The Great 'Simple Pleasures' Hunt

luxor4t

When the kids needed entertaining but bad weather & no money got in the way we would go for an 'indoor picnic' ie do all the 'day out' things indoors = * go sightseeing (visiting the ancient ruins in DS's bedroom, we found 'buried treasure' alias old socks under his bed)
* eat in a different place (picnic under the table or on the stairs)
* play outdoor games indoors (cricket using softballs etc)
We even went to the zoo in the garden - nextdoor's cat was a lion, a worm was a man-eating snake & DH claimed to have a herd of elephants (ants).

Doinx

some great suggestions - I was going to say indoor picnic but Luxor4t got their first! Any board games are great way to spend an evening.

newmumincov

I record late night films on the humax and watch them whilst I do the ironing whilst DD has her afternoon nap.

I've cut out alcohol for cost and for health reasons, and also cut back on fizzy pop. Sometimes I drink sparkling water out of a wine glass with dinner as a treat. I was buying San Pellegrino from Costco at 60p a bottle but they've unfortunetly stopped stocking it.

I sometimes marinade meat instead of having it plain, now that I don't buy pre-prepared ready to cook meat joints/dishes. It seems far more luxurious than the pre-prepared stuff in tin foil trays too.

PaulX

Music and Photography.

Now these activities can cost you a fortune, but are easily done on a shoestring and are great pastimes.


Musical instruments have never been cheaper, especially second hand. I recently bought a used classical guitar for £10 which played very well. The same goes for electronic keyboards. People buy them for their kids who use them for 5 minutes before they go up for sale in the local ads at knock down prices. The internet is awash with sites offering lessons for free and considering learning a musical instrument is a lifelong activity the return for your investment per year is next to nothing.

Doing photography as a hobby is very different from just taking holiday snaps. It involves the correct use of lighting and technique. Again the internet provides all the instruction anyone could want, all for free. The equipment need not be expensive. You can get good pictures from a very cheap digital camera these days and much of the other equipment can be bought second hand or easily made. Again there are websites that give instruction on how to do this.

And if you want to use a computer to manage your music or digital photography, suitable old machines can be got for next to nothing and there is plenty of free music and photo software on the net.

I’m sure there are other hobbies that can be pursued for little monetary cost and a thread that might be worth setting up on Martin’s site would be for people to nominate a hobby and have suggestions for the cheapest way to do it.

jooy

I was just thing of something to add and remembered that when my two children were smaller I'd read to them. I remember reading the Chronicles of Narnia one winter afternoon. We snuggled up together with blankets, closed the curtains, turned the tv off, put on a small lamp and cranked the fire up. My kids are a bit old for it now but I know they still remember that afternoon. I did my best to add atmosphere and excitment to my reading and it was such a special time. It costs so little to spend quality time with your kids and reading to them like this strengthens bonds and encourages them to read themselves. I'd love to have those days back! Bliss:p

coco_custard

Feeding the ducks is always something me & baby coco enjoy doing, then walking to the local bakers & buying fresh warm bread & having somne yummy hot buttered toast with a big mug of tea!

Sami_Bee

my favourite thing and most people have the ingredients to hand,
rice krispie/cornflake cakes - melt some chocolate and stir in some cereal - done!
I also 2nd an indoor picnic and a game of scrabble!
if you've got kids you can't beat building a fort all you need is furniture and blankets/towels et voila a fort can be built

YummyMummyBigBummy

We love going to museums and art galleries. We look at the expensive art work and talk about where in our house it would look best. We've acquired loads of (imaginary) pieces over the years!
Also, in a similar vein to a previous post, we sometimes get all dressed up in our glad rags and get out the best china and crystal (again imaginary!) to eat our lunch or dinner. I make menus and DS gets to choose what he wants (mostly soup or beans, but in french) and we pretend we're at a fancy restaurant. He loves it! And it helps with his french too. Double bargain.

UnlikelyButTrue

myself and o/h had a lovely day last week- went to visit a free castle then sat in the car by the beach and played battleships and ate a reduced-price picnic! bliss!

YummyMummyBigBummy

Just remembered another thing we did once, which we must do again.
I had a big old cardboard box (big enough to slide over the TV) and cut a hole in it big enough to see the TV screen through. Then I attached some old bits of fabric to look like curtains and put the whole thing over the TV. I made popcorn and put it in baskets and turned off the lights and we watched a film, pretending we were at the cinema. We had half time ice creams during the 'intermission' too. Relatively simple, we were only watching a film, but it made it seem really special.
Tried to persuade OH to dress up as an usherette, but had to wait until DS had gone to bed...:D