Spring Into Summer for Free

This weekend marks the unofficial start of summer; a time when most families hit the road in search of sun and fun.  Whether you are heading to the Jersey Shore, making tracks to Florida’s coastal communities or cruising to California, you can experience sun, sand, and surf without sacrificing your entire summer travel budget. The trick is to take advantage of the free activities and amenities offered at your vacation destination. For example, if you are planning to travel to San Diego this summer, there are a slew of family-friendly options that won’t cost you a dime to enjoy, including: … Continue reading

Fun Summer Ideas for Kids

Boredom doesn’t have to be busted by spending a lot of money. Try one of the following fun summer ideas for kids that are creative and frugal. No more “Mommy, I’m bored” this summer. Pick Blueberries  …Or raspberries, or strawberries. Find a local pick-your-own farm nearby and enjoy the sunshine. Picking berries is a fun and frugal activity for kids, and you get to take the sweet fruit home with you. Make Baggie Ice Cream Forget the expensive ice cream maker. Instead, grab two inexpensive plastic bags for a cool homemade treat. You’ll need a set for each child. Ingredients: … Continue reading

Ideas for Easter Fun Without the Calories

Want to serve up heaping helpings of holiday fun without spending a ton of money on high-fat, high-sugar, high-calorie Easter treats that’ll turn your kids into Energizer bunnies? Take a look in a book. These adorable Easter reads are the perfect addition to a sugar-free holiday basket or a great way to bond in bed with your child as you countdown to Sunday’s visit from the gift-bearing bunny: Easter Bunny on the Loose!:  A Seek and Solve Mystery There’s an emergency in Easterville and your kid gets to play detective.  Wendy Wax and Dave Garbot team up for this fun-filled, … Continue reading

Family Fun on Super Bowl Sunday

The big game is less than four days away.  On Sunday, millions of families will be gathering around their televisions to watch the Baltimore Ravens take on the San Francisco 49ers… or at least to watch the uber-hyped Super Bowl commercials. It would be great if the entire family thought watching a 4-hour game was the epitome of fun.  However, if you have young kids, they may want a bit more to do than just sit on the couch and cheer on men wearing tight pants. If you are looking for super fun ideas that will score big with little … Continue reading

Parade of Holiday Freebies

Everyone loves a parade, and why not? They are fun, festive, and best of all–FREE! With the holidays fast approaching cities from coast-to-coast are prepping to host a cornucopia of family-friendly parades. The granddaddy of them all is the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. It is the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States and attracts millions of spectators each year. However, you don’t have to spend a ton of money traveling to the Big Apple to take in the sights and sounds of these colorful moving spectacles. Rather, gather the kids and grab a piece of … Continue reading

Free Thanksgiving Apps for Android

Ready to celebrate Thanksgiving? One great way to celebrate is with some free apps for Android. These apps can help you to get into the holiday spirit, give you something to do while traveling, and even help you with Thanksgiving dinner. If you are stuck working on Thanksgiving, or the weekend after, you can play with these apps on your break. Thanksgiving Mahjong is a free app that has Thanksgiving decorations on the mahjong tiles. It has three different tile layouts, a hint button, and a shuffle button. It records your best time and high score for each layout. Thanksgiving … Continue reading

Free Fall Crafts, Events, and Breakfasts

October brings plenty of Fall Festivals and Halloween celebrations. Many of them are things your family can attend for free, or for a low cost. Here are a few upcoming fun and frugal Fall activities that will be going on between now and October 14, 2012, (and a few that are going on all month long). Stuckmeyer’s Farm located in Fenton, Missouri, is having Farm Fun Days every weekend in October. It happens every Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 in the morning to 5:00 in the evening. Admission is free. There will be hayrides, pony rides, an inflatable slide, live … Continue reading

Family Fun On Vacation

This week, my family is on vacation. We have been having a great time, and Dylan has been doing very well as far as behaving appropriately and listening to us – much of the time. I think that there are a couple of reasons why things are going smoothly for us, even though our days have been much busier and exciting than they are at home. The first thing that I think is helping us to have a great vacation is to keep our expectations realistic. By choosing restaurants where we do not have to wait too long for a … Continue reading

Mother Nature’s Free Fun

Viewing this weekend’s Perseid meteor shower may have been one of the most thrilling moments of the summer. And the best part: I didn’t have to fork over a single penny for the opportunity. Rather, my family got to witness a sky set ablaze with so many shooting stars we lost count of them all. Free family fun. It doesn’t get better than that. According to AAA, the price of gas has increased 34 cents since July 1st. It’s no wonder why parents are counting their pennies and looking for affordable ways to entertain their kids. And by affordable, I … Continue reading

Free Fun in the Sun!

It’s summertime. I am finally out of school for a few weeks and Logan and I are taking advantage of it! We have been playing and playing hard! There are so many things I want to do with him before school starts up and our time is limited again. But, as all single parents know, money doesn’t grow on trees, so we are forced to get a little creative with our fun since so many activities cost money these days. Logan loves to be outside. I’d love to be able to put him in all of the summer sports camps, … Continue reading