This post was inspired by a reader question I received oh, nearly six months ago now (sorry about the tardiness) but as it is summer and school holidays I thought it would be a good time to cover the topic: how to save money on family outings.

The key to saving money on family outings is to be organised. That means having the things ready that you need to take and having easily packed snack or lunch options available in the house, ready to grab.

It just so happens I’ve created a little printable checklist to give you some ideas on what you might need to pack on outings (you can download it below).

But what about spontaneous decisions to go out and have fun? How can you be organised and spontaneous? The way to prepare for spontaneous fun is to have a kit in the car of things you might need (picnic blanket, towels, spare kid’s clothes, sunscreen) as well as having things organised at home so that they are easy to grab.

For instance, in the summer months, you might consider storing all beach stuff – towels, swimmers, kickboards etc., together in the one bag or place so that everything is quick and easy to find when the urge to swim hits. That means you’re out the door with little fuss and spending more time having fun. To make things easier on you (always a priority!), older children can have their own bag with their stuff in it, that they can carry themselves.

When it comes to saving money on food and snacks there are several options. The first is to pack your snacks and lunch before you go. The photo above is a sample of what we might pack for our little fella a day trip: there’s sultanas (much cheaper to buy a large packet and decant them yourself into containers rather than buy individual boxes), some cut up apple (I have found that it doesn’t tend to go brown in the container – I don’t know why), some cheese and crackers and a vegemite sandwich. I also pack a bottle of water for each person (but not bottled water, if you know what I mean) and maybe some snacks for me that the little fella doesn’t eat, but I didn’t photograph these. The sandwich sized containers, by the way, are great. DH takes his lunch in them and we haven’t used cling-wrap in years.

Alternatively, you can pack an easy picnic with things like bread rolls and salad that you can make up during lunch time. For the super prepared, there’s always cold quiche or leftover chicken, but I’m generally not that organised. In a pinch, you can pick up some rolls and ham from the supermarket, which is much cheaper and healthier than junk food. If you store your picnic set in the boot of your car it makes these spontaneous picnics easier.

Lately we’ve been having dinner down at the river where it’s much cooler. We generally eat dinner around 5:30pm, so we’re not changing our routine to cook earlier and make it down before nightfall. These picnic dinners are often spontaneous and again, having picnic gear already packed and ready to go makes spontaneous decisions easy to execute.

Many dinner dishes lend themselves to being packed as a picnic instead. We’ve eaten honey roasted pumpkin risotto by the river (beats KFC any day), stir fries and curries (just pack the rice and the curry separately like they do when you get takeaway), and the other night I cooked a chook in the slow cooker and we bought a couple of dollars worth of chips to go with it.

One day I might make some insulated carriers for these meals, but for now I find wrapping the containers in tea towels keeps dinner warm and we have the tea towels for hand washing if we need.

You can download the checklist here (pdf format), and I’ve included blank spots so that it can be customised.

Now it’s over to you. What are your tips for saving money on family outings? How do you get out the door with minimum fuss and without forgetting the things you need? What easy food / snack ideas do you have on standby for when you’re out of the house?

Have you read these articles?:

1. stop your friends from breaking your budget
2. moving house on a budget
3. 8 Ways To Improve The Value Of Your Property Without Breaking The Budget

I’ve been working on how to get some more crafting into my day. Time is short, but I’m really missing my creative time. This week I’ve written a three part series on finding time to craft. I like to sew mostly, but the tips over the next few days are relevant for getting any type of project done when time is short.

I decided recently to keep a list of craft projects I want to try. Well that list is two pages long and still growing daily! How to find time to craft? I came across this post on Patricia Zapata’s blog A Little Hut about making time to craft. She has some great tips but the one I love the best is asking for time as a gift:

As a slight variation, DH and I made an agreement that we would each have one night a week completely off. To make the evening flow more easily, I wrote out a very specific evening checklist of things that need to be done each night because there’s no point me having an evening off, only to have to catch up on all the work the next day! The checklist includes things like cook dinner, soak nappies, wash the dishes, put on a loaf of bread, wipe down the benches.

I have arranged to have Wednesdays off and DH has Mondays off. We’ve been doing this for about a month now, and so far it’s been working out really well (although I admit that mostly I spend the time catching up on some rest rather than crafting).

The benefit of this agreement is that there are no expectations on that evening. I’m not going to get cranky if DH isn’t helping because I know it’s his night off, and I get my turn on another night. Like Patricia, I also don’t sit around feeling guilty about having ‘me’ time. Having an official, agreed upon arrangement helps take the guilt away.

If you would like to read Patricia’s other ideas on finding time to craft, you can find them here. As a side note, Patricia is a paper artist who does beautiful things with paper. I love her recycled cardboard coaster and trivet set.

Have you read these articles?:

1. finding time to craft part two – making the most of your time
2. finding time to craft part three–organising your projects–a project bag tutorial
3. finding the time to declutter

When it comes to being frugal, my one major weakness is books. I LOVE books. My idea of paradise is a library room with floor to ceiling bookshelves lining every wall. And a comfy chair. And an open fireplace. And a cup of tea…

Anyway, our book budget is zero dollars. But that’s ok, because I can get them for free! And you know, using the library is practically like buying a book, you have to swipe a plastic card to take the book home, but there’s no pain of money being spent.

Modern library services go well beyond just lending books, however. Even I’m surprised at how many services our local library offers, and I spend a lot of time at our library. When we moved away from the city, library access was what I thought I would miss the most. Luck for us, we have a good library here too.

I thought I would share the services offered by our library. If you haven’t explored your local library, I hope this inspires you to check out what services yours offers.

Borrow: books, DVDs, CDs, toys, puzzles, board games, foreign language materials, eBooks, audio books (digital and DVDs), magazines, newspapers.

Lending Services: inter-library loans, suggest-a-book, mobile library, home library service, new books email service (where they email you the latest titles purchased and you can place them on reserve to read as soon as they arrive), book club (the library has a special book club range with a large selection of books that you can borrow multiple copies of for your book club).

Local history and genealogy: our library has access to births, deaths and marriages etc for you to research your family tree as well as a genealogist to help you.

Author talks: regular meet the author events.

Seminars: lately we have had seminars on raising chickens, permaculture, money management, weight loss, home renovation, business marketing, parenting and how to meditate.

Computers: offering word processing and other office programs as well as internet access.

Tech services: photocopying and printing.

Computer classes: everything from computer basics for seniors to desktop publishing.

Free wi-fi: if you want to use your own laptop.

Coffee machine and outside area to sit. (No toilet though. Can’t believe there’s no toilet!)

Adult literacy classes

Kids activities: our library has story telling time, baby in arms story time, school holiday activities, summer reading programmes, competitions, toddler music time, a couch and reading area with toys to play with, computers just for kids with learning programmes installed.

Charity events: our local library is having a biggest morning tea for instance.

Art exhibitions of local artists

Reading suggestions: the library has a newsletter that includes a ‘great reads’ section. There are also book reviews posted on the shelves around the library and the online catalogue has a ‘review’ section a lot like Amazon.com where members can leave a book review of the books they read.

Community notices: The library has a community notice board, bus timetables to take, community health and awareness brochures, community magazines, a free local flora and pest guide, what’s on, for sale etc.

Extra curricular activities: One of the smaller libraries in our region offers daily yoga, tai chi and meditation sessions. What a nice way to start the day – followed by a coffee and a book!

What local library services do you use?

Have you read these articles?:

1. 12 Favourite Books That I Read In 2009
2. Save Money On Cookware At Your Local Army Disposals Store
3. tip tuesday–creating your own personalised library

Over the last month we had four virus in four weeks. The last one really laid us all low, the coughing lingering for two weeks after. Sick for six weeks with a sick, unhappy bub = not fun.

While ‘plenty of bed rest’ may be what the doctor ordered, when you’re a parent, especially one with sick children, the likelihood of bed rest is pretty small. You still need to keep the household running with mouths to feed, clothes to wash and minimum sanitation to maintain.

Preparing for cold and flu season before it hits may not prevent you from getting sick, but it will certainly ease the burden of keeping the household running while you’re under the weather.

Stock up

So that you have them on hand ready, stock up on a supply of cold and flu tablets / paracetamol, tissues, lozenges and whatever you normally use to soldier on (‘cause sometimes soldiering on is just what we have to do). That way, you’re not out in inclement weather while you’re ill getting supplies and you’re not sharing germs either. Don’t forget the measuring cup and thermometer. Also, I haven’t tried it myself, but some people swear by homeopathic remedies. If you use these, have some on hand before illness strikes.

Last week I wrote about how I squeezed a bag of lemons and froze the juice. I can’t tell you how glad I was to be able to pop a cube in a cup of boiling water with some honey. As well as lemon juice, you may want to consider some useful essential oils like eucalyptus oil that can be used in a steamer or bath to help with congestion. I came across this site that talks about what essential oils are useful for colds and flu and how to use them.

Get cooking

When I was ill, all I wanted was my mum. And her chicken soup. I had a huge craving for chicken soup. And it turns out that studies have tested chicken soup and actually found it an effective remedy to symptoms of the common cold! Too sick however to make my own chicken soup, I had to make do with short soup from the local Chinese shop. Not really the same, but close enough.

Which brings me to my point: stock the freezer with soups and other foods for when you’re too sick (or even too tired) to cook. Real homemade soup in minutes when you’re ill is well worth the effort now. And other ready to defrost meals will ensure the family doesn’t turn to takeaway (which isn’t going to help you get better) while you’re out of action.

Quiet time activities

It’s a good idea to have some special quiet time activities set aside to keep the kids busy while you (or they) are under the weather. Books, colouring-in books, special DVDs, puzzles, board games – novel activities that are set aside specially for when you’re ill or other ‘special’ (mum needs a break) occasions.

Build immunity

In the meantime, the best thing you can do before cold and flu season arrives is to build your immunity naturally by eating plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables (did you know that sugar is an immune suppressant?), drinking lots of water and getting plenty of sleep. Keep up your vitamins and minerals and take plenty of opportunity to de-stress. And of course, one of the best ways to avoid illness is regular hand washing with normal soap and water.

What about shots? For myself, I’ve normally said no no no to flu shots, but after being sick for so long, DH thought it might be a good idea to get shot this Winter. We really don’t want the flu as well. I still haven’t decided, but it’s another way to avoid the flu this season.

Entitlements

If you work, ensure you know how much sick leave you have available and what the business’ policy is for taking leave? Do you need a doctor’s certificate? Under what circumstances? For instance, DH needs a doctor’s certificate if he has two or more sick days in a row or takes a Monday or Friday off sick. Can you use holiday leave if you have no sick pay? Do you have family carers leave?

Don’t forget the unwritten workplace policy. Are you expected to go to work sick? I know and you know that you’re better off at home in bed rather than at work infecting everyone else, but sometimes that’s not the reality of the workplace. If this is the case, it’s even more important to focus on building your immunity and having medicine at hand to help you manage the symptoms.

Do you prepare for the cold and flu season? I have never prepared for illness before, but the last few weeks have really shown me that we could do with some sickness preparation.

Have you read these articles?:

1. Preparing The Household Budget For 2010
2. preparing the household budget for 2011

Does this sound familiar: no school for six weeks and three days in you’re already hearing the dreaded “I’m bored!”

Ok, so the little fella is too young for this yet, but I remember those words coming out of my own mouth not so long ago.

I’m discovering that the best children’s activities are the ones that hold their attention for the longest and these activities often involve the simplest of things. Mess and noise I can deal with as long as it gives me a few minutes of tuning out time without resorting to turning on the TV. I’m also discovering that a little planning and preparation means a lot of fun with the little fella (or a lot of mummy time to herself).

Below are a few inexpensive activity ideas to help keep the kids entertained during the summer holidays.

Fun in the water

While the times of spending hours running around under the sprinkler are over, summer time the time to splash around in the water. If you have a pool then you’ve got hours of entertainment already. For the rest of us, a blow up kiddie pool can be an inexpensive alternative (and if you’ve sat in a kiddie pool drinking beer on a hot summer night you will appreciate that the kiddie pool can be enjoyable for all ages).

In the pool – Ideas for pool games include swimming competitions, water tug-o-war marco polo, handstands and dive for the coin.

Spray bottle water fight – Don’t have super soakers or water bombs? Use household spray bottles to conduct water fights.

Bowl of water – A good one for smaller children. Place items in a bowl of water that they can splash around in. Maybe they can ‘help’ you wash up. I do this with the little fella and he enjoys tipping the bowl of water over his head.

Bucket relay – Divide into teams. Each team has two buckets at either end of the yard (one with water and one empty) and a cup. The teams race each other to get the water from one bucket to the other with the cup…by holding it over their head. The team with the most water in the second bucket wins.

Paint with water – For smaller kids. This used to be my all time favourite activity when I was in preschool (I can still remember painting the cubby house, so it must have been good). You need a bucket and a paint brush and something to ‘paint’.

Fun in the backyard

Pavement art – Chalk and cement is all that is needed for pavement art. We used to do this at my grandmother’s. After taking an art class and discovering charcoal, I raided the BBQ and drew all over the pavement with lumps of charcoaled wood – that didn’t go down very well actually, but it washes off just fine.

French cricket – derived from cricket, there is only one batsman who stands with their feet together the bat held in front of the legs. ‘Bowling’ is underarm and you get out by being caught out or by being bowled in the legs. For more details see the Wikipedia entry.

Make believe – Cops and robbers, playing shop in the cubby house, playing house, doctors and nurses – the options are limited only by kid’s imaginations which of course are limitless. You provide the sunscreen and the cordial (and maybe a few props) and the kids do the rest.

Hide and seek – An old favourite, no explanation needed.

Scavenger hunt – There are two versions of this game, one that takes a little more preparation than the other. In the first version, you write a list of things that can be commonly found in the backyard like a leaves, feathers etc. The first person or team to find everything on that list is the winner. The other version involves you hiding things in the yard and writing clues as to what these things are and their whereabouts. Alternatively, you write clues to places in the yard and the answer has to be written down. Again the first person with everything on the list wins.

Spotlight – This is a game to be played at night. One person is the ‘spotter’ and they hold the torch. Everyone else goes to the end of the yard. They must make it back to home base before being ‘spotted’. I played this when I was about 14 in a huge open paddock in the pitch black darkness. The bonfire was the home base. I have never had so much fun. Just as well the snakes were asleep. A variation of this game is Ghost in the Graveyard.

Mini Olympics – I’d almost forgotten playing this one when I was a kid. Host the event with a variety of games like timed wheelbarrow races, obstacle courses, tossing games like toss the ball in the bucket or quoits, jumping games, egg and spoon races etc. Don’t forget the opening and closing ceremony, medals and certificates and the after party.

Fun Out and about

There are lots of free activities to do out and about. Visit your local library for free holiday activities. Our library has cartoon drawing workshops and young writers workshops as well as story time. Other free activities include:

Playgrounds – Meet other parents and relax under the trees with a book while the kids play with other kids on the equipment.

At the beach or river – build sandcastles, the more elaborate the more time consuming, play beach bowling (make the pins out of sand and throw a ball to ‘knock’ them over) build dams (and then knock them down), wade in the rock pool looking for crabs.

At the park – play cricket, Frisbee hacky sack, soccer, football or whatever other sport you like. Build fairy villages. Go on a nature walk. Borrow a local guide book from the library and use it to identify the birds, insects, lizards, and plants at your local park then create your own nature book with drawings, cuttings and descriptions.

Around town – Explore your local town or suburb. Look at new shops, walk down new streets. If your suburb is old, find out about the history of certain buildings as you explore.

Fun indoors

While outdoor play is great during summer, it isn’t always possible. It might be raining. Here in Queensland, to be ‘sun-smart’ we are told to stay out of the sun between 10am and 3pm. That’s a lot of indoor time over six weeks.

Dress ups – a perennial favourite.

Board games – There are plenty of games to play without having to buy expensive board games, charades is the best example. For other games ideas see the Party Games website.

Write and perform a play – Kids will have to write the script, make the props, practice the performance and then perform the play – an all afternoon activity.

High tea – Sit down to a formal high tea. Bake some lovely cakes, dress up, use a tea pot and nice tablecloth and napkins and enjoy a formal morning tea.

Craft activities – For great craft activities visit the Family Fun website or the Frugal Family Fun blog.

For more holiday ideas see 50 free and almost free activities for kids. For games ideas check out the Fun and Games website and Kid’s Games website.

Have you read these articles?:

1. Keeping Cool This Summer The Frugal Way
2. Frugal date Ideas
3. 50 Free And Almost Free Holiday Activities For Kids

It’s that time of the year again. Time to draw up a new budget and decide on some goals for the coming year. DH and I recently sat down and had THE TALK. What our financial priorities will be for 2011.

Dealing with stark financial realities is never fun. Budgeting and goal setting can be difficult enough for the individual, but throw marriage into the mix and it can be a minefield. The convergence of different ideas about how money should be handled, what is a comfortable amount of debt, whether money should be saved and how much, what to spend the money you have on, can all lead to stress. Once you are in a relationship where finances are shared, you can no longer effectively budget and set goals as an individual. We only just realised this a year or two ago. While I was busily planning all the renovations I wanted to do to our house, DH’s goal was save up every last cent, sell our house and move. Our financial goals were in conflict and we didn’t even realise it.

So this month we sat down, looked over next year’s budget and decided on some shared financial goals. We discussed options and made some compromises. I thought we needed to focus on buying a newer car. DH felt that we would be just wasting money, that the old bomb probably has another year in it yet. His goal was to invest some money and increase our assets. We compromised by agreeing to invest a little while putting what money we could aside to buy a newer car some time in the future. And we both agreed on fixing up the backyard so this became financial goal number one. However, all of these financial goals hinge on one thing. We both agreed that I have to do something to earn some extra cash otherwise none of these financial goals will be possible.

I’m no expert in money talk and marriage. I’m lucky enough that DH and I are pretty much on the same page when it comes to finances. We don’t fight about money. After all, you can’t fight about something that you don’t have. But here are some things that work for us when it comes to the money talk.

Set a date

If you’re the person who deals with the household finances, set a date that your partner agrees with, where you can sit down and discuss finances. Don’t spring the discussion on them with a “we need to talk about our finances right now, turn off the TV,” give them time to think about your financial position and goals. You both need to be relaxed and able to focus on the discussion with full attention.

Make sure the kids are in bed and the TV is off

Pick a quiet time where there are few or no interruptions so that you are able to to make some concrete decisions and set some realistic goals. Half-started, half-hearted conversations will not result in the action that needs to be taken for real change to occur.

Use facts

If you keep a budget, then using actual numbers makes any discussion more concrete and financial goals more attainable. Write out a debt plan and your net worth and look at your cash flow. If you are considering large expenses such as renovations, get a quote or two so that you have a ball park figure with which to work with. Tracking expenses and using a budget will also mean that you can both discuss the strengths and weaknesses in your financial situation.

Avoid blame

Before having a discussion with your spouse about finances, decide what the purpose of the discussion is. Is it to improve your financial situation? I’ve found that open discussions end in positive change more often than arguments do.

Discuss common goals

What financial goals do you both agree on? These goals are the ones to focus on, other goals come secondary.

Compromise

You and your partner will each have separate personal goals. If the budget allows, agree on some common goals and then one or two separate personal financial goals. For example, one of my personal goals is investing in a new theme for this website. DH has no interest in that goal. We focus on the main goals and allow a couple of personal goals as well.

Write it down

Write down both your common goals and your personal goals and put a budget on each goal. This way there are no arguments six months down the track, you can refer to hard physical evidence as “this is what we both agreed on as being fair and reasonable.”

Set boundaries

Agree to a ‘splurge fund’, money that can be spent freely without recriminations. That way you can be both working towards your common financial goals, while still having a little room for everyday splurges without the guilt. Discussing ‘rules’ that work for the both of you and that you both agree on (for example discussing expenditure over $100) and respecting those rules will mean less money arguments. Write these agreed rules down as a reminder.

Make the commitment

Once financial goals are agreed upon, both partners need to take concrete actions to make those goals a reality. That might mean giving up an expense that is not serving your financial goals. If your partner is a spend thrift, leading by example may help and if not, you are still one step closer to your goals than what you would have been if you hadn’t made those compromises. Sometimes seeing results is enough motivation for the other partner to tow the line. Tracking expenses can also be a real eye opener.

Do you have tips for the money talk? I would love to here how you work out your finances with your partner.

Have you read these articles?:

1. Australian Online resources for money management
2. Teaching money to kids with five activities
3. Love and Money

This month we are having a TV free challenge. No telly at all for an entire month. (Except the football. Being finals month, it was the only way to get DH to agree.)

I went five years without owning a TV when I first moved out of home. When I flatted, we didn’t have internet either, so the evenings were filled with board games, reading, chatting, sewing and music.

I miss that.

Now we don’t watch all that much TV, but we eat dinner in front of it. That hour or two is the only time DH and I spend together alone and I feel that it is wasted by being zoned out in front of the box. Also, when the little fella grows up (that’s not a picture of him by the way, the little fella isn’t allowed to watch TV yet) we want to have family meals sans TV. So we may as well start getting used to it now.

Actually, if I had my way, I would probably get rid of the box altogether.

With today’s technology, unplugging the TV doesn’t necessarily equate to being screen free. There’s not much point avoiding one media and spending hours on another (in this case the internet).

So two new rules:

1. No computer while the little fella is awake. No writing, no Facebook, no checking emails, no reading blogs. No computer.
2. No computer at all on Sundays. None.

After all, a parent has to model the behaviour they want their kids to learn.

So how are we going?

The first couple of nights without TV were a little odd. The absence was notable. We had to make conversation which is something we haven’t done in a while. We could do with the practice.

Screen free time during the little fella’s waking hours has, on one hand, made me more present. Not that I was on the computer much, but he is old enough now to look up from Mr Teddy and watch what mum is doing.

On the other, I’m trying to encourage the little fella to play independently a bit more, so I dusted off the old pen and paper to write while he is wrestling with an empty egg carton. I forgot how much easier it is to think with a pen in hand and without the distraction of the internet.

So, I know it is a little into the month, but are you up for a TV free challenge? Reclaim your nights by getting unplugged and switching on.

Have you read these articles?:

1. Unplugged. spend more time being switched on by being switched off
2. 50 Free And Almost Free Holiday Activities For Kids
3. finding time to craft Part One–making time

Winter time was always heralded in with a family ritual when I was a kid. Every year, when the first southerly blew, we would close the windows for the season. We had those windows that wind in and out, and after years of shifting, swelling and warping, the windows no longer closed with ease, so one person stood outside, rugged up against the chill and pushed on the window, while the other wound it in. Around the house, each window in turn closed for the winter.

What are your fond memories of childhood?

Most of your favourite childhood memories won’t be about things. Your most poignant memories will be the most simple. A single smell will transport you back to a moment that makes you stop and smile. The most sentimental memories won’t be about perfection: they will involve flaws, mess, calamity and fun. Your childhood memories will reflect your unique family environment and the adult you grew into.

Our homes are the heart of our family. Today, there is a lot of emphasis on creating the ‘perfect’ environment for our families. Entire magazines are dedicated to having designer looking houses. There are TV programmes with the premise that life will be better when we make-over our lounge rooms. And once we’ve established the perfect look, we have all sorts of  machines and concoctions to maintain it, clean it, tidy it and ensure it is germ free.

There’s nothing wrong with having a comfortable home to live in. In fact, it is the job of the ‘homemaker’ to make a house a home. I wonder though, if in our attempt to recreate perfect, cookie-cutter lifestyles we are robbing ourselves and our families of our own uniqueness and personality at the same time.

In our attempt to cushion our lives, insulate ourselves from experiencing the true nature of life: feeling hot or cold, feeling pain occasionally and the sweet, satisfying fatigue that comes after a day of productive toil; in our attempt to avoid any feeling of ‘deprivation’ from not having what we want when we want it, from not having what the Jones’ have, I wonder: are we stealing away the very challenges that build character, that provide opportunities for growth, that mould us into independent, responsible adults?

When I think about my childhood, I think about times I laughed, times I cried, conversations with friends and family, the games we played, the new skills we learned like fixing punctures in bike tyres, baking cakes and learning to sew. And then I think about what kind of childhood memories I hope my children will have. I don’t want their childhood to pass by in a monotonous blur of XBox games and TV. When they think about the home they grew up in, I hope they remember the quirks and characteristics that make our family unique.

As parents we want to give our children as much as we can. Our children may not grow up in a designer home, have all the latest mod-cons, toys and games, they may not have all the things that their friends have. But in the absence of perfection, in the space that is left when not filled with things, there will be a gift more precious than anything tangible we can give them: character, strength and memories that shape and reflect their own individual identity.

Have you read these articles?:

1. tip tuesday– pictorial menu planning for young children
2. how to give your savings plan a quick boost
3. why children benefit from frugality

Christmas time also means Summer school holidays, nearly 50 consecutive days with the kids at home.

Entertaining kids can be expensive. Take just going to the movies for example. Tickets alone can cost a family around $50, add popcorn and drinks, you’re looking at closer to $80 just for a couple of hours entertainment.

I don’t believe kids need to be entertained 24/7. In fact I think it’s better if they’re not, that they have down time to use their imaginations and take responsibility for their own entertainment.

For me, Summer holidays meant riding bikes and playing ‘make-believe’. The skipping rope became a makeshift petrol pump tied to the back porch, the cubby was the shop where we it had empty cans and boxes to buy and we made our own paper money. Someone was the robber, someone was the cop someone was the shop assistant, someone was the petrol attendant… We built a ramp over the sewer access to jump over.

Summer used to mean running around under the sprinkler, trying to avoid the bindies.

It meant backyard cricket. Dad actually mowed a pitch in the lawn and we used the upturned trampoline as a wicket keeper.

And after I turned 14, Summer meant extra shifts at my casual job, keeping me busy and giving me extra cash to go to the movies with friends.

With our first born on the way, I’m no expert on entertaining kids, but I’ve scoured the net and my own childhood for free or nearly free kids activities that don’t involve the XBox.

What kind of things do you do with your kids over summer holidays?

Outdoor activities

 1. Swimming – While the days of running under the sprinkler may be long gone, there’s still the local pool, beach, dam, lake or river.

2. Sports – Is there anything else besides cricket? I guess there’s Frisbee, and kicking a ball around and what ever else it is that you do in ‘other’ sports.

3. Camping – If you’ve got a tent, then camping can be a great, inexpensive family holiday or weekend away, but a campout in the yard can be just as fun.

4. Picnics, Parks and Gardens – Can be at the local park or in the backyard, or on the loungeroom floor on rainy days. Eating picnics breaks lunchtime routine without breaking the budget. Depending on the age, public parks with play sets wile away many hours and give kids a chance to socialise with other kids.

5. Gardening – I had a veggie patch when I was a kid. I grew enough strawberries to sell them to the neighbours.

6. Walking/ hiking – Discover the local area, local wild life and maybe feed some ducks, all while getting plenty of exercise.

7. Bike riding – We spent a great deal of our childhood on bikes. My grandfather and my father both built bikes out of old, recycled parts, so there were enough bikes to go round for all the kids in the neighbourhood.

8. Fishing – I guess some kids (and adults) might find this a bit boring if the fish aren’t biting, but if you’re lucky you might come home with dinner.

9. Christmas Carols by “twilight” – Remember when it used to be candlelight. I guess people don’t think that’s safe anymore – especially in fire season.  But it’s still an awesome free night out.

10. Christmas light spotting – this is still one of my favourite holiday things to do.

11. Berry picking – depending on where you live, strawberries are in season in summer. And after picking and eating there is baking and preserving.

12. Free Play – Although she will deny this vehemently, my mum used to banish us from the house to go play. Our games were based on our imagination and usually our latest favourite TV show characters. Things haven’t changed that much, except now all the drama happens in my head – one day I’ll write my novel…

Indoor activities

13. Read a book – this was my all time favourite pass time. In fact I had to be dragged away from reading. TV has never held the same appeal as a good book.

14. Story time – related to reading but can also be ‘bookless’ story time where children and adults take turns making up the story.

14. Do a jig-saw puzzle – check out your local library for puzzles, games and other toys.

15. Board games, cards and other games – other games might include something like charades. For ideas and resources, see below.

16. Have a movie night

17. Baking – Getting children in the kitchen teaches them life skills and can be a lot of fun albeit messy. You could try baking and freezing slices and muffins etc together for back to school lunch boxes.

18. Put on a play – this can take hours of preparation and as you’re the audience, it gives kids something to do and you a break If you’ve got a video camera, you can record them for posterity.

19. Do some dancing – exercise and fun

20. Learn a new skill or hobby – I once overheard a mother tell her (approx. 8 year old) daughter, despite her keenness, that she was too young to learn to knit. Well bollocks to that! From knitting to stamp collecting, a new hobby now could become a life long love.

21. Write a story – Get budding young novelists to put their imaginations to work and write a story or two. Of course you don’t have to stop at stories, what about a letter to a friend or a blog – there are some great examples of kids who actually make money from their blogs writing about what they love.

22. Drawing – Why not illustrate that story you’ve written? Or make a cartoon. Or just draw the dog. For drawing tutorials see resources below.

23. Play dough

24. Revisit old toys – It’s amazing how forgotten toys can take on a new appeal. The best ever toy in my opinion has to be Lego – the hours we spent playing with Lego and creating our own constructions…

25. Dress ups and Make believe/Role play – Despite spending all year at school, playing teacher was our favourite make believe game.

26. Build a sheet fort

27. Create a scavenger hunt – This is a good activity for older kids to organise for the younger ones and can be heaps of fun – we used to play this across Sydney every year at college. 

28. Breakfast in Bed – Our variation when we were a little older was to take turns at sleep-overs to write up a menu and serve breakfast to each other restaurant style with napkins and the whole shebang.

29. Science activities – Remember Julius Sumner Miller and The Curiosity Show (see it on YouTube)? I used to do quite a few experiments from these shows and had great fun learning. For science ideas and resources see below.

30. Indoor sports with socks – Like basketball.

31. Decluttering – Discover forgotten toys by getting the kids to declutter their rooms.

32. Chores – chores around the house not only take up time, but take the pressure off you and teach kids responsibility. We were motivated by the threat of the feather duster, but I think today it’s all about making things fun, Super-nanny style.

33. Nap Time – you’re never too old for nap time.

Craft Activities

34. Make Christmas Cards and Gifts

35. Check out local art and craft classes

36. Create a scrap book or album – digital cameras and editing make this task a lot easier and cheaper

36. Draw chalk drawings on cement – we used charcoal from the BBQ once. Whilst effective (and it washes out), my grandma was not impressed.

37. Craft sessions – see below for ideas and resources

38. Make some jewellery

39. Painting

40. Colouring in – for free resources, see below

41. Make and fly paper aeroplanes or a kite – I had a great book with some really complex aeroplane designs. Competitions were a lot of fun.

Local Attractions

 42. Visit the museum – or other free local attractions like the art gallery.

43. Celebrate Australia Day – Often council or other organisations host live entertainment and BBQs for Australia day.

44. Visit the library – not only is it a place for free books, ideas and resources, toys, DVDs and magazines, libraries often run vacation programmes including story time.

45. Community events and programmes – have a look through the local paper, contact the local council or check out the PCYC for workshops, events and programmes run through the school holidays.

46. Go bowling –  or mini golf. Not so free, but scour through the local paper or shoppa-dockets and you might find discounts for these and similar activities. This goes for the movies too.

And a few Other Ideas

47. Start a family tradition – Any one of the above could become a family tradition. It’s these traditions and special moments that we remember in our adulthood.

48. Child swap – You mind my kids, I’ll mind yours.

49. Hang out with friends

50. Throw a slumber party

Plan ahead – some of these activities take a little organisation and planning or a little research into what’s on in your local area. Having a well stocked craft box (with recycled stuff of course) and a few games at the ready, will make wet weather a lot easier.

Get the kids involved – What stuff do they want to do? Maybe I should have put this as number one. 

Some Resources

Craft Resources

• Frugal Family Fun – this is a favourite blog with lots of inexpensive craft ideas using recycled materials.
• Free kids Crafts – craft ideas from a passionate mum

Other Kids Craft and Activity Websites:

• DLTK Kids
• Amazing Moms
• Family Fun Go by Disney
• Kids Craft Weekly
• Kaboose – more than just craft and activity ideas

Kids craft blogs:

• Kid’s Craft
• By Little Hands
• Handmade Beginnings – Promoting early learning through handmade educational aids

Colouring in Resources

• Kids color pages
• Coloring Pages Kids
• Coloring.Ws

Activities and Other Resources

• The Idea Box – Way too many ads, but still lots of ideas for kids activities.
• Look Learn Do – Craft resources and science projects
• Families with Purpose – activity resources as well as other family resources
• Jan Brett – famous children’s book illustrator, this site has lots of resources including colouring activities, games and awesome how to draw videos.

Have you read these articles?:

1. Teaching money to kids with five activities
2. fun frugal summer holiday ideas
3. tip tuesday – starting a craft box for the kids

We know that plastics aren’t so healthy for us, but going without plastic in the home, particularly in the kitchen, is a bit impractical for most of us.

The Environmental Working Group has released its latest tip sheet helping us choose safer plastics for use around the home. If you’re wondering what I’m on about (plastics are safe, right?) the EWG briefly explains why plastics may be hazardous to our health.

Most plastic products are numbered (usually near the recycle symbol or on the bottom somewhere nondescript). As a quick guide, the EWG recommend staying away from plastics numbered 3 or 7 or labelled PVC or PC.

Plastics labelled 1, 2, 4 or 5 don’t contain the chemical bisphenol-A and are better choices than the ones above.

The tip sheet also include safe handling ideas like not microwaving plastic (even ‘microwave safe’ plastic) and not to let babies chew plastic products like the remote control.

Of course, the safest alternative is to use as little plastic as possible, and the tip sheet gives some alternatives to common plastic products around the home.

If you’re interested, check out the Environmental Working Group for a whole range of free downloadable guides on safe and environmentally friendly alternatives to common family purchases.

Have you read these articles?:

1. Choosing a Mortgage that’s Right for You
2. 8 Things To Consider When Choosing Your Home
3. choosing (or making) the perfect gift