Ah, spring! If you live where you have a long winter, you probably look forward to spring in eager anticipation. You’re probably going a bit stir crazy and can’t wait to get out and have some family fun. But who wants to go and spend a fortune on a fun day out? Just because it’s finally spring doesn’t mean there aren’t still bills to pay. Check out these ideas for spring time frugal family fun that won’t have you reaching for the credit card or eating college kid food for months to make up for overspending.
Spring festivals
Do you have any spring festivals near you? Sometimes festivals can be incredibly expensive, but often they can be easy to do on a budget. Have a set amount for spending on food and only spend that on special things you really want. Bring snacks or sandwiches to fill in the rest of the meal. Also, make use of the free parts of the festival. A lot of festivals have a free area for kids. If you tend to drop a lot of money at the shopping booths, avoid them completely! If you want to have a little fun money, make sure it is cash. When the cash is gone, no stopping at the ATM or using the debit card!
Go on a picnic
It is finally warm enough to be outside! If you’re lucky, the bugs aren’t too bad yet. Perfect picnic weather! It doesn’t take much to have a fun family picnic. Pack up some outside eating friendly food, grab a blanket, and head to a local park. Bonus points if there is a playground at the park. If not, be sure to pack a Frisbee or ball to play catch.
Visit a garden center
With spring comes gardening season. Head to a local garden center as a family and start planning out your garden, either flower, vegetable, or both. Include the kids so they find it fun. Let them choose some of what is going to be planted. Kids love to be involved in most anything. My mom used to plant white daisies, just for me. You could even make it into a game. See who can find the craziest looking plant or strangest sounding vegetable. Remember that are you just making plans, either real or silly, and are not buying a bunch of plants on this trip.
Go for a walk or hike
Yup. That simple. Just go for a walk or a hike. Enjoy the emerging flowers and green leaves. To add another aspect to it, turn it into a scavenger hunt. Make up a list of things the kids need to find like a certain type of flower or a worm or certain number of birds. You can either have a prize for whoever finds the most things on the list or just have it be a fun adventure.
Visit the ice cream stand
Okay. Maybe this one is just because I have a chocolate milkshake addiction. And I’m not talking about the sub-par ones from fast food places either. Around here, even if it still cold and snowy, the ice cream stands up in early or mid-April. A trip to the ice cream stand is fun, tasty, and fairly affordable. We can typically get out of there for $10-15, depending on which place we go to.
Spring is such a happy time and it definitely makes us all want to go out and celebrate. Try just a few of these frugal family fun ideas then come back and tell me about it!
(Looking for ideas for fall? Check out this post on Frugal Fall Fun.)
I’m trying to make it a point to do more hiking and fishing with my kids this year. It’s a great frugal way to have some fun without spending money in our #yearofno! 🙂
Those are great choices. My 5yr old loves fishing. Maybe she just loves her princess fishing pole. 😉
We love having picnics in the summer! We are looking forward to school being out soon so we can meet my husband for lunch dates.
So fun! My oldest loves it when Daddy is working near home and can eat lunch with her. Special times. 🙂
How fun! My girls love going to the garden center, and we always leave with a bunch of pretty plants!