Fun Family Ideas When You Are Broke

When you have barely any money it is hard to find fun things to do as a family that do not cost a lot of money. Even if you have to stay home every day there are some cheap things that you can do and still have fun as a family. Making fun family nights will help to keep the boredom away and the stress of having no money. So next time you are feeling down plan a night that the whole family can enjoy without spending much money.

Have a movie night with the whole family will create a lasting memory. Start by deciding which movie the whole family will enjoy. Movies can be rented from Redbox for only a dollar. The first Monday of each month Redbox releases a code for a free movie that day. Once you decide on a movie have the younger children make a ticket for each family member. They can use the any type of paper and make it as big or as small as you want. Have them list the name of the movie, time it will be shown and for the theatre list in the ____'s living room or whatever name you choose. Next decide on what type of movie snacks are going to be involved. If popcorn is a must some leftover cardboard or paper can be decorated to look like popcorn boxes and placed over cups. When movie time has arrived, have one or more children stand in the entrance and collect the tickets from each family member, send each member to the "concession" stand to get snacks for the movie. Dim the lights and enjoy the show.

Taking a night and going through old pictures will also bring lots of laughs. Bring out the old high school yearbooks. Let your children see what you looked like when you were growing up. Tell them stories about what you did as a child, teen and young adult. Let them know what games you played, TV shows you watched and what you did when you hung out with friends. By the end of the night everyone will be laughing about how things were back in the day.

Game night is another way to spend time with the family. Decide on what game or games you are going to play. Set out snacks and drinks for everyone to enjoy and let the games begin. If you have enough people you can have the kids vs. the parents or pick other teams. To make it more fun try and find or create games that you played as a kid, such as trouble, chutes and ladders and don't forget Old Maid. Hours will have passed before you realize and everyone will have had an evening of fun.

Just because there is not a lot of money in the house does not mean a family can not have fun. Every night does not have to be spent sitting in front of the TV or a video game. Take some time and plan some family fun nights that are cheap and you will have more fun than you realize.