enjoyment of coloring together - you will also enjoy making these these together!

Sidewalk Chalk
Ingredients:
1/3 cup quick setting plaster of paris
1 TBS powdered tempera paint
3 TBS water
Plastic Cookie cutter, candy mold or toilet paper tube.

Directions:
Mix plaster, powdered tempera paint, and water together in a small bowl until blended.  Quickly spoon the mixture into a cookie cutter, candy mold or toilet paper tube sealed at one end with duct tape.  Let the chalk dry 30-45 minutes.  Carefully pop the chalk out of the cookie cutter or candy mold.  If you are using a toilet paper tube, peel the tube away from the stick of chalk.

Bathtub Crayons

Bathtub Crayons are great for coloring on the side of the bathtub, or on tile walls and floors, as well.  They are completely washable.   These can also be used as soap!

Ingredients:
1 cup grated Ivory soap
1/4 cup warm water
4-6 drops food coloring
Plastic cookie cutters

Directions:
Mix water, soap and food coloring together in a medium bowl.  Stir crayon mixture until it begins to stiffen. remove mix from bowl and knead until it is the consistency of thick dough.  Spoon crayon mix into plastic
cookie cutters.  Place the cutters into the freezer for 10 minutes.  Pop the crayons out of the cookie cutters and allow them to dry overnight or until hard.

 

Do you have a frugal family fun idea you’d like to see added here?  Please Email Us to share your idea!