- Bowling - If you go on Sunday mornings before noon, the games are
usually $1-2 each in my area. Sometimes special rates are available at other
times as well.
- Park - during warmer weather, go to the park and play frisbee or swing on the
swings! Pack a picnic lunch and bring a nice tablecloth/blanket to sit on, a
thermos of cold lemonade, etc. During crisper days, make it a thermos of hot
cocoa.
- Library - many libraries offer free movies (theater in
library as well as dvd rentals). They may also have collections on display,
book readings, author signings, lectures and more.
- Village outings - My current town offers free family movies in the park on
Wednesday nights during the summer. My prior town offers free concerts in the
park during the week (Thursday nights there) in the summer.
- Historical theaters - another source for free movies - our historical
theater (renovated) offers one evening of free movies about once a month and
during the summer they do morning free movies for the kids
- Museum - many museums have a donation-free day during the week for those
feeling a bit of a financial bite
- Coupons - I get the entertainment book ($25) and am easily able to recoup my
expenses with the 2-for-1 coupons during the year. This lets me get some less
expensive outings and encourages me to try new places.
- Miniature Golf - check for coupons for 2-for-1 admission and also check for
reduced fee times (similar to matinees at movies).
- High tea - hold high tea at your home with special sandwiches
(cucumber, tuna fish, etc. with the crusts cut off and cut with cookie cutters
into cute shapes), hot cocoa, small homemade cookies, etc. In the warmer
weather hold it outside in your yard
. Depending on the age
of your children, invite teddy bears or dolls! Wear crazy hats and lace gloves.
- Cooking lesson - bake a batch of cookies together and use it as an
educational time as well as being fun..
- Game night – Get together with friends for a game night – Pictionary,
scrabble, monopoly, charades, whatever sounds fun. Can be customized depending
on the ages of the participants. Create puppets from old socks and put on a
show (use a clothesline and a curtain for a stage) for the family or
neighborhood.
- Botanic Garden or Arboretum - I happen to belong to an arboretum and consider
the expense worthwhile for myself. They have LOTS of activities for members
during the year - including special concerts, bike riding for members only on
Friday and Saturday evenings during the summer, plays, and more. Many of the
member events are free, some cost money but you get reduced admission fees.
Even just going and sitting in the grounds or walking the trails can be fun and
relaxing. It also comes with reciprocal admission to other parks and gardens.
This has proven wonderful.
- Tourism - check out the convention and visitor's bureau for your town or the
chamber of commerce for hidden gems - you might be surprised to discover state
parks, historical plaques and buildings, and more that you didn't even know
were there in your town!
- Craft activity - have a private craft hour with your child, making some
special item (could be artistic or functional, such as stepping stones). Could
just use recycled items like toilet paper tubes and egg cartons with leftover
paint and glitter. Heck even a potato can be cut to be a rubber stamp!
- Zoo - check to see if your local zoo has reduced admission days. Also look
for smaller zoos that may be less expensive or wildlife rehabilitation centers.
- Rental movie with a theme - you could do 2-3 movies with a theme, like
baseball day or movies set in the orient and then match the food to the movie
theme (such as hot dogs or stir fry), maybe decorate the room a little bit
along the same lines (baseball peanuts with the kids names on them from
construction paper; paper lanterns from construction paper)
- Philanthropic - spend the day doing something special for others -
participate in a river clean up, help an elderly person with household chores
like painting or raking leaves, help at the canned food pantry - this can raise
an appreciation in your kids to remind them that the best things in life don't
come in boxes with bows and that you are truly always blessed because things
COULD be worse!
- Gardening - plant seeds and tend them together in your own vegetable or flower garden
. If your kids are
really young, easy plants would include marigolds, sunflowers, lettuce,
radishes, etc.
-Schools (Grammar/High School/Community Colleges/Colleges) – a lot of schools
offer wonderful plays, choral concerts, poetry readings and more and they are
often open to the public for free or reduced entrance fees.
- In the winter, go to watch local carolers, go to the town tree lighting
ceremony, the town parade, etc. Build an igloo or snowman if you get enough
snow. Watch for your park district's winter fest event - many times they have
free hay rides, hot cocoa or cider, ice sculpture contests, etc. Drive (or
walk) around and check out the light displays at houses in your neighborhood.
- In the spring, visit the flowers - go looking for the best display of
daffodils, tulips and other spring flowers, watch for Easter festivities (if
you celebrate it) from the park district or stage your own Easter egg hunt in
the park or your backyard. See if one of the local park districts offer maple
syrup days and taps their own trees.
- In the summer, go strawberry picking, visit local gardens (many offer free
admission days), visit the forest preserve or lakefront beach. Go camping (in
your own backyard if you can’t get away). Visit local wineries and participate
in a tasting. Watch the fireworks (and keep an eye out – sometimes they have
them at carnivals or minor league baseball games throughout the summer). Go
cloud watching or star gazing (try to identify the constellations).
- In the fall, go for a drive to find the most beautiful fall leaves. Make a
scarecrow, make homemade apple cider. Find a place that crushes it's own apples
and learn about the process. Pick apples and make a homemade apple pie or can
homemade applesauce or apple butter for Christmas gifts.
- Check for local factory tours - many of these are free and some of them are
really neat. I went to a glassblowing factory once and not too far from us is a
jelly belly jellybean factory.
- Watch for the hometown carnival events. Often times they have free events
running concurrent - jugglers, mimes, children's craft tents, etc.
Read the newspaper carefully for free events in your town. You might be
surprised, when you actually start looking for them, how many are offered! Most
common places to watch are libraries, park districts, museums, historical
societies, hospitals (safety fairs, community education, etc.), forest
preserves, etc.
