Family Fun on a Frugal Budget

Family activities are always a focus in our home. We have fun playing together as a family and dh and I feel the time we spend together is important. The kids are very supportive of having family activities…. sometimes our budget is not. lol

We set aside one night a week specifically for family night. Everyone adjusts their schedule around it and after dinner, we have a little religious message or lesson and then we play a game and have treats. Other nights of the week, we MAY watch tv together or play a game or two with whomever is home, but this one night is always scheduled.
Aside from scheduled family time, we occasionally find ourselves playing a game, doing a puzzle or watching a show together. Once in a while, a larger family activity is in order. How can we have a bigger activity using a limited budget? A few ideas we’ve had success with:

Invite your children to the movies! My ds who is 17 did much of the work on this, but the younger ones helped and we ALL had fun! We rented a movie (though you could just pull out one you own but haven’t watched for a while, or borrow from a friend or the library). The furniture was rearranged to be more “theatre” like, (he also had 2 amps he uses for his band that he hooked up for surround sound – it was great!) show tickets were made, play money from a game found to use. We hung a sheet over the doorway to our family room where the tv is and my son set up a ticket booth just outside the door. He also gathered a variety of snacks we had around the house, soda, fruit snacks, popcorn, and we bought theater sized boxes of candy as well. (though you could easily do without buying those – I spent hours vacuuming up Nerds that were spilled. lol) At the appointed time, ds handed each family member $20 in play money and started taking tickets. It was $5 for a movie ticket, $1 for soda and most other treats. You should have seen our 4 and 6 year daughters grin as they paid their own way. LOL! We had such a fun evening and even though very little money was spent, this is an event we’ll always remember.

Take the family to breakfast! (or any other meal) Years ago we started a tradition of going to breakfast on Presidents Day. One year our budget was much too tight to allow it, but we knew the kids would be looking forward to going. Dh and I did some planning. We made a couple of signs and menu’s on the computer with all sorts of fun choices for breakfast… pancakes, french toast, eggs, omelet, bacon, juice, milk, hot chocolate, etc. There were choices everyone would like. (Breakfast is an easier meal to short-order cook for) We organized our ingredients the night before and hid them. In the morning, we hurried getting everyone ready to “go to breakfast”. My husband loaded the kids in the car while I hurried and set the table and hung up signs to announce the ‘restaurant’. We drove to a nearby store, where I needed to buy buttermilk anyway. I ran into the store quick and when I was finished dh drove home. The kids were a little confused until we opened the door and seated them at the table. Dh wore an apron and took orders, I cooked and set up the plates for him to serve. Oh, did we have fun! We’ve done similar meals on occasion and each one has been wonderful. We spent time together and it cost a fraction of what it would have to take a family of 8 to breakfast!

Enjoy a picnic in winter! Pack a picnic lunch or dinner. Toss a blanket on the floor in the living or family room to eat on. Bring folding camp chairs if you’d like. Play CD’s of outdoor sounds like a waterfall or birds chirping. After lunch, lay on the blanket to read a book together or play games. You could jazz this up by going to the “beach” for your picnic and having everyone wear a swimsuit or shorts and bring a towel to sit on. LOL

Have a sleepover! Okay, I admit, I’m old…. or at least the floor isn’t as comfortable as is used to be, LOL BUT the minor discomfort was well worth it when we pulled out the sleeping bags, pushed the furniture back, and had a slumber party in the family room. Lots of giggling, storytelling, fake snoring, and MANY “goodnight John Boy” moments. A night to remember!
You don’t need to spend money to have fun with your family…. you just need to spend time.

JOY