Raising children is often far more than we ever budgeted for… food, clothes and keeping them entertained just to name a few, the list can go on – school fees, sport…). Taking the kids out to entertain them can become expensive. Thankfully, most children can be easily entertained at home, in the backyard or at the local park. At the end of the day, all they really want is to just spend some quality time with the family. Here are 18 budget-friendly activities to do with your kids on the weekend that are fun and won’t put you out of pocket.
I have to cherish these last few years before my kids grow up and move out of home. Or I could say, before they stop enjoying hanging out with the parentals… but touch wood, we all enjoy quality time together. We have always done Friday night movies, Sunday afternoon board games and picnics in the park. We do enjoy hanging out together. One of the fondest memories I have is of the kids playing in the sandpit out in the backyard when they were young. They were happy building sandcastles and making roads for the trucks or rivers for their boats. It’s simple things like this that gives them hours of fun.
I’M BORED CHECKLIST – A gentle reminder for the kids that there is always something to do. They can look at this list before coming to Mum to say ‘I’m bored’, check out more boredom busting ideas here. Available in my shop here.
Budget-friendly activities to do with your kids on weekends
Here are some ideas from activities we have done over the years.
- Have a picnic in the park
- Board games
- Gardening
- Learn new magic tricks
- Bake some yummy treats in the kitchen
- Make homemade pizza
- Learn an instrument
- Visit the library
- Have a movie marathon
- Go fishing
- Scrapbook
- Do some arts and crafts
- Visit your local animal shelter
- Wash the car
- Camp in the backyard
- Do some colouring in
- Go swimming at the beach or a pool
- Attend a free local event
- Go on a bike ride
