Frugal Fun – Family Night
August 29, 2008 by Tracy
Filed under Frugal Living
A Frugal Friday Column contributed by Susanne of The Hillbilly Housewife.
Today I’d like to share some ideas with you for some frugal family fun. We do this once a week, usually on a Friday night. Everyone in the family participates and helps put this little impromptu event together.
Start by deciding on a theme. Here are some things we’ve done in the past that were a lot of fun.
Game Night
Dust off the various board and card games you have. Great places to play are either at the kitchen table or in the living room floor. Instead of cooking dinner, set out some snacks like crackers, cheese and cold cuts as well as some veggies and fruit. Then it’s time to play games and snack in between rounds.
Movie Night
Pick a family friendly movie, pop some popcorn and settle down in front of the TV. We like to get our movies from the library, but there are also some online rental services like Netflix that aren’t too expensive.
Pajama Party
Everyone including Mom and Dad gets dressed in their favorite PJs. Then fix breakfast foods like pancakes, eggs and bacon and the likes for dinner. Afterwards, snuggle up on the couch and read some books together until it’s time to go to sleep.
Camping Trip
You don’t actually have to leave for this one. If you have a tent and a backyard, go camp out there (weather permitting of course), otherwise, just put out some sleeping bags or comforters in the living room and camp out there. Serve hot dogs for dinner and s’mores for dessert. Turn off the lights and get use a flashlight. Now is a great time to tell some ghost stories.
photo credit: Larsz
Pizza Party
Start by making some pizza dough earlier in the day. Divide it up into individual portions. Get out assorted pizza toppings like cheese, tomato sauce, pepperoni, ham and various veggies. Everyone in the family can help chop them. Next, hand each family member a portion of dough and let them pad it out into a small pizza.
Now the fun begins. Everyone gets to create their very own pizza with their favorite toppings. Bake as usual and enjoy!
Talent Show
Get out a box or a big bag and go through the house collecting anything that would make for some good dress up clothes. Everybody gets dressed up and is then asked to perform an act in front of the rest of the family. This could be a song, a magic trick, a comedy act or anything else you can come up with. I promise there’ll be lots of laughing and fun.
What are you waiting for? Pick a theme and a date and create some wonderful memories with your family at your very own family fun night.
More From TracySusanne Myers shares frugal living and budgeting articles at The Hillbilly Housewife and on her blog. She is also author of the Hillbilly Housewife’s Spring Cleaning Guide. Grab your copy today at http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/ebooks/springcleaning.htm
