The Family Wallet

photo credit: claireg73

Keeping your kids occupied for the summer can be a monumental task. And, keeping them occupied on a budget can seem to be impossible. How do you ensure that your children have a fun summer, without blowing your entire budget? Having a few tricks up your sleeve will keep you prepared when the kids seem to run out of things to do.

Water Gun Shootouts – Older kids love paintball, but who can afford expensive gear and rental fees at paintball facilities. Instead, you could organize water gun shootouts. Use your own backyard for the battle zone and arm each of the kids with cheap water guns from a dollar store. Keep plenty of towels at the back door to dry your combatants when the battle is over. Before you know it, every kid in the neighborhood will want to play at your house.

Backyard Camping – Camping out never gets old for youngsters, but a trip to a state park may not be in your family’s vacation budget this. Don’t worry; you can have all of the same excitement in your own backyard. Pitch a tent (you can borrow a neighbor’s if you don’t have your own) in the backyard and your kids will be in camping heaven. You can lead ” hiking expeditions” to the park in the daytime and hunker down around the “campfire” to tell ghost stories at night. Hot chocolate and s’mores pre-prepared in the kitchen will go a long way to making the imaginary campfire feel more realistic.

Summer Movie Programs – If movies are an important part of your family’s entertainment, your local movie theater may have the perfect way to keep your children happy for the summer. Look for summer movie programs that make it inexpensive to take your kids to an age-appropriate movie as often as you’d like. One theater chain offers an eight-week program that features two different movies each week. During the earlier part of the day (when the theater typically isn’t busy) the kids can enjoy one of the two movies. Membership to this program includes admission to eight movies for only $10. You can’t even rent eight movies for $10!

 

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Filed under: Kids