How does your family have fun for free?
There are plenty of ways to have free fun; especially in the summer when the weather is nice.
Here are some ideas for you:
Hiking, walking, getting out: Of course this is an obvious free fun activity. No matter the weather, you can get out. Depending on your location you can find various things to do. In Humboldt we used to go to the beach, the main street boardwalk, check out cool houses in weird places, and hike in the redwood forests. In New Mexico we of course, spent more time in desert settings (not as much fun, but free). Now, in Oregon, there are plenty of free and cool park and recreation areas to visit.
Free days: Check your local museum or zoo for monthly family free days. It’s more crowded to go on these days, but fun.
Make overs!: Ok, my son and I don’t do this, but as a Big Sisters volunteer, my littles and I had plenty of make-over fun - even just doing our hair in a new style was fun and free.
Go visit a train yard: My son likes this one. Although he thinks it’s a little loud, so we don’t go often.
Window shopping: I don’t like to shop, but I like to walk, and walking in a downtown area, full of things for my son to see is fun, free, and keeps him entertained.
Memberships: Zoo and museums memberships are not totally free; true. However, after we’ve paid once our memberships tend to pay for themselves within three visits, which means the rest of the year is pretty much free, so I’m counting this.
Rock collecting: My son is a rock freak. He’s really, really into rocks. He can spend hours looking for rocks outside, and while this does slow down our walks, it’s fun for him and free for me.
When gift times roll around, I ask people to get Cedar rock based gifts. Over the years, he’s gotten a magnifying glass, rock books, and rock holders, so his rock collecting has stayed free (for us) and people can get him something he really enjoys.
The library: Always fun, and if you get your books in on time, free. You can even watch for events like meet the author, story time, or art shows.
Art centers and more: Most cities have something like art night once a month, and even if your city doesn’t, you likely have college art centers, art galleries, and more available to go look at. Some people think those art nights are adult based, but I think kids should be exposed to art early on, so I’ll take Cedar to them.
Grow stuff: Gardening can cost money; but not if you’ve been saving seeds, or can save seeds. Using leftover seeds is free, and kids love to grow almost anything. We’ve been reusing seeds from many of our flowers for years now.
What do you do that’s free and fun?
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4 opinions for How does your family have fun for free?
DramaMama
Jul 22, 2008 at 3:16 pm
My son loves sporting events, so right now we are going to lots of minor/little league games. There is no entrance fee and he gets to cheer for random kids! We’ve also gone to the local soccer megaplex on a few Saturdays to get a sports fix but I can’t quite get myself into that one. I keep shuddering at all the vans and juice boxes and huge too-cool-for-you Mommy sunglasses. Sorry if anyone is one of those moms, and maybe I will be one someday, but right now I am trying to avoid that scene if I can. I figure I will probably turn out to be a sports mom of some kind and we already have a mini-van, but I just hope I’ll be a little less…well, whatever. Point being, there are some free sports things you can attend if your kid is into that, like mine =)
Tricia
Jul 23, 2008 at 6:40 am
In our town, they offer a Kid’s Entertainment Series. It’s held at a local park on Tuesday evenings in the summer. Each week they have two different entertainers. Last night was a magician and a juggler. They also have free face painting along with free masks and other trinkets for the kids. The kids have a ball and the parents can bring along chairs and sit and chat.
Wednesdays (same town) they offer Music on the Green. The town hires bands to come in and play. Again, bring your chair or blanket and have a picnic or whatever. They have a dancing area set up in front of the stage and again, everyone has a great time.
We’ve been pretty good about attending the Kid’s series this year - we’ve only missed one week. We haven’t had the opportunity to go to the Music on the Green series this year. It seems that we either hit one or the other.
Nicole J.
Jul 23, 2008 at 6:23 pm
“First Fridays” and “Second Saturdays” are big in our area. It’s a great way to hear free music, do some window shopping, and even meet other families.
Our favorite free thing - take a walk to the playground.
Shannyn
Jul 31, 2008 at 11:18 pm
Cooking dinner and baking new things- or throwing something together from items in the pantry can be an adventure!
I know Street Fairs sometimes have Chili Cookoffs with free tastings and games for kids.
Volunteering is not only free- but is great for kids and has some benefits too that are more fun- like a free tshirt or a gift pass to a movie theatre, etc. Planting trees, park cleanups and grafitti cleanup are good for everyone!
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