22 Free (or Nearly Free) Ideas for Summer Family Fun

Do you want not to just be around your kids this summer, but with your kids? Amanda Woodiel shares a printable list of free (or nearly free) ideas for family fun.

The idea of being intentional with my five children (ages 8-16) this summer keeps coming back to me again and again despite my attempts to ignore it. It is sooo easy for me to slip into “early” Martha-mode, back when she’s concerned with what needs to be done and not so concerned with the most important things.

I go through each day checking off of my list of who needs to be driven where, what food needs to be prepped, which work details need to be attended to, and which kids need to be reminded of their chores — by the end of which, both the hours of the day and my energy are depleted.

Still, that voice keeps coming back. “Make time to be with your kids this summer.” My insides groan, if I’m honest with you. I’m around my kids all day long (I homeschool them and work part-time from home), and I want that to be enough. It must not be, because this summer, my soul is being coaxed and prodded not to simply be around my kiddos but to be with my kiddos. Not to just serve my kids but to relax with my kids.

Oh Saint Martha, pray for me!

One of the biggest challenges for me is to come up with ideas on things we can do as a family that don’t cost much money. It’s easy to go to a movie or out to eat — that requires little from me. However, it requires much from our family wallet, which is already stretched thin. Even something like going out for ice cream when you have five kids can cost more than an entire day’s budget for food!

So, in deference to this relentless little voice that encourages me to put away the work and go play, I’ve assembled a list of free (or nearly free) activities I can do with my kids this summer. Please add your ideas in the comments!

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Free ideas for family fun:

Living room dance party (for littles — put on music and go for it!)
Learn a new dance (for older kids — watch a video and learn it together)
Host a potluck party
Play games outside together (water-gun fights, HORSE in basketball, wiffle ball, and so on)
Board Game night (Yahtzee, Clue, Uno — anything but Monopoly!)

Nearly free ideas for family fun:

Go to the beach (this requires gas money and perhaps admittance; pack a lunch!)
Go on a pilgrimage to a church or shrine (gas money; pack a lunch!)
Go geocaching (gas money; there are free apps that guide you to the hidden treasure)
Go blueberry picking (not much more expensive than buying fruit at the store)
Hike at a county or state park (gas money; entry fee)
Sign up for Kids Bowl Free (you pay only to rent bowling shoes)
Canvas and Chocolate night at home (pick up small canvases and paints at the dollar store and watch a free tutorial online)

Free (or nearly free) ideas for family fun that require you to have or borrow gear:

Go disc golfing (provided you have discs or know someone who will let you borrow them)
Go fishing (if you have the gear or can borrow it)
Family movie night (all the better if you can find a projector and hang up a white sheet)
Tent camping in the yard (my idea of purgatory)

Free (or nearly free) ideas that require some effort:

Make a scavenger hunt for the yard
Family cooking contest (à la Chopped, the show where you have to incorporate strange ingredients)
Make a clue hunt that takes you around town
Ask someone you know to come over and teach your family something
Minute-to-win-it family Olympics
Check to see if your library offers free passes to the zoo or botanical gardens (ours does!)

Resources:

I use the website PlayPartyPlan.com for family game ideas. That site also has free downloadable scavenger hunts that would be great for smaller children.