Do you need some family activities to get out of the “house” and away from the television? Me too!
Sometimes it feels like we’ve been cooped up in the house way too long.
Luckily, today I’m going to share with you how to get out of the house and have some fun family activities while still being careful not to spend much money.
In fact, most of these supplies you should already have on hand making these fun family activities FREE.
You just have to get a little creative and make it even more exciting by involving your kids in these things to do for free family activities so that they really feel like part of the fun.
Now let’s jump right into these quality family time ideas (near or outside of the home) that don’t cost any money.
Go On A Picnic
Check the fridge and pack up something delicious for your whole gang for these free family activities.
State or community parks might cost a couple of dollars to enter but they will have pavillions you can use. Otherwise, you can even picnic in your own backyard.
All you have to do is grab a blanket and something out of the pantry, and you have the perfect fun family activity.
The kids will love being outside, and you’ll be in heaven while away from all that tv noise and stress about what is going on.
And, what’s more fun than going on a picnic? (or if you have littles in elementary school you could read this book the night before and tell them you’re going on a bear hunt!)
Think about what other activities you can do while you’re at your park, like:
- Flying a kite
- Badmitten
- Kickball (or check out these 7 Kickball game variations to have even more fun!)
- Baseball
- Tag (Did you know there are 10 different ways to play? There are!)
Here are 10 other games you can play with a ball!
The kids will love being outside, and you’ll be in heaven while away from all that tv noise and stress about what is going on.
And, what’s more fun than going on a picnic?
Family Olympics
What’s better than a day of fun family activities at home? A day competing in some really fun games at home with these family activities!
Long Jump: Grab the spray paint and set up a long jump course. Simply spray paint the starting lines and then spray a line each foot after that. The person with the longest jump wins.
Badminton: Using crepe paper and string, set up a badminton court. Using paper plates and a paper ball for your badminton equipment, the best team wins 3 out 5 of serves.
Discuss Throw: Use a frisbee and see how far you can throw the frisbee. Give points for the furthest distance, 2nd place and 3rd place.
Shot Put: Get a ball and see how far it can be thrown just like a shot put. Give points for the furthest distance, 2nd place and 3rd place.
Javelin Toss: Use a pool noodle and throw like a javelin. Give points for the furthest distance, 2nd place and 3rd place.
High Jump: Stretch a pool noodle inbetween 2 ladders. The team that can jump over the highest spot wins.
Bike Race: Make up a bike race trail and see who comes in first.
Hurdles: Use foam noodles, duct tape and buckets to create hurdles. Turn the buckets upside down and tape the end of the noodle onto the top of the bucket. Tape the other end of the noodle to another bucket. So two buckets and one noodle form one hurdle. Form teams and the fastest team wins.
Check out these other Olympic Games for more family fun:
- Golf – dollar stores usually have kid sets during the spring and summer months
- Table Tennis
- Tennis
- Trampoline
- Triathalon
- Volleyball
- Soccer
- Archery
More Fun Games
Beach Ball Relay: Grab a beach ball and divide into teams of two. The first player puts the beach ball in between their knees and walks to the designated line and back. Then, they pass it off to the next player. The first team to all cross over the finish line wins.
Laundry Basket Disc Golf: You’ll need laundry baskets and frisbees for each team for this game. The first player of the team tries to throw the frisbee into the basket from the line, if they miss they have to try again till they get it. Then, they’ll pass the frisbee to the next player. The first team to complete wins.
Three Legged Race: Need we say more? Tie the inner ankles of two team members together with a bandana and have them walk to a designated finish line. The first team to cross the finish line wins.
Potato Sack Race: If you’ve got an old pillowcase, you’ve got a potato sack race just waiting for some fun.
Twister: If you don’t have the game mat, no worries! Use up that spray paint sitting in your garage and make a game mat on your lawn. Use a person from each team to play and the winner gets points added to their team score. You can also make a life-sized tic tac toe board while you are using up that spray paint.
Flamingo Ring Toss: Use a plastic yard flamingo and some rings to make a great game of ring toss or some horseshoe rings tossed to the legs of the flamingo just like the game of horseshoes.
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Water Day Fun
If you’ve been cooped up in your house for too long, then you know it’s time for a day outside in the sun with some fun family activities.
You can start with washing the car and easily end up with a water fight for fun.
Be prepared to get wet and have some fun with these other great ideas:
Bucket Brigade Relay Race: Form even teams with two buckets or bowls for each team and the same number of sponges for each team. Add the same amount of water to each bucket. The first team member fills their sponge with water from the bucket and squeezes it into the other bucket. Once the first member is done, the other can go.
The first team to empty their bucket wins.
Sponge Fight: Buckets of water, sponges and let them have at it. It’s good clean fun.
Alka Seltzer Water Balloon Or Water Gun Fight: Split into two teams. Take an alka seltzer tablet and stick it to a piece of duck tape that’s been rolled “inside out” (so the sticky side is facing OUT, like a really sticky bracelet, sticky on the outside, smooth on the inside). Stick the other side (opposite to the alka seltzer) to the front of your shirt. The first team’s alka seltzer tablets to fully dissolve, lose. The fun part is that when you’re shot with a water gun or water balloon the tab starts to fizz!
Pool Ring Toss: Grab your inflatable pool swim rings and form into teams for this fun game!
Milk Jug Water Balloon Toss: Empty your recycling bins for this fun game of water ballon toss.
Water Ballon Pinata: Hang a large water filled balloon from a branch or porch beam. Have the blindfolded batter try to hit the water balloon.
Frozen T-Shirt Race: Pretty simple, fun and so “cool”! Take a shirt for each player, dunk in water, ring it out, fold it up (all the same way), place seperately in a plastic baggy and freeze till solid. Take them out when you are ready to play. The player to put the shirt on first wins!
DIY Kid Car Wash: Got some plastic pipes laying around? You might have almost what you need to make this DIY Kid Car Wash.
Sprinkler Limbo: If you don’t have enough plastic pipes laying around for the car wash, you might have enough for this Sprinkler Limbo.
Check out these other 9 ways to have fun with water with your family!
Hiking
You’re sure to have a fun time when you set off to have an adventure with these free family activities.
You can hike around your very own local park or up a huge mountain. Most local and state parks also have hiking or walking trails but you might want to do a quick google search to check before you go.
Either way, everyone will love getting outside and exploring nature around you.
You can stop to identify different plants with the kids, or plan a fun stop like a waterfall for your family activities.
There’s even an app that you can download to identify plants, insects, and birds called Picture This. PAY ATTENTION that they are not going to charge you though! (Some of them have a free trial period so you can check out the app before purchasing… just make sure to set a reminder on your calendar to cancel the day before the trial is over so you aren’t charged.)
If you really want to get into it, have your kids make their own walking sticks out of branches and crafty things you have around the house. What fun!
Plus, just think of all the crafts you can make with your nature finds. It’s a great way to learn and be crafty!
Other fun things to do on a hike:
- Birdwatching – Count how many birds you saw and the different types. Check out these tips to get your child into birdwatching.
- Take pictures – If you get to your park early, you might see a lovely sunrise, deer grazing, and more animals out and about
- Make a list of all the creatures you found that day. Then, learn more about them at home. Like do they migrate, how many babies do they normally have, do they have one mate for life, or what does their normal diet consist of. You see, there’s so much to learn about nature!
- Geocaching
- Plus these other 12 ideas to do while you’re hiking!
Park Fun
When was the last time you played baseball or even kickball with your family? Or how about flying a kite? Then it’s time for some things to do for free family activities.
My point is, there are some fantastic and free reasons to take advantage of your local park for family activities.
There’s nothing better than a good old-fashioned playground, and parks are notorious for having them.
They can help you relive your childhood while you play with your own kids. Family bonding at its best.
Just don’t forget the hand sanitizer and wipes to “wash” your hands when you get back to the car. 🙂
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These FREE Budgeting Spreadsheets will help you keep a pulse on your money (from the palm of your hand).
Exploring Downtown
If you need to kill some time and need something to do, take your family exploring in your own hometown.
You might think they’ll get bored fast, but even window shopping to see what’s inside can be fun. (And that means these quality family time ideas truly are free.)
Plus, you’ll get time to talk. It’s a great time to ask questions and you can even do some history digging. Look up the history of your town, when the oldest buildings were built, and so much more.
Take a walk downtown just to get some fresh air and do some exploring. We visited a little local city nearby recently and realized there were several new businesses that had opened we didn’t even know about.
Do you have any murals in your town? When was the last time you posed in front of them and took a picture? It’s time to get creative and make some funny faces and poses.
Fresh air is good medicine and so is laughter for your family activities.
It’s a great way to get everyone out of the house, to move, and look at interesting things.
Running / Biking
Ready…Set…Go with these family activities.
Get on those running shoes or hop up on that bike. Take a stroll around your neighborhood or head to your local park.
With the fresh air and wind in your face…the troubles of the world just seem to disappear.
Well…we can at least try. Right?!!
If running isn’t your thing (that’s a nice way of saying, if you hate running, like me) check out these 5 games that turn running into fun.
Or go on a bike ride scavenger hunt or even create an obstacle course. You could set up a cone obstacle course to test skills and practice balance on the bike.
Remember that exercise is good for the body and helps release stress. By releasing stress, the body’s immune system is stronger.
So exercising is helping your immune system. That’s a win-win!
Relay Races
My family is very competitive so this is right up our alley for our family activities.
Get out those spoons and plastic easter eggs and let’s have some fun!
Check out another 10 ways to have a relay race with your family.
Wrapping It Up
As you can see, there are a lot of family activities to get out of the house and save your money at the same time.
A lot of people think they have to go to the beach or somewhere that’s expensive if they want to have fun with their family.
But that just simply isn’t the case.
That’s why I have come up with some wonderful ways to have some free family activities and not break the bank in the process!
You just have to be a little creative and get your kids involved with all the excitement to do free family activities. We all know being cooped up is not exciting at all.
In fact, have them help you prepare for all of these fun family activities at home (or close by your house) so they’ll feel like they are part of the fun planning.
And make sure you mention to your kids that you are having allllllllllll this fun without spending much money because saving money is important.
