15 Budget-Friendly Family Activities

So you are stuck with your family for a while. All the ideas you had planned have run out, and you are looking for additional fun family activities. You want maximum enjoyment at a minimum cost. No worries! Here is a list of a few of my favorites family activities that I will be pulling out over the next few weeks.

1. Water games

Weather permitting, we love to play outside as a family. We have one water gun (that we can currently locate) so my kids take turns being “it” and playing water gun tag. They spray each other with the water hose. They enjoy anything at all that involves swimwear and getting wet. Below, I have linked some water activities for you that can involve the whole family.

Water Toy Games

Ice Block Treasure Hunt

2. Board games

For Christmas, my family and friends give me experiences. As a result, my family owns just about every board game relevant for 5-12 year-olds. We have Sorry, Trouble, Hungry Hungry Hippos, Pie Face (never played because I “keep forgetting to buy the whip cream”), and Monopoly just to name a few. Every few evenings, we pull out a game and enjoy all of the laughter it has to offer. Trust me, there is zero seriousness with a six year old and two eight year olds playing board games.

3. ABC Mouse

I just added this one to my collection. Right now, because of the current pandemic, subscriptions are free. My children love playing learning games on our tablets or phones. ABC mouse is definitely worth taking the time to register and look around.

4. Go Noodle

This activity can get the whole family up and moving. You can use the app or website. Pick a song and follow along with song and dance. I had never heard of Go Noodle until I saw it in the stories of a fellow blogger friend of mine, but my children knew immediately what to do once I pulled up the site on my cell phone. We have been playing, singing, and dancing daily ever since.

5. Bible songs

As a Christian mom, I enjoy exposing my children to Bible verses, stories, and lesson as much as possible. Bible songs teach children without the monotony of worksheets and textbooks. Again, children love to sing and dance to music. My little ones even make a band to sing along to the music. I search for “kids Bible songs” on YouTube, click on a playlist, and let the music take over.

6. Bible Stories

As a teacher, I like for learning to be interactive. As a result, I downloaded a Kids Bible app. The app reads the story to my children, allows them to click on different images to see the story come alive, and then provides an activity at the end to reinforce the main ideas of the story. My children LOVE it. My entire family can watch and learn at the same time.

7. Picnic

Right now in the South, temperatures are in the 70s and the 80s. That is perfect picnic weather. Take your meals to the great outdoors.

8. Read

While it is great for your children to practice reading to you or themselves, they also need to hear you read to them.  Take time to let them read books of their choice, and allow them to choose books of their choice for you to read to them.  This part of the day is great for my one-on-one time with my each of my children.  They get their own personal “mom-time” or “dad-time.”  Right now, lots of my kids’ favorite authors are actually reading their own books aloud for storytime daily.  How perfect is that for a family activity?

9. Movie night

Movies have become a staple in my household over the past week. We watched Spiderman. We watched Lion King. Disney has released Frozen 2 on Disney Plus. My husband and I even did a take out and a movie date night. Movies are a fun way to wind down the evening, or provide family “technology time” instead of the children being glued individually to tablets or phones.

10. Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger hunts are always a huge hit for my family. It gets everyone up and moving and hopefully even outside for some fresh air. Here are five of my favorite scavenger hunts for both outside and inside (just in case).

Nature Scavenger Hunt

Outdoor Scavenger Hunt (Sketch items)

Indoor/Outdoor Selfie Scavenger Hunts

Photo Scavenger Hunt (Outdoor)

Photo Scavenger Hunt (Indoor)

Gratitude Scavenger Hunt

11. Color

My children think it is completely normal to request a coloring page of their choice. They want Minnie Mouse, or Mario, or the Avengers. They ask for whichever character comes to their mind at the moment. Thankfully, Google has made access to these things possible.

Google things you want to color. Google things your children want to color, and then color together. As an added bonus, a friend of mine recently directed me to some beautiful historic New Orleans coloring pages. I do not know how long these will be available so I saved them. That way, I can color them for years to come.

12. Learn

There is something magical about learning as a family.

No idea where your child is in their school work? I uploaded daily lessons for my kindergartener, 1st grader, and 3rd grader here.

However, if you need lessons that are not so specific:

• Eureka Math is an amazing site for math that is uploading new lessons daily.
• Some of the world’s most famous travelling spots are offering free virtual tours.
• The Today Show highlighted some information on how to homeschool during the Corona Virus.
• One Facebook group hosts a site with a working document of hundreds of sites currently available at no cost to you for at home learning!

13. Photo Shoot

Get fancy. Dress up. Find props. Be creative. Take pictures wherever and whenever as a family. You can do pajamas. You can do Sunday best. You can do princess themed or dinosaur themed. You can pick your favorite holiday. Have fun with it!

14. Build a fort.

We have watched movies inside of forts. We have played games inside of forts. We have enjoyed picnics inside of forts. Forts allow the entire family to spend a few moments away from their normal reality.

15. Pray together/devotion together.

Find some kid friendly Bible activities, and learn together. You may combine the Bible songs and Bible stories from above with some follow-up questions or activities. I have included links to some of my favorites for the Easter season below.

• DIY Resurrection Eggs
• Christ-Centered Easter Activities
• Easter Scavenger Hunt

What are some fun family activities that you enjoy?

Comment below or connect with me: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat: mrsbonnaffons.

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Need some more information on how to enjoy all the moments as a family?  Here are some more of my favorites:

1. 20 Budget-Friendly Spring Activities (with free printable)
2. 5 Ways to Spend Quality Time with Your Family Daily
3. Decluttering Your Life to Make Room for What Matters

Like what you read here today, feel free to share with friends and family.