Summer is usually the month-long time when families get to bond together. Children have summer vacations for school, and older children who had gone out for college education come back to their homes for summer break. It is the best time for all members of the family to participate in events together and strengthen their relationships. However, you do not need a big budget to have fun. There are many activities you can take part in without burning a hole in your pocket!!
Fun and cost-effective ideas to enjoy summertime with your family!
Create art together
Get hold of some art supplies – let everyone choose what they want to make. It could be a family portrait, a photo frame, a pen holder, paint your mailbox or even a make a calendar. You could assemble photos in an album cum scrapbook where all of you could contribute some happy memories that you had spent together. This is a great way to have fun and get everyone involved, and also remind yourselves why your family is unique and why you love them. Art supplies are also an easy way to decorate your homes and rooms without spending too much money and while enjoying yourselves!
Play a board game together
Board games are a great investment. Most games are really cheap and they can be played over and over again. Options like Ludo, Snakes, and Ladders, Guess Who will be great if you have young children, and Monopoly, Scrabble, and Scotland Yard would interest older children. Board games are a great way to live life offline while immersing yourselves in a real-time game. If you show children how fun these games can be, this could become an enjoyable family tradition. Board games also involve tactical thinking and develop decision-making skills.
Read together
Reading is a hobby that is slowly losing its relevance because we have faster ways of entertaining ourselves. With the great variety of Netflix and Amazon Prime catalogs, it is difficult to develop the habit of reading in your children, but gather around each evening for 30 minutes to an hour and read a book aloud. If you have older children, make a book club within the family. All members should read the book within a month and have a discussion over it one evening. You may discover that you have many different points of view!
Host an open-mic night together
Open mic nights are the newest craze where the idea is to offer a space for performance for people who are interested to perform. It could be anything- singing, dancing, slam poetry, beatboxing, or simply telling a funny anecdote. You could decorate your living room nicely with lights, co-ordinate performances among your family, and let it be a wonderful space for your creativity to thrive. There might not be a huge audience, but you guys will surely feel like stars surrounded by the love of your family.
Work on puzzles together
Who didn’t love puzzles as a kid? If you have young children, help them with making puzzles together. If your family has older children, don’t assume you are beyond puzzles! There are 1000 piece puzzles for adults which can be pretty challenging and require hours and many people to sort and solve. Even better, choose a picture of your family and make it into a puzzle (there are many videos on YouTube instructing you on how to do that) and spend happy family time together!
Make a Bird Feeder together
Again, YouTube and Pinterest are your best friends. This is a project that will keep you guys busy and help the environment- how cool is that? Birds usually struggle in the summer heat to search for food and water, but with a bird feeder in your balcony, they won’t have to look very far. There are many styles and sizes of bird feeders you can make at home, so choose one that fits the aesthetic of your family the best!
Learn cooking skills together and prepare a dinner
Cooking is an essential skill that everyone should have. After all, food sustains human bodies and special recipes are passed down generations in a family. Cooking can be started from a young age- teach your younger children to make sandwiches and cakes on their own and help them out with complicated parts. You can also make a family favorite, or each member can prepare one course of dinner and a hearty meal.
Have a swimming day!
Children love playing with water, but going out to water parks can be expensive and troublesome for parents. You could easily solve this by buying an inflatable pool. They are cheap and cost-effective because you can use them for years with proper care. What’s better on a summer day than a splash of cold water and lounging in a pool with your family?
Start a small homegrown garden
This one ticks all our boxes – it is super cheap, fun, eco-friendly, and something that can be done by people of all ages. Let your children choose from the many local fruits, vegetables, and flower plants available. According to where you live and what size your balcony is, your options may vary but chillis, mint, parsley, tulsi, lilies, sunflowers, roses, and hibiscus are plants that can be nurtured easily. It would be a project throughout summer- taking care of plants! With proper care, you will be able to reap benefits of the seeds you sow too!
References:
https://andreadekker.com/frugal-summer-fun-ideas/
https://www.parents.com/fun/activities/outdoor/cheap-summer-fun/?
