You can have great intentions to spend less money. Then enter children. And boredom. And whining. Next thing you know, you’ve shelled out hundreds of dollars to entertain the family and not have much to show for it after.
Here are some ideas to get you through any weekend, no matter if you’re trying to save lots of money or a little money. And if you’re attempting a no-spend weekend with that wallet completely on lockdown? You can do that too.
But first thing’s first. You have to plan ahead to avoid some basic pitfalls. All good plans can implode the minute the first person (kid or adult) gets hangry.
Planning For A No-Spend Weekend
Have a meal plan and make sure you have the groceries and snacks you need.
Don’t go out around mealtimes without food already packed.
Pack snacks no matter when you go out.
Don’t go into a store. At all. Window shopping is a dirty lie. It always turns into actual shopping.
Have an activity plan.
And here’s where the giant list of free family activities comes in…
At Home
Fun & Games –
Play board games
Play charades
Play Pictionary
Play hide & seek
Find things around the house or on a walk that rhyme. (From Our Family Code-30 Screen-Free Activities To Do With Your Preschooler)
Watch an old favorite movie you own
Camp out in the living room with sleeping bags, s’mores and ghost stories
Make a living room fort
Make a giant tic-tac-toe board on the floor with books and pillows
Put on a fashion show
Get Active –
Make a living room obstacle course
Have races like the crab walk, wheelbarrow race, three-legged race, bear walk, egg and spoon race or sack race (From Paper Heart Family-44 Activities To Tire Out Your Kids Before Bedtime)
Put on a talent show
Put on a play
Have a dance party
Get Creative –
Make greeting cards for upcoming special occasions (From And Then We Saved-50 Free Or Cheap Family Activities)
Make sock puppets (From And Then We Saved-50 Free Or Cheap Family Activities)
Make a collage
Make a vision board
Start bullet journals
Draw pictures
Color
Fingerpaint
Trace a picture from a favorite storybook and color it
Make paper airplanes (From Paper Heart Family-44 Activities To Tire Out Your Kids Before Bedtime)
Create a musical instrument. Add dried beans to an empty bottle or container. Seal it and play! (From Our Family Code-30 Screen-Free Activities To Do With Your Preschooler)
Try out new hairstyles
Try different Pinterest braids in your daughter’s hair
Get Cookin’ –
Do a ‘Chopped’ like cooking challenge & let your kids pick the main ingredients
Do a ‘Cupcake Wars’ baking challenge & let the kids be the commentators and judges
Teach your kids how to make your favorite childhood recipe
Get To Work –
Clean out closets and find clothes to donate or sell
Clean out toy bins and find some to donate or sell
Discover old toys your kids forgot they had
Outside Activities
Take a walk around the neighborhood
Go to the park
Go for a nature hike
Go on a scavenger hunt (while at the park, hiking or just around your neighborhood)
Play tennis
Play dodgeball
Play foursquare
Go for a bike ride
Have a picnic
Camp out in the backyard
Have a movie night outside on blankets with a projector screen or just a laptop
Blow bubbles
Chalk the driveway
Fly kites (From Coffee After Kids-30 Activities For The Whole Family)
Pick up litter around your neighborhood
Pick up litter at the park
Pick up litter at the beach
Take pictures of bugs and research them online
Start a leaf collection
Pick up limbs and branches for a bonfire or small firepit
Destination Activities
Visit a free museum
Visit a free zoo
Take a free workshop at Home Depot
Go on a scavenger hunt at the library
Check out books at the library for a reading marathon
Check out movies at the library for a movie marathon
Walk on the beach
Scope out cool architecture downtown
Ask your local fire station if you can take a tour
Volunteer
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