Top Ten Cheap/Free Things My Family Loves to Do

And we’re back for another Top Ten Tuesday, the blog carnival hosted by Amanda. Today, I want to list the best cheap/free things we like to do. Now, when I say cheap or free, I mean things that we do based on things that we already have rather than having to buy things.

1. Watch movies. We are a movie loving family (as evidenced by the triple stacked row of VHS tapes my husband pulled out of the old entertainment center last week :). We usually watch at least one movie a day.

2. Play games. We also have a significant game cabinet filled with games for all age levels. Some of them are old games of mine or P’s that we’ve saved since we were kids and some are new games. Ben’s absolute favorite game, currently, is ThinkFun Zingo. He teaches everybody how to play, well, except Katie. She’s a little small (so says Ben).

3. Bake. Ben is determined to be a good “cooker.” And he often asks to bake something. We have a great cookbook: Kitchen for Kids: 100 Amazing Recipes Your Children Can Really Make that his Auntie Angel sent him that he’s been looking through trying to decide what to do first.

4. Play tea party. Ben plans and organizes tea parties that our wedding planner friend would be proud of (if you’re planning a wedding in Tampa, check out: Alluring Events. She’s amazing. This is Ben’s take on the tea party:

5. Play outside. We have a “playground” (swing set/climbing tower) in the backyard for the kids. Ben swings out there for hours. He also has all sorts of imaginary friends he plays with and he makes up all sorts of elaborate games related to pirates and the chasing there of.

6. Coloring/painting/markering. Ben has developed more of an interest in these types of things in the last six months. He loves to make his own pictures and send them to people. He also attempts to label them; sometimes with more success than others.

7. Nature walks. We take nature walks around our neighborhood or nearby neighborhoods. Ben likes to look at the different things people plant in their yards, the trees, and, sigh, the cars. He is always fascinated by cars (nah, he couldn’t be related to P at all, could he?)

8. Go to the library. Our library has some great children’s programs and has an extensive collection of children’s books. Plus they have some cool toys that we don’t have at home. We can always burn a few hours at the library.

9. Read. Clearly related to #8. We are definitely a family of readers. We have books for all age ranges in the house and covering all sorts of topics, so this is an area where we never have to worry that the kids are going to lack interesting things to read.

10. Build forts. I have been building forts since I was a little kid. So has my husband. So, naturally, we’ve started teaching Ben the beauty of forts. This is a somewhat older picture of Ben and Peyton in one of our creations, but it gets the idea across:

So, there you have it, ten cheap/free things that we love to do as a family. Now, head on over to Amanda’s to check out other entries in Top Ten Tuesday.