Sticking to a budget can be difficult and boring. BUT! It doesn’t have to be! Family activities don’t have to cost an arm and a leg.
We are always on a budget, not that I have always been good at it. You can check out my article here about the outrageous amount of money we were spending each month on groceries. Then, check out this article here about how we failed on our first go at budgeting.
To cut costs we try to do free or almost free activities. Most of these can be done year-round and some can be tweaked to fit different seasons. Our summers are brutal, but our winters are amazing. Most of our outdoor activities are done during the wintertime and early spring. Tailor these to fit your region of the world.
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Here are some of our favorites:
Outdoor budget friendly family activities –
Nature treasure hunt – A nature treasure hunt is great for little ones. The nature hunt card can be generalized like tree, bird, animal, leaf, pinecone, etc., or it can be more specific to your area. Check out books from your local library about the ecosystems in your area. The kids can look at the book before or after the nature treasure hunt.
Bird or plant identifying – This can be used for any age, but I have had the most success as my boys have gotten older. They can use a notebook to document birds, animals, or plants that they spot out in nature.
Before or after your adventure, look up some birds, animals, or plants that are native to your area. It’s exciting when you find them out in nature and can identify them.
Scouting for animal tracks and scat – This is always a fun activity. We usually pair ours up with our hiking outings because we are further away from the city so there is more wildlife. We also have more success the earlier we go out.
There is a local museum that we like to visit that has native animals and their scat on display. At first, my kids thought it was gross, but we reminded them that if you can identify the scat then you know what animals are in the area. Now they love looking for it on the trails as long as it’s not mountain lion scat.
Learning to use a compass – This can be accomplished anywhere; at a park, a nearby trail, or walking around the neighborhood. There are lots of great books and online resources available to help you learn to use a compass if you need a refresher. This is the compass our oldest son received for Christmas that he loves. He can place it on top of maps and see the directionals.
Lake days – Some of our best days have been lake days with friends. All you need are some sand toys (or old cups and utensils), towels, sunscreen, snacks or lunch, water shoes, chairs or blankets, and whatever else you want to play in the water with. Lake days are our favorite days!
Hiking (local or within a few hours drive) – We usually hike locally at least once a week when the weather isn’t 100 degrees and above. When we have extra time, we like to hike out-of-town trails. Most are free, but some require a fee. Make sure to check the website or All Trails to see if there are fees or not.
Playground with friends – One of my kids’ all-time favorites. Getting together at the park with friends is inexpensive and so fun! They love playing soccer, hunger games, fastest tagger in the west, basketball, chalk, bubbles, wild girls, etc. Getting to spend hours with their friends, and outside where they have so much freedom, is honestly the best thing ever.
Day trips – I am always bugging my husband to go on vacation, but it’s not always possible so day trips are a good in between. There’s no hotel expense, you can pack your own food, take along any items you need for stops along the way (fishing poles, bathing suits, etc), and can be back home in time for dinner.
Picnics – I love picnics. Gathering together on a blanket in the soft grass or at a picnic table. Laying out all the good food to eat and just enjoying each other’s company. It makes my mama heart happy. Bringing along a family read aloud is a great way to pass some of the time.
Visiting local creeks – When it’s hot or even when it’s not, local creeks are exciting. Watching the water run, trying to find pebbles in the water, and just listening to the rustling as the water rolls over the stones is serenity. And then the kids decide that that’s boring and jump into the creek, across the creek, and start looking for the biggest stick they can find. It’s still serenity, in a different way.
National parks or state parks that are close by – We have only made it to the Grand Canyon, the north, south, and east side, all on separate occasions. We have friends that love national parks and travel to a different one each year. I put this on the list as the entrance fees are not usually too pricey and you get to enjoy so much nature for so little money. Of course, your pre-trip cost will be more if you don’t have the gear you need, but if you just want to visit for a day then it won’t stretch the budget too much.
Indoor budget-friendly family activities –
Movie night at home – This is a tradition in our home. Every Friday is movie night at our house. We get take-out, watch a movie as a family, and eat ice cream. No matter how busy, good, or bad our week was, we don’t skip out on movie night with the family.
Learning to bake/cook – This is a cheap and fun thing to do when wanting to stay indoors. Grab your favorite cookbooks or borrow some from the library. The kids can find a few recipes they want to try, help make the shopping list, and then help create the dish. Will it be messy? Most definitely. Will they remember how fun it was to cook with mom and/or dad? Most definitely. We use Watkins natural food coloring when a recipe calls for food coloring.
LEGO building (using LEGOs you already have) – This is a favorite past time at our house. If the kids think they even have 5 free minutes before we have to move onto something else, they scamper to their room to start their next LEGO project. We have spent hours building something together and they have also spent hours building on their own. The upfront cost of the LEGOs can be pricey, but if you have a big bucket of pre-purchased LEGOs then it’s an easy afternoon.
Making cards for friends and family – This activity can be inexpensive, fun, and a way to show others that you are thinking of them. Construction paper, or whatever paper you have on hand and drawing tools (markers, colored pencils, crayons) are the basic things you need. You can definitely get fancy with stickers, stamps, googly eyes, glitter, and so on.
We usually think of someone in our family that lives far from us and doesn’t get as many visitors anymore and make them some nice cards. We always hear from them how much they loved that we thought of them and how happy it made them to receive the cards. It’s always a great experience for my kids and me.
Wood burning – I will admit, that this one takes a little investment. We received wood burning tools and wooden plaques in a Craftsman Crate subscription box. My boys loved it, though, there is a bit of a learning curve. None the less, it’s fun when you see the final product, even if it’s not perfect.
Wood burning tools can also be purchased at craft stores and Wal-Mart. The burning tool becomes extremely hot, so I would only do this with older children. My boys were 10 and 12 when they started doing this, but that decision is up to you on how old your children should be to start this.
Visiting the library – Totally free! It’s always fun to browse for new books to read and most libraries usually have some sort of toy area for the littles to play. This is one of those great indoor activities when the weather is awful but you don’t want to be in your house.
Picnics in the living room (on really, really hot days, or cold depending on your season) – Picnics in the living room can be however you want it to be. For us, it has looked like laying out a blanket on the living room floor and eating our normal lunch together while reading books. Sometimes, we make special treats to eat with our lunch on the living room floor, and sometimes we eat lunch while watching Duff vs. Buddy on the Food Network while we eat lunch on the living room floor.
Home repairs – Not major home repairs, but if you are thinking of re-painting a room in your home, let the kids join in. If you need to replace older door stops (or non-existent door stops because your children removed them when they were young), then they can help put in the new door stops. They love to help fix things (even if they are the reason, it is broken ha-ha).
Bike riding – Whenever we get a chance we take the bikes around the neighborhood. It gets everyone active, if you already own a bike then it doesn’t cost anything extra, and it’s tons of fun feeling the wind blow through your hair!
Campfires in the backyard – You don’t have to gather all the gear to go camping or bonfire at the beach, you can do it in your backyard! (If your local county allows it.) We can only do this during the winter and for a short period during early spring, as it just gets too hot the rest of the year. It is so much to gather friends and family over to roast some marshmallows or hot dogs and sit under the stars (kind of – hello light pollution). We use these roasting sticks because they work so well! They are great because they can extend for roasting and shorten for when it’s time to put them away.
Don’t worry we picked it up and threw it away after.
Not free, but a small price to pay family activities –
Science center or zoo memberships –
We love getting family passes to the science center. We have never had one for the zoo, but we have had lots of friends that get one every year and love it. These are great when you want to see little bits at a time and come back later to see the rest.
You can usually get friends and family in free with you depending on your membership level AND most science centers and zoos are on the passport program. The passport program allows anyone with a science center membership to visit other science centers around the U.S. for free or a discounted admission rate. The same goes for a zoo membership.
Pogo Passes –
We have been purchasing POGO passes yearly for the last three years. They are not available everywhere, so check to see if they are available in your area. If they are, they might be worth the money if you are wanting to visit more attractions throughout the year.
Our POGO pass gets us in to major league baseball games, hockey games, and arena football. We also get a free game of bowling each week (you have to pay to rent shoes) along with a round of glow mini golf (no purchase necessary for this one).
We also get one visit to a local waterpark, local trampoline park, the zoo, and several more attractions. This is usually a Christmas gift for the family, as you must purchase a pass for each person, so the lump sum is mighty. Although the lump sum is mighty, when you compare the cost of the pass with the cost of admission to each of the attractions, you are coming out on top.
Wrapping up –
I hope you found some inspiration here on fun family activities that are free or close to it. We are always looking for fun ways to spend time together, with family, or with friends. Let me know in the comments what your family loves to do on a budget, I would love to know!
