Five Tips for Entertaining Your Kids on a Budget

With the economy being what it is these days, entertaining your family isn't as easy as it used to be. Thankfully, there are many methods for having a great time out on the town without spending a lot of money. Just follow these tips.

LOCAL FAMILY FARMS

Local family farms are a great way to find entertainment. During the spring there is a lot of new life and many farms have days dedicated to feeding the babies and planting seeds. In the summer your family can take advantage of the U-Pick patches and produce stands. During the fall, there are pumpkin patches and corn mazes and all kinds of other fun stuff. No matter what time of the year you go, these farms offer a budget friendly way to enjoy the outdoors and fresh air with your kids.

YOUR PUBLIC LIBRARY

Check the internet for a schedule of events at the Public Library closest to you. You'll be surprised to find an extraordinary array of entertainment for your entire family at little to no cost. That's right. Free entertainment for everyone! Many libraries offer story time, artistic plays and cultural exhibits for younger kids. For the older kids and adults, you'll find guest speakers about crazy things you'd never learn about otherwise. For example, the most recent event we sat in on was a presentation given by an investigator from the forensics unit of our County Sherriff's Department. To a house full of CSI: Crime Scene Investigators fans, it was right up our alley.

MOVIE NIGHT

There are lots of cities getting involved in Community Movie Night. Check with the Leisure Service Guide for your city. Basically, everyone shows up at a local school just before dusk with blankets and snacks. A popular kids movie is projected onto a big portable screen or onto the side of a building for all to enjoy. It's an outdoor theater that's usually free.

FLEAMARKET BINGO

Going to the flea market is fun for grownups, but for kids - it can be mind numbing boredom. A good way for everyone to enjoy a fun day outdoors bargain hunting is "Flea Market Bingo". Make a grid of one inch by one inch squares that measure five squares across by six squares down. Label each square in the top row with with a B, an I, an N, a G and an O. Then in each of the remaining squares, write something that you might find at a flea market. Your phrases can range from mundane "sunglasses" to zany "hot pink tennis balls". The first person to make a bingo with the items that they locate at the flea market wins the right to sit in the front seat on the way home.

FAMILY FUN NIGHT

Sometimes, there's just no place like home. Take an entire night and plan a slumber party for the whole family. Turn off the phones and pull down the blinds. In our all girl house, we do pedicures and makeovers on each other. Sometimes, we even do photo shoots where we make a "backdrop" from one of our solid colored throws and snap eachother with our most ridiculous pouty model faces. Then we play Yahtzee. Pop popcorn, watch movies and stay up late giggling and talking about boys.

It's not hard to do these are just five of MANY ideas of things that you can do to entertain your family while being on a budget. Just remember, as long as you're all together and willing to think outside the box, fun is just around the corner and that's priceless.