Having fun for free - or just about free...

thriftwizard

There's a lot of very genuine distress about at the moment - people struggling on impossibly low budgets, people having to go on anti-Ds, & around here there's a strong feeling of silent misery & people papering over the cracks hard & fast. I know that depression's a horrible condition which makes it impossible to see even a light at the end of the tunnel, and that many people are in situations which really are horribly hard to cope with, but I wondered if it might help if those of us who've been at this for a while posted some of our ideas for having fun for free or as little outlay as possible? Mods please feel free to combine this with other threads on the subject - I'm sure there are plenty of ideas out there somewhere but I couldn't find them.

When our kids were little, we were between a rock & a hard place financially; having had 5 in quick succession (not anyone's fault but our own! Though I can vouch for the fact that twins are definitely not two for the price of one...) and with my other half earning just enough to make us ineligible for help of any kind, & a fairly hefty mortgage, I couldn't afford to return to the workplace as childcare would have wiped out my earnings. So I learnt fast to become OS; I'm just old enough to remember the 70s, and grew up amongst older people who remembered rationing etc. And I hope my kids were never particularly aware that sometimes I cried myself to sleep at night wondering how the heck I was going to pay the bills & for school trips etc., because I think we did, and still do, have a lot of inexpensive fun, and kids from more prosperous homes often opted to be with us rather than go home, eat a solitary microwaved pizza & commune with their play stations.

So here are a few things we did (and some we still do) for fun:

1... Board games - mostly given by decluttering relatives - now often readily available on Freecycle!

2... Making stuff - using cheap PVA glue, duct tape & resources like old wallpaper sample books, carpet tubes & cardboard boxes. You can often pick up boxes big enough to make dens, stagecoaches, trains & space rockets from electrical retailers if you ask in advance. Also "free" or very cheap fabric like old curtains. You can find plenty of ideas online or in your local library. One of my DDs now earns a fair bit of her living as a crafter on the strength of this.

3... Campfires (modern version = fire pits) - you do need the use of a garden or allotment for this, but cooking, storytelling & singing round a campfire is pretty magical, given decent weather, at any time of year. Wood comes from old pallets, fir cones & fallen branches where we walk.

4... Walking - not round the shops, that only leads to envy & despair! But getting wrapped up (or down, if it's summer), grabbing a flask (hot or cold) and some biscuits, and heading off along the highways & byways wherever you are lifts everyone's spirits. Cycling works wonders, if you have a bike & anywhere to keep it. Our local tip does bikes at £5 a piece, in whatever size or state. And it's a great feeling, when you come across a lovely little oasis or an interesting view.

5... Museums - not sure whether the big ones are currently free (they weren't when ours were growing up, much to my sorrow) but little local ones are usually fairly inexpensive & often have activity days for families. That said, sometimes they limit admission to one child per adult, which is a pain for bigger families.

6... One for the grown-ups - book clubs! Usually free to join & with books supplied by your local library, they're a good chance to socialise & broaden your mind without much outlay - only when it's your turn to host, although some meet in libraries anyway.

7... Making music - not necessarily expensive piano lessons, but creating a stomp with pots, pans & cutlery, acquiring penny whistles & harmonicas at car boot sales & just doing your best & having fun at a time of day when you know the neighbours won't mind! Again, eldest DS has now become a semi-professional musician despite only having had about 5 formal music lessons in his life. Also dancing - good exercise & has a feelgood factor even if you have two left feet and are limited to solo waltzes round your kitchen to Classic FM!

Anyway, just a few ideas to lighten life up a bit hopefully - I'm sure lots of OSers have many more & better ones to add!

valk_scot

Camping...a basic tent pitched in the garden is a sure fire hit with kids. My garden tent was an old canvas frame tent that I picked up in a jumble sale for £5 and it used to stay up most of the summer. The kids used to play in it on rainy days and we'd have sausage sizzles for tea (cooker outside the tent of course!) And DS would have friends round for sleepovers in the summer. It's gone now, it finally fell to bits but it was well worth the small outlay.

[Deleted User]

What a super idea for a new thread THRIFTWIZARD thank you. Lovely things already suggested and I would like to throw in Bird Watching, either in the garden specially if you feed them or while you are out on a walk. A basic identification book from a CS or Boot Fair should be pence or there's always the library to borrow from.

A Tree/Plant identification book is fun too and makes you take much more notice of what's around you. Also Fungi at this time of year, my DDs loved a fungus hunt in the local woods in the Autumn.

If you are camping/cooking out in the garden we made 'Glow worm' lights by putting tea lights in old jars, some hung in a bush or tree are lovely and very cheap to make.

Cheers Lyn x.

vickiem30

What a lovely thread; how about;

foraging for apples and blackberries and making something, stewed fruits etc.

researching local history at the library and planning (and doing!) a heritage walk.

collecting holly, twigs etc and making Christmas decorations

Checking out free activities at Tourist info (if you have one)

Interviewing old relatives and collect family stories (also would make a thoughtful Christmas gift)

Making a scrap book using old photos (also a nice gift)

sophlowe45

large museums are free apart from the paying exhibitions.

Sorry to be London focused but I do not know about anywhere else and there are 8 million people here.

there are lots of free activities in the summer for children through local schemes, lots of really great stuff, I am very jealous and want to join in but cannot.

also lots of places do free family friendly things such as

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/a/families

http://www.ideasforthekids.co.uk/attraction.aspx?attid=57b9e405-1779-44c4-b314-b22bc3e0ebee

there are Saturday morning cinema screenings where it is 1 pound for the adult and then 1 pound for the child.

but there are many other places that do free stuff, some into the age of 25.

mummysaver

We used to meet up in the park with other parents when mine were tiny, and take a packed lunch and some blankets, then the grown ups could chat and the kids could play. Nothing like a bit of socialising to cheer you up!

Water fights were always a hit in summer, with old washing up bottles

Baking or cooking, even if it's just putting toppings on a pizza, used to keep mine happy, in fact it still does!

Cinema nights at home, with an old favourite film, popcorn and nachos is always good entertainment.

Making something from next to nothing: old boxes, glue, glitter and some scissors is great for tinies; making puppets or decorating t-shirts or pillows with thread, fabric paints or old scraps of material for slightly older children, or adapting furniture for big children.

Bring a dish suppers for adults, and poss a bottle!

PipneyJane

Excellent idea for a thread.


Coincidentally, I recently had an email conversation with a colleague with some suggestions for free/cheap things to do, since she's saving hard to go home to the Phillippines for Christmas. I'll reprint them here. My ideas were aimed more at a childless couple, but are still valid here:-

• Join the BBC's audience mailing list. Lots of free shows, both television and radio, and they aren't all based in London. You usually have to queue up a couple of hours beforehand, because they always overbook the audience, but it's a very cheap night out. Radio shows are the easiest to get into. I've been to recordings for things I'd never normally listen to and really enjoyed them.
• Podcasts. (Although they won't get you out of the house.) We're both huge fans of the Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo's Film Review podcast (they broadcast live on Friday afternoons on BBC Radio 5). Well worth switching off the telly for a quiet night in. Very funny. Very entertaining. And you don't have to be into film to enjoy it. You can subscribe via iTunes, where there's also a large archive of their back episodes.
• Get on the mailing list of your local big-city library and museums. I've been to several free exhibitions at the British Library.
• Games nights in with friends. Play board games or poker (but not for real money). Get them to bring drinks. To feed them, you can make a large pot of chilli, some rice and a bowl of salad for less than £5. For pudding, everyone likes chocolate cake.

(ETA: Valk_Scott what is "C.R.A.P R.O.L.L.Z", please? I've seen it in a few places now but can't figure out what it means. Ta.)

[Deleted User]

A dressing up box, hours of fun and made from other folks discards. Lots of plastic jewellery and some cooking foil makes a treasure chest, get out the story books and you can act out their favourites.

Treasure hunts indoors on cold and rainy days, we used wrapped sweets/mini eggs etc. Can be fun in the garden too when the weather is good enough.

Making pictures from autumn leaves/ cards for loved ones - you can draw on arms legs and heads if necessary and make clothes from feathers, sycamore airoplanes, flower petals anything you have.

Start a nature corner for treasures found on your rambles, a friend had theirs in the porch on the windowsill including in pride of place a sheeps skull, got their kids many brownie points with their pals.

Scrap Books - not expensive ready made motives, but anything bright and colourful to stick in cut from adverts, magazines, catalogues etc.

valk_scot

PipneyJane wrote: »

ETA: Valk_Scott what is "C.R.A.P R.O.L.L.Z", please? I've seen it in a few places now but can't figure out what it means. Ta.)

Take yourself over to the SHTF thread and you'll find it all there. It's basically a very tongue in cheek joke about how we're going to reclaim civilisation after we deal with the zombie invasion. I can't quite recall off the top of my head what the initials actually mean, you understand, but I do know I'm going to be the Minister of Agriculture.

Popperwell

A lovely idea for a thread and many great ideas especially if you have family/friends and are near to free places where you don't have to travel far.

Make life special for children, we become adults too quickly.

life_unexpected_2

Den making and nature tails always went down well with my kids.

We also use to have crafty days making salt dough models, jewellery or christmas tree decorations.