Frugal Family Fun (The Older Kids Edition)

Are you looking for ways to add more fun to your family? If you are anything like me this fun has to be FRUGAL!  Let’s face it, most homeschooling families aren’t rolling in the dough.  We are usually living on one income, which means our dollars have to be stretched!  So here are some ideas for frugal family fun.

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Frugal family fun for the competitive family

Board Game Night – I love the type of frugal where you just need supplies that you already have on hand.  Grab your favorite board game and go to town!  Some of our favorites include:

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Family Sports Competition – Is your family as competitive as mine?  We LOVE a good sports competition.  Sometimes it’s cornhole and sometimes it’s basketball but we always mean business when we play.  Kickball is a great frugal sport that can be played together as a family.

Cake Bake Off – Do you have aspiring bakers in your house?  Why not challenge them!  You can make this competitive or silly.  For one evening just ignore the mess and go to town.

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Nerf Gun Battle – If you are anything like our family you have LOADS of nerf guns.  Pick up a few extra bullets and have some crazy active family fun.

Minute to Win it games – Minute to Win it games are short and sweet, plus they usually include items that are already on hand.  If not, most of the supplies can be easily found at your local dollar store.

Indoor Hide & Seek – For this to be at the maximum fun level it must be dark, with flashlights, and all the lights out.

Charades – Let’s face it, charades can get downright hilarious with kids.

Frugal family fun that gets them talking

Picnic (with homemade ice cream) – There’s nothing quite as fun as a good picnic, and homemade ice cream just adds a really special something.  Is it too cold for a picnic where you are right now?  Then spread out a blanket in the middle of the living room floor!  I don’t know why but this takes it to a whole new level.

Puzzles – One of our favorite family activities is working a big puzzle.  It’s not uncommon for our dining room table to be covered in puzzle pieces for a few weeks.

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Scavenger Hunt – Family scavenger hunts can be great fun!  Check out this neat one.

Tie Dye – My kids love to tie-dye anything that’s sitting still….shirts, hats, socks it can all be done.

Would you rather – This is a neat game for families because it gets everyone talking!  Check out these funny, family-friendly questions.

Family Forts – The bigger the kids, the bigger the fort!  Also, the bigger the mess, but we can overlook it in the name of fun, right?

Fancy Dinner Night – Pull out all the stops on this one.  You can even pick up some cloth napkins and make everyone get all fancied up if you want.

Family Tea – Channel your inner Mad Hatter with a family tea party.

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Indoor Camping – Drag out the air mattresses and the sleeping bags for this frugal family fun idea.  Don’t forget the smores!

Family Painting – One year our ENTIRE family painted ceramic gingerbread houses.  We STILL talk about how much fun this was.

Frugal Family Fun Out & About

Bowling – While bowling does cost some money, it’s usually a fairly frugal activity.  In the summer you can also see if your local bowling alley participates in the Kids Bowl Free program.  They offer free games for kids, as well as discounts for adults!

Be Kind Together – For some fun that also helps other complete some random acts of kindness as a family!

Dessert Out – Sometimes a full meal at a restaurant can get expensive.  Another option is to have dinner at home and then split dessert at a restaurant.

See there….Family fun doesn’t have to cost a fortune, and you can’t put a price on memories.  Looking for more fun? Check out these winter activities for tweens.