Summer Bucket List Ideas for Under $20

Entertaining kids this summer is going to be expensive- there is no way to sugar coat that. I really cannot comprehend how the little cherubs make it through an entire school day without fourteen snacks and seven complete meals. It is baffling because they certainly demand that much food now that they are home all day. So, here is my short, sometimes silly, sometimes serious, list of $20 or less summer activities to fill those long lazy afternoons!

1. Board game night- starting off with an easy-peasy no-brainer!
Dust off your Monopoly board, Life, Candyland, Chutes and Ladders, Uncle Wiggly.... etc etc. Or take a $20 bill to your local Walmart and let your kids pick out a new game! Be sure to prepare a giant bowl of popcorn and make a batch of grandma's cookies for sustenance. Play teams: kids vs. parents, for the ultimate chocolate chip cookie prize! When baked goods are involved competition gets fierce (and fun)!

2. See a parade or some fireworks- The Fourth of July is coming people. Get your fingers moving and google local events! Stop at Target and grab a couple packages of glow sticks from their dollar bin- trust me- they're so much fun! Check towns nearby withing comfortable driving distance- for me that radius is about 60-90 minutes.

3. Have a Campfire- $3.00 for hotdogs, $0.89 for marshmallows, $2 for graham crackers, $0.99 for hot dog buns, $3.00 in chocolate or reese's peanut butter cups and you have a campfire meal! You can also purchase metal skewers to cook your hotdogs and marshmallows on  but I prefer a stick. (Sticks are free!) And FYI: you can generally find bundles of firewood for less than $5 at local grocery stores.

4. Go to the Library- I can tell you with 100% certainty your local library has something planned for this summer! Every county in central Florida has a children's reading club or other activities to engage and entertain children and they are absolutely free! I wont go into detail because I wrote a blog about this last year (you can find it here).

5.  Backyard Olympics- We have dubbed this the Dollar Store Olympics in our family! Pool noodles are readily available at any Dollar Store and can be used to create a plethora of outdoor games.We call the game pictured below the "Don't-hit-your-sister-toss." Seriously, it should be an olympic event! 25 points if your pool noodle javelin goes through a green hoop, 20 for a blue hoop bulls-eye, 15 for orange, and negative 50 if you hit your sister. There were a lot of giggles and a lot of negative scores!  I got the idea from an article in an old family magazine but you can use this page for reference. There are ideas all over pinterest.com as well!

6. Build or Create something- yes! this can be done for under $20, you just have to know where to look! I have several arts and crafts and boredom-busting ideas on my pinterest page that either use items you already have in your home or cost very little. You can also register your child for a free Home Depot Kids Workshop (Here). The next event is on July 1st- your kids can build a bug house!

7. Learn something- My third grader is working on her cursive handwritting. Our school does not teach cursive anymore and I am a mom who would like my children to be able to read the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and a million other historically significant documents for themselves instead of having them transcribed to print. She does most of the work on her own with silly little workbooks that I found on amazon.com for a few dollars a piece. So take that prime membership out for a spin and find something to keep little minds working this summer. (This is the link to my daughter's favorite practice book. It is $5.50 of which I do not get a percentage for recommending to you). We also have a dry erase board on which to practice individual letters.

8. Go to the Movies- Movie theaters can be expensive. My family of six can visit our local drive in for $14 ($12 if it's a Thursday night). If you aren't fortunate enough to have a drive in near your home- make one. Check to see if your local library has projectors available to borrow and watch a movie on the side of your house. Invite the neighborhood kids or cousins or best friends and have an outdoor movie night. Lots of local public pools offer "Dive-in movies" that can be a lot of fun as well. Regal theaters across the country are also offering children's movies for $1 per person on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings at 10:00am. The regal summer movie express shows hit children's movies of the past year and a portion of the proceeds go to benefit the Will Rogers Institute which supports neonatal intensive care units around the country. As the mother of a preemie and the auntie of a micro-preemie, we wholeheartedly thank you for your contribution!!

9. Read a book that you love- My favorite book is, was, and always shall be Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. I gave my 7 year old a copy of it this summer and told her to find me when she got to the sad part. It's a story about a little orphan girl who accidentally gets adopted by a brother and sister who meant to adopt a boy. Anne is a dreamer who sees the world in a thousand colors instead of simple black and white. It deals with birth and death and all the pieces of living in between. I love it and my children are old enough to read it on their own. I'll let the girls make their own decision on rather to love or hate the book but the point its: I'm sharing it with them. So find a copy of Charlotte's Web or My Side Of The Mountain and let it bring joy to the next generation.

10. Volunteer- Points of Light is a nationwide organization that connects people of all ages with volunteer opportunities in their areas. Check them out! Also check out your local library, hospital, churches, schools, VFWs.... Volunteering is for every age. Volunteer your time. Volunteer
your talents. A five year old can easily sort cans of fruit in a food pantry or pick up trash on a beach. Start them young and encourage them to give their time as they get older.

11. Binge a TV show or have a movie marathon- I know, we try, as parents, to limit the amount of crap that our children watch on TV but there will be rainy days. There will be days when you just cannot fathom leaving the house this summer.... and that is OK. Find something on Netflix or Hulu or Amazon Prime or whatever streaming service you subscribe to and eat popcorn while you binge watch. If you want to make it educational I suggest Julie's Greenroom or either of the Bill Nye: The Science Guy's series on Netflix. I have been on a quest recently to expose my children to classic movies. My 12 year olds are currently obsessed with Audrey Hepburn after I took them to a revival of Breakfast at Tiffany's. It's currently raining cats and dogs outside my office window and I am about to abandon this post to go watch The Parent Trap with my daughters (the Hailey Mills one)! And yes, there will be fresh, hot popcorn with M&Ms mixed in, involved in our evening!