Inexpensive Outdoor Family Fun | Family Economics

By Andrea

With the nice weather, there are lots of outdoor activities we can finally enjoy again that won’t break the bank. Our street is very kid friendly so our boys can play all the traditional games like basketball, football, hopscotch and foursquare.

Below are some of our other favorite outdoor activities.

Backyard Camp Out:
While I’m not a fan of camping out, my boys love to do this all the time. Grab the tent and sleeping bags and let your kids camp out in the backyard. Even though I don’t camp out with them, I can still participate in another great pastime we all enjoy together: roasting marshmallows! We love s’mores so much we purchased a fire pit that has lasted us several years now. I usually get the marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate on sale so it's a yummy, inexpensive snack to fill their bellies as they prepare for the long night ahead!

Homemade Ice Cream:
After tasting the homemade ice cream our neighbor made last year, we invested this year in an ice cream machine. The machine itself was inexpensive considering how much you usually spend going out for ice cream. The nice thing about it is when the weather gets really hot, we can have homemade ice cream in any flavor in just 20 minutes. This process can sometimes get messy so we prefer to make the ice cream outside. It’s a great outdoor activity that will cool you off in the hot weather!

If you don't want to purchase a machine, try making your own homemade ice cream using a Ziploc® Brand freezer bag.

If your kids are ever complaining about what to do, have them create their own ideas specific to the warmer months. Place them in a graham cracker box and randomly draw an activity.

What outdoor family fun do you enjoy during the warmer months?