Frugal Family Fun
Frugal Family Fun – Including Ideas for Fall
One of the best rules when it comes to family fun is to plan ahead and do your research. It can make a world of difference when you have planned ahead for fun, and can keep you from spending money outside of the budget. You can plan extremely frugal fun, and you can budget for the more expensive events.
General ideas for frugal family fun
- Entertainment – plan for family fun. Make plans for your family ahead of time. Do some research about local events in your area, or find coupons for fun activities.
- Use Groupon for local events or special occasions.
- Create family fun nights with old fashioned games, pop corn and candy from the dollar store.
- Take walks at the park or in the woods – call it a hike, bring cameras, binoculars and field journals to make it more of a special event.
- Try fishing at a local park or pond – some of my best childhood memories involve holding a fishing pole and sitting with my dad eating a “special event” candy bar. As simple as it is, it was special one-on-one time.
- Go for bike rides together. Check parks, state & local for bike paths, or just ride in the neighborhood together.
- Roast marshmallows over a fire pit (or a hole in the yard surrounded by rocks). It doesn’t have to be fancy to be fabulous. Sitting around the fire together is fun!
- Cook together – gather in the kitchen to make dinner and desert. Make a theme night with movies and food to go with it.
Ideas for Fall Fun
- Go apple picking! Make Apple butter (try our recipe for canning here)
- Visit the pumpkin patch – check for local festivals in your area or try a local farm
- Go for a hay ride (check with state parks & county calendars or local papers)
- Invite the neighbors over for some apple bobbing fun
- Try some fun fall kids crafts (Check out these ideas from No Time for Flash Cards)
- Make Fall Flavored play-dough (try these apple cider, and pumpkin pie recipes)
- Collect and press colorful leaves
- Rake and jump in piles of fallen leaves! The best way to create these is to gather leaves together using a leaf blower (take a look at The Best Leaf Blowers if you don’t already have one, they’re a must in the fall months).
- Go for a walk in the woods to collect branches & make a Thankful Tree
- Have a bonfire – even a backyard pit will do
- Roast marshmallows and make smores
- Have hot chocolate outside under the stars
- Drink hot cider and tell stories around the fire
- Make some hand casts and create a keepsake that you can display in your home (P.S – kids love to get crafty!)
- Decorate a pumpkin – then roast the seeds, and use the meat to make pumpkin muffins (try my little chef’s favorite fall recipe for pumpkin muffins here)
- Visit a corn maze!
- Go for a nature walk and collect fall items for a table “nature-scape” (think pretty pine cones, acorns, leaves)
- Make a quick and easy fall wreath for the front door (see this one from Pre-meditated Leftovers)
- Collect candy together to hand out at or donate to a children’s shelter or for the church festival
- Make these Autumn Leaf bowls by Red Ted Art
- Try one of these 20 different fun fall crafts and decorate your home for the season