How to Keep the Children Busy All Year Without Spending a Fortune Discover a range of frugal family activities for children of all ages that you can enjoy all year round without breaking the bank. From kids' activities for every season to holiday decorating, arts and crafts, your children are sure to be kept busy without spending a lot. Also keep your back to school spending under control with the help of this guide.

1. FRUGAL FAMILY
ACTIVITIES
How to Keep the
Children Busy All
Year Without
Spending a Fortune

2. INTRODUCTION
 Keeping your active children entertained throughout
the year with fun and interesting activities can be a
real hassle
 It can also cost a lot if you don’t plan ahead and
make frugal, budget and cheap your favorite words
when it comes to the kids.
 Here are some ideas for every season, starting with
summer, so you can keep them busy and learning
during the long summer vacation.

3. 1: SAVING IN SUMMER
 The warm weather of summer means you can spend
more time outside enjoying a range of free or cheap
activities, such as walking, hiking, camping, and
cycling in local beauty spots
 Take a picnic lunch with you and save on fast food
and eating out in restaurants
 On rainy days, plan a range of arts and crafts
 Organize what you already have to make the most of
it, rather than going out and buying more

4. 2: SAVING IN AUTUMN
 Autumn is a wonderful time of year. You will usually
have enough warm days to go out and enjoy nature.
 Head to a local farm or orchard at harvest time.
You’ll get fresh produce that tastes far better than
what you get in the supermarket, with fewer
pesticides, and cheaper too
 Harvest festival, Halloween and Thanksgiving are all
great time to decorate and have fun with costumes,
arts and crafts and cooking together as a family

5. 3: SAVING IN WINTER
 Most people feel like hibernating in winter, but this is
also a great time for frugal family fun if you bundle
up warmly
 Make a snow fort or your own igloo
 Get out the sled and find a hill nearby
 The end of year holidays will be a great time for
decorating, arts and crafts, and all the preparations
for quality time with friends and family.

6. 4: SAVING IN SPRING
 With the warmer weather coming after a long winter,
the children will be eager to get outside and njoy the
playground and park again.
 If they love the outdoors a lot, consider starting your
own garden in your back yard, or on a windowsill. It
is fascinating to watch things grow
 You could even save money on food if you plant
vegetables and have a good harvest in the fall

7. 5: OTHER FRUGAL FUN IDEAS FOR
ANY TIME OF YEAR
 Arts and crafts are always a hit with children
 Make you own homemade dough they can knead and cut
into shapes
 If they’re old enough, let them do this with cookies too. Bake
a couple of batches each week, eat some while they are
warm, and freeze the rest in a zippered storage bag. Then
take one or two out whenever you need a sweet treat
 Playing dress up-savethe best costume ideas for Halloween
if your family observes it

8. 6: HOW TO START YOUR OWN
GARDEN
 You can start growing things at any time of year
depending on what it is you wish to grow
 Bulbs for flowers like tulips need to be planted in the
late fall
 Vegetable can go in any time, but check soil and all
instructions on the package to avoid disappointment
 Watch out for frosts in spring and fall
 The kids will love to dig around, and see what grows

9. 7: HOW TO BUDGET FOR SPECIAL
TRIPS AND ACTIVITIES
 All year round at school, and during school vacations,
the children will want to join in any special trips and
activities that are being organized. It can all start to add
up after a while, but your kids don’t want to be the only
ones missing out because you have a tight budget
 Calculate what this past school year has cost in terms of
extras and add that as a line item in your budget
 If the kids are old enough, give them chores to do so
they can earn and save the money if they wish to go

10. 8: HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON BACK-
TO-SCHOOL SUPPLIES
 A lot of people spend way too much money on back to
school supplies that then get wasted, or forgotten until the
markers are all dried out and can’t be used any more
 They also buy way too much stationery and then find out
that every teacher has a different requirement for notebooks
and binders
 Start by hunting out everything you already have in the
house and then making a list of anything missing
 Buy enough to get by for the first couple of weeks and then
plan the rest of your shopping strategically.

11. 9: SUCCESS STRATEGIES FOR SAVING
MONEY AT THE HOLIDAYS
 The end of the year holidays are the most expensive time of year.
 Gifts, food, decorations, entertainment, can all start to add up
 Calculate how much you spent last year and add $100. Then divide
by 12 and put this as a line item in your budget. Then start a
‘Christmas club’ account
 Organize all your decorations by each holiday and then see if they
are any gaps. Let the kids make them if they can, and help with all
the holiday cooking including interesting cookies and candies.

12. 10: ARTS AND CRAFTS
 Most children love arts and crafts. Use cardboard
from cereal boxes, brown paper, and more, to make
decoration, gift wrap, and so on
 Invest in stamps and ink, poster paint and other
cheap supplies they can use over and over again to
transform plain items into gorgeous ones
 Look up arts and crafts projects online, organize the
supplies, and see what lovely things they can create

13. CONCLUSION
 Keeping the children busy and out of trouble can be a mammoth task
all year round
 Make the most of each season’s free and frugal activities outside
 Keep all your arts and crafts supplies organized
 Keep all your holiday decorations organized
 Don’t overspend on back to school items
 Budget for the holidays and don’t put anything on the credit cards-
otherwise you’ll be paying for a couple of days of fun for months
afterwards.

14. FURTHER READING
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