Monday, May 18, 2015

Fresh Springtime Money Saving Activities for Family Fun

Springtime is finally in full-throttle! How can you make the most of exciting and memorable experiences with your family without draining your wallet? While camping, baseball games, frolicking on the beach, and barbeque cookouts are what come to mind for spring and summertime activities, what other opportunities can you enjoy?

Get Outdoors
After a long and cold winter, what better way to spend time with your family then to get outdoors and bask in the sun. Walk to your neighborhood park. Find the best local nature preserves to walk, hike, swim, and explore. Visit botanical gardens. Camp in your own backyard on a clear spring night. Checkout if there’s geocache excursions available in your area for a fun, nature-filled scavenger hunt.

Explore Local and New Cultures
Culture and new experiences are all around you. Help your family embrace culture by visiting museums and walking around local festivals. Both museums and festivals often offer school vacation discounts or admission based on a small donation. Explore the farmers’ market, and try out local delicacies. Rather than adventuring to a new (and perhaps pricey) ethnic restaurant, pick out a dish to create in your own kitchen.

Explore Your Backyard
Your own backyard can hold a treasure trove of activities for you and your family. Think big and finish plans for a brand new tree house or play set. Try creative, smaller projects and build a birdfeeder, wind chime, or compost bin. Paint your mailbox a brand new color or have your kids paint garden stones for your garden bed. Teach your kids about sustainability by having them help plant vegetables for your garden.

Good Ol’ Spring Cleaning
While some people love cleaning, others will want to save this project for a rainy day. After freshening up your backyard, take the productivity inside and tackle spring cleaning. Clean out closets, and get rid of excess junk. See what you can renovate and reuse, and what you can recycle or donate. Put your family to work and let your house breath lighter. Not only is this project free, you can actually make some money if you sell what you don’t want in a garage sale!

Do Some Good
Volunteering is an excellent way to spend time together as a family. Organize a neighborhood or park cleanup and get the neighbors involved, or pick a cause you support as a family and find ways you can help locally. Adopt a pet from a shelter or encourage your kids to become mentors to other kids in your community.

Teach Your Kids
Just because school is out doesn’t mean that your kids can’t keep learning. Teach them how to swim, swing a bat, or ride a bike. Take a step in the silly direction and learn with them how to juggle, how to make a mud pie, how to plant a fairy garden, or how to speak a gibberish language.

Let Your Kids Teach You
Connect with your family and find your inner child by enjoying carefree, nostalgic activities. Cloud watch, bird watch, play in the rain, run through the sprinklers, fly a kite, create sidewalk chalk art, chase bubbles, puddle jump, make pinwheels, braid flower crowns, pick wildflowers, tie dye something- tie dye everything! The opportunities are endless. Don’t miss a chance to be with your kids and let them remind you how fun it is to be a kid again.