Things to do for fun when it's cold out

[birthjunkie27]

We're pretty new to living frugally and we're having a hard time finding cheap (preferably free) things to do as a family. We used to go to the mall and hang out, let the kids play in the play area, eat lunch. Not shop, just hang out. But, now with our new budget, that's out. It'd be easier if the weather would be nice (we'd go for walks, nature hikes, parks, etc...). But, can someone give me ideas on things we can do for fun that won't break the bank? It's dh, 6yo dd, 3yo ds, and 15 mos old dd, and myself.

[phathui5]

Our mall has an indoor playground on the first floor that's free. You may want to call around and see if there's anything like that in your area. Of course, the idea is to get you in and spend money, but I just don't take any in with me.

[birthjunkie27]

Originally Posted by phathui5

Our mall has an indoor playground on the first floor that's free. You may want to call around and see if there's anything like that in your area. Of course, the idea is to get you in and spend money, but I just don't take any in with me.

I'm trying to avoid the mall. I don't know if you saw in my post that I said we used to do the mall play area thing all the time and we'd have lunch there too. The food court is just so tempting!

[phathui5]

That's where not taking money with me comes in.

You could go to library events, like storytimes and puppet shows. We keep track of the library schedules for two counties here, since we live in one and near one.

[birthjunkie27]

True, about not taking money....

The library is a good idea. I'll have to check into what kinds of things they offer. Thanks.

[melissel]

Yeah, I have a friend who always used to bring her own food when we met at the mall to play and do story time in B&N. She was totally fine with it.

I posted about this awhile back and got some great ideas, though I think they were mostly oriented toward indoor fun. If I can dig up the old threads, I'll post the links. We have a very hard time with it too--the toddler and the preschooler have very different ideas of what's fun!

ETA links:

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=605495

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=605485

[peypeymama]

Do you have a community center near you? Ours has "indoor park" 3 mornings a week. There are balls, trikes, etc. It's just 50 cents a kid here. P needs to run and I can chat with the other mamas.

[cupofjojo]

Some of these not free but fairly cheap

We do library story hour. If you are near several libraries you could go to more than one. We have one that does crafts as well.

We pick the one place we will buy a membership a year and then attend that place often. i.e. zoo, aquarium, childrens museum. Even if we only go for 2 hours, with a membership we don't feel bad. Our zoo parking is free so we've chosen the zoo this year.

We have a hiking club at our church but you may want to find a few moms who you might be able to hike on trails together. This way you always have someone to hike with and extra hands to help with kids. We even do this in the winter, just get them very bundled up.

Not sure where you are in IL, but Chicago used to have free days at certain museums each week.

I do playland at Chic Fil A or McDonalds. My DS really just wants to play so we go after lunch. I'll buy a small cup of coffee for myself and he goes off and plays. We go around 1:45 so lunch is over and there are usually less kids so its not so crowded.

[cupofjojo]

More Things To Do - (LONG)

We just went to a pet store my DS loved it. Before we went in I told him we were there to look at the animals and that the animals live at the store. Free, fun, and did not buy a thing.

Some other things, not sure where my brain was the other day:

1. Go to your airport; either big city airport, or even a local airport. Watch the planes land and take off. I do this near lunch time and we pack our lunch. This way if it takes a while to see a plane DS is happy to eat.

2. My son will watch for an hour trucks and cranes and a construction site.

3. Save some old bread in the freezer. Find a pond and go feed geese.

4. We just found out some of our local parks have ranger stations that you can visit for free. They usually have some kind of display.

5. Now that it is getting a little warmer we will visit local farms. There are a few dairy farms that let you feed the cows with their own grass. There is a buffalo ranch, and some llama and alpaca farms. We bring some soapy paper towels in a ziplock bag to wipe hands after petting the animals.

6. I always check our local papers. I'm surprised at some of the events that are listed. We went to a dance studio the other day that was offering a kids session for free. The studio is new to the area and its there way of getting the word out. We had a great hour of fun.

7. I bought some Frisbees and this year we're going to go out Frisbee golfing. My DH will enjoy it, our DS will chase the extra Frisbee. And Frisbee golf courses are usually free.

As far as cold weather, some things we did this winter - I let DS take every pillow off beds and furniture and build forts, tunnels, etc. Cooking muffins or cookies where DS gets to dump everything in the bowl is a big hit. I saved some moving boxes and we made a house, and a cardboard car and DS had tons of fun drawing on it, putting stickers on it and of course then playing in them. Mini scavenger hunts were fun for DS. I'd pick some of his smaller toys and hide them. Did not get to do this yet but you could also visit a firehouse. You might call first but most are very friendly. I used to take nieces and nephews.

[birthjunkie27]

Thanks for all the great ideas! We can't wait for the weather to warm up a bit to go visit some farms.

[root*children]

I second the museum membership. Find one that's reciprocal. We have a zoo membership that also has reciprocality to science museums. We've used it SO much! You can use it to go to museums in other towns as well. A little tip for the frugal gal you are - if your zoo or kids museum is reciprocal, but is pricey, you can always get a membership to another museum that's on the same reciprocal membership list (anywhere in the country) online and use it at yours