I have always believed that one doesn’t need to spend large sums of money to have fun with the family. Sure, there are some things that inevitably – for the most part – require a decent cash outlay. Ranging from vacations to amusement parks, all the way down to movies at the theatre, there are many fun activities that fit this description.
Recently, I have been able to capture my 7-year old’s attention with an old standby card game: Go Fish!
Now, to clarify, it’s really she that has captured my attention with this game. Lately, she has been asking me to play this game again, after the card deck was in a drawer for the last year. Honestly, even though it’s a kid-oriented game, I really have fun playing with her. It’s fun to see your child having a good time, using her mind “strategically” in some way, and playing to win while being a really good sport. It’s all good, and seems like wholesome, family fun.
Besides the fun both parent and child are having, here’s the next best thing: the deck of cards cost us next to nothing!
They weren’t entirely free, but were part of a kids meal that we got her when traveling a few years ago. I think the meal cost no more than $5, and included this small deck of cards as the kid “toy”. Instead of some action figure, as would be typical, this one was something where they could actually think a little bit, and interact with an older sibling or parent.
Anyway, we probably played about 5 hours worth of Go Fish!, I’m estimating, when she got the cards a few years ago. Since she recently rediscovered the game, we have probably played another 5 hours total, I would estimate.
Overall, 10 hours of enjoyment for spending very little is a great deal, I think! Technically, I can’t say it was “free”, as our $5 or so was inclusive of the food AND the game. That said, it’s good fun for very little cost.
She has seen a “real” card deck, and got a kick out of the pictures of the King, Queen, Jack, and Joker. I guess the numbers weren’t as exciting as pictures, which is why Go Fish! must be fun:)
If you have kids, are there fun activities you have them do that keep them entertained at very little cost? If you don’t have kids, perhaps you might remember some fun things from your childhood that probably didn’t cost your parents much.
I can totally identify with this post. We played a game we got as a Wendy’s toy for years! It is actually one of my youngest son’s favorite memories.
I am the queen of doing cheap activities with the kids. We have a giant backyard, so we do a lot of outside activities. I will probably gain 20 pounds when they are all off to college. (I am a big fan of frisbee!)
My little sisters and I really loved shadow tag and freeze tag. We also made little carnival games ourselves (successfully throw a tennis ball into a laundry basket tilted sideways and win x…). Aggravation the board game and Sorry were huge in our house too. I also talked my grandpa into playing hours and hours and hours of Monopoly with me…he was a good sport. 🙂
DH just came back from visiting his family with gifts for our kid. His mom got a Wii. His grandma got a cheap ball. Guess which one gets played with more?
For us you really can’t beat markers or crayons and construction paper. Add some tape and scissors and you have hours upon hours of fun. Sidewalk chalk is also great when it isn’t so hot out.
At daycare the most fun outside toy they have is pieces of foam. They use them in all sorts of creative ways. Yesterday my kid was getting one wet and washing off a tree-stump with one. He had to get it clean before he could go home, he said.
We had the most difficult time finding a frisbee in town. Walmart does not carry them! We just ordered one from Amazon.
We like going to restaurants or doing takeout as a treat. It wasn’t expensive and was just a good way to enjoy each others company.
Hide and Seek…totally rocks. We were even playing it in our hotel room on vacation last week. As you can imagine there weren’t too many good places to hide in our little hotel room, but it was still fun for our 1 and 5 year old, especially when they can see your fit sticking out from behind the curtains.
Going to the town lake in the summer. Going to the playground. I spy..just finding things on the road as you’re driving by.
We also do something called “imagination stories.” Where I start the story and then my kids and I go back and forth with different plots and adventures. Sometimes my son gets mad when I veer the story in a direction he doesn’t want to go in so I let him tell the whole thing himself.
Actually, using imaginary toys is also fun because you can dream up all sorts of crazy and exotic things. My son imagined a gun that shot fire balls covered in boogers. He took it out of the alien doorway. Of course, I immediately put up my booger bouncing force field so I was good but only until he created his force field breaker…and on and on it goes.
Sandy – I too have done some of those same things. Hide and seek is a winner, and even keeps a smart 7 year old occupied. Made up stories are a real hit too. She can be occupied for a 1/2 hour easily by Dad’s story time. I like it too, and always try to remember that as hard as it can be to continually make up new stories and remember her favorites, there will be a time soon where she outgrows it. Then I’ll be missing those days!