Ideas that are easy on the wallet AND bring you together as a family

While vacationing can be lots of fun and yield great memories, not all families have the money to travel. And with kids out of school during the summer and schedules off the regular routine, families who are on a tight budget may grab fast-food and allow the children to be entertained by the TV or video games. But there are lots of ways families can have healthy and fun bonding time on a budget.

It’s so important to spend time together engaged in activity to have healthy family relationships. Put away the computer, the tablets, the phones. Turn off the TV and look for ways to come together and connect. Below find ten ways to come together without busting the budget. Some of these links lead to recipes and resources and some are affiliate links which will yield me a small commission if they lead to purchase. 

10 Ideas for Healthy and Affordable Summer Fun

1. Mix a pitcher of delicious tropical punch. Let the children join you in creating this recipe of fresh fruit juices for a delicious drink that looks like a summer sunset. Bring out the environmental friendly stainless steel straws and some fun summer tumblers and sit out on the back porch sipping together as a family.
2. Wash the car. Nothing invites a fun water war more than a car wash on the driveway. Get the whole family in on the suds and the soaking. You’ll have a clean car after a lot of wet family fun.
3. Camp in the back yard. Pitch a tent, bring out the sleeping bags and the lantern and sleep out under the stars together.
4. DIY healthy frozen yogurt. This easy frozen Greek yogurt recipe yields a variety of delicious cool healthy fruit-filled treats for the whole family to make and eat together on a hot day.
5. Tend a veggie garden. I have fond memories of going out early on summer mornings with my grandmother and my sister to pull weeds, pick some cucumbers and tomatoes and water the garden. Taking care of a garden as a family teaches children the value of nurturing and together you can enjoy the fruits of your labor. Don’t have a garden of your own? Look into helping out at your local community garden as a family.
6. Bond with the dog as a family.  Instead of viewing the dog-walking as a chore, let it be a fun time for bonding! Walk your dog to a fenced field where you can let her off the leash to run and maybe catch a tennis ball. Have a family grooming session with your dog. Pampering your dog together as a family can be a great way of coming together. If your dog is a puppy you can work together to train him. If you have an older dog who has hip pain as many old dogs do, daily massage can be helpful and special supplements in the form of treats can do wonders for helping aging dogs. You can get more information about these treats here.
7. Get crafty. There are tons of fun artsy fun activities you can do together as a family without spending a lot of money on supplies. Recycle paper towel rolls into amazing art using some of these ideas.  Get creative with egg cartons, popsicle sticks or empty oatmeal containers.
8.  Beat the heat with a homemade slip-n-slide. You just need a long sheet of heavy duty plastic, some landscaping pins to keep it attached to the lawn, some slippery liquid soap and the garden hose for hours of silly fun for the whole family.
9. Study the summer sky. With an inexpensive telescope or a pair of binoculars and a little joint research about what to look for in the summer sky, your family can gaze in awe at the wonders beyond planet Earth.
10. Swinging and sliding. Some of best summer memories are of my own family are when we went swinging high and sliding down the curvy play ground slides at the nearby public park at dusk.  You might walk to the elementary school play ground down the street or find a nearby park and don’t sit on the bench watching the kids play. Join them! Remember the simple pleasure of playground fun with your children.

Embrace these warm weather days and slower paced summer months as a time to engage in fun and healthy activities with your children and the whole family will benefit.