Summer Fun on a Budget

With the economy the way it is today many of us find ourselves trying to budget money in every part of our lives and sometimes it leaves very little left over for entertainment and vacations. This can get really tricky when you have children who are off for the summer and are looking to have some summer fun.

There are ways to save money and enjoy your summers at the same time. Sit down and do a little research on the options in your area. In our city the children’s museum, the zoo, and many other attractions have a day that is free for families at least once a month. There are bird sanctuaries and arboretums not too far from home also that have discounted prices at least once a month. The parks are always free where you can enjoy picnics, playground equipment, and there is lots of room to play sports as well.

Many times you can find that within a couple hours of your home there are wonderful places to visit. Just look up places of interest within an hour or two of your city and you will probably be amazed. Taking day trips off and on during the summer can really help to relieve the summer boredom. Within just a few hours of our home we found a natural waterfall that costs nothing to visit. To get to the falls you had to walk down a meandering trail which was an adventure in itself. There are also state parks which have nominal fees to visit for the day that have wonderful fishing, swimming, and sometimes rock climbing. There are small towns within a short drive of there that have wonderful antique shops that you can spend loads of time in. Some children really enjoy looking at some of the things from days gone by.

If you can not get away there are still great ways to have fun at home. One year we had a truck full of sand delivered for a nominal fee, we were going to aerate our soil with it. But we had a blast with it for about a month before we used it in the yard. We had a blow up pool that was about three or four feet deep and about five feet wide that we set up next to the sand. We bought dollar store pails and shovels and a couple of dump trucks and set up lawn chairs. Right there in our yard we had a homemade beach that the kids just loved! We filled our cooler up with sandwiches, drinks, and snacks and pretended we were at the beach. They have wonderful memories of our homemade beach even today.

Another fun thing you can do is to go camping in your own backyard. Set up your tent in the back yard and make it a full on camping trip. One year when we camped in our yard it started to rain so hard that the water was coming inside the tent. It was a small dome tent so instead of getting upset we just brought it into the house and cleared a space in the family room and set it up right there. Kids still have a wonderful time no matter where the tent is. We roasted our marshmallows on the stove instead of a camp fire but all in all it was a wonderful time. It changed our plans a bit but we put on a family movie and watched from inside the tent. There is just something about spending the night inside a tent as a family that really bonds us together.

Camping is a very budget friendly way to have fun in the summers. If you will do a search online you will be amazed at how many state camping parks there are all over the country! I know I was amazed. You can virtually make your way across the whole United States camping your way along. These parks are locked up at night and watched over by Park Rangers so you feel really safe. They have great facilities near each section of camp sites with rest rooms and showers. Most state parks have lakes or are near the ocean for fishing and swimming. They also have nature trails for hiking and lots of room to ride bikes and open fields to play sports. There are different camping fees depending on which type of site you want. For those that want to really rough it there are sites with no water and no electricity. We prefer the sites that have a faucet and a couple of electrical plugs for hot plates. They also have spots for RV’s and waste stations available as well. Some of the parks also have screened in shelters you can rent and even small cabins with an air conditioning unit and beds. They are very basic but in some areas of the country an air conditioner can be a necessity for some.

Having block parties with the neighbors is a fun and frugal way to spend a summer’s day or an evening. It can be a scheduled event or something that is an impromptu event depending on how well you know your neighbors. You can bring out the barbecues and everyone can bring a side dish and beverages. The neighborhood kids can play while the adults visit. If you have a local park nearby you could also have your party there. So often in neighborhoods we do not get to know our neighbors because everyone’s schedules are so busy. This is a wonderful way to get to know the neighbors in a relaxed social setting and no one needs to be intimated by formality. Kids always have a great time as long as they have someone to play with. This can be a terrific way to enjoy some of our longer summer eves.

Many people today seem to have lost the ability to just have fun together as a family. There does not always need to be plans made and money spent to enjoy family time together. Riding bikes together as a family and stopping along the way to explore can be great fun. In our neighborhood we have a bayou with minnows, tadpoles, and frogs that absolutely thrills our kids and even mom and dad. Sometimes just a bike ride to the local park to play on the playground equipment can be a wonderful way to spend a summer’s day. One of the highlights of my children’s lives was all the days they went to one of the parks that had a nice hill in our area. We took cardboard boxes and opened them up and slid down the hill over and over again. The smiles on their faces showed the joy that something simple could bring!

Just playing in the sprinklers or filling up water balloons for water balloon batting practice can bring joy to a child’s heart. As parents sometimes we forget the simpler things of life because life has gotten all about the expensive and the elaborate. Children do not start out wanting those types of things but after a few years of the elaborate they may lose their ability to find simple pleasures fun.

Have you ever given a child a new toy and found that they had more fun with the box than the toy? I noticed that time and time again so I began looking for larger boxes as I ran my errands around town. The appliance boxes are the very best because girls can make houses and boys can make forts with very little effort. Mom or dad can cut out doors and windows if they are too young and voila! Give them some crayons or magic markers and let them decorate the way they want and before long they have their very own place. Children can play for hours with cardboard boxes, all they need is imagination.

These are just a few ideas for having summer fun on a budget. There are great times to be had say at an amusement park or a water park but sometimes the simpler times hold the very best memories for children.

Rachael Cherry is a wife, mother, and writer who is passionate about helping connect families in need with high quality caregivers. She has taken that passion and put it to work through NannyPro, a respected online nanny referral service. Learn more by visiting @NannyPro on Twitter.