summer bucket list–a printable list of frugal activities for the summer holidays

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Summer bucket list - a printable list of frugal activities for the summer holidaysSummer holidays – six weeks without school. An exciting prospect for kids, a frightful one for parents, who wonder how they are going to keep the kids from going stir crazy (or spending all their time in front of a screen), without breaking the budget.

It seems to me that a lot of kids activities now involve money.

“But mum! All my other friends are going to Dream World!”

When I was a kid, summer holidays meant long days riding bikes and playing with friends in the yard.

It meant lying on your back in the shade and spotting shapes in the clouds.

It meant running around under the sprinkler, Icy Poles and backyard cricket.

We spent a lot of time outside.

We didn’t have a computer. If the television was on, mum was watching Bold and the Beautiful whilst doing the ironing.

There weren’t activity centres or theme parks. There wasn’t even a movie theatre in our town until I was well into high school, and that was a single, small theatre under one of the pubs.

There wasn’t a lot of money to go round, so all our summer activities were free, or close to it.

If you’re my generation or older, your childhood was probably the same.

I have to be honest, it goes against my instincts to provide activities for kids, I think that the most creative endeavours come from a little boredom.

But sometimes we all need a little nudge in the right direction; an occasional invitation to play or a change of scenery to get the creative juices flowing again.

So I’ve created a summer bucket list of frugal kid’s activities. Something to refer to when the kids (or you) are going a little a little crazy.  It’s in PDF format, so you can print it out  and stick it on the fridge as a ready reference when you’re looking for some screen free, frugal activity ideas for the kids these holidays.

You can download the Summer Bucket list of kid’s activities for the summer holidays here.

What are your favourite frugal summer holiday activities?

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2 Comments

  1. I remember the days of hopscotch, skipping, climbing trees and spending time outdoors. There was always this urge to go outside, we didn’t have to be pushed. Nowadays, it’s the Xbox, iPhone, or television that come first in line as choices of entertainment and it’s so sad because many kids are missing out on the joys of childhood – most which are completely free.

    The list you’ve come up with isn’t just great for kids, it’s a nice way for grown ups to spend time together too. Visiting a farmers market, going to the park or beach, having a picnic, watching the sunrise and many more on your list I enjoy doing on a regular basis much more than spending on cinemas, fancy restaurants etc. Although, I still wouldn’t pass up a day at Dreamworld on the odd occasion.

    1. Melissa Goodwin says:

      Skipping! I forgot how we used to do skipping!. I wonder if you enjoy picnics and sunrises etc more than cinemas etc, because of the way you spent your childhood??? We visited nanna’s house recently (which is where I grew up) and the kids spent all day in the backyard. From the time they got up, their first question was, ‘can I go outside?’ And there wasn’t anything particularly exciting – a couple of bikes is all. The one year old played in the gravel patch every day for three weeks!

      Where we live, we only have a little tiny courtyard and the kids are ‘bored’ all the time. I wonder if how much kids choices are influenced merely by availability??? We didn’t have a computer when I was growing up, and if the television was on, mum was watching Days of Our Lives :).