4 Weeks of Frugal Family Fun

4 Weeks of Frugal Family Fun: Free food at Chick-fil-A (Day 19)

by Crystal on July 13, 2012

The kids had so much fun planning out and dressing up in their cow costumes for Chick-fil-A’s Cow Appreciation Day today.

We used stuff we already had on hand and I was really happy with how their costumes turned out.

Kaitlynn didn’t want to use one of the tails I printed out from Chick-fil-A’s website, so she made her own!

I think the kids had the most fun seeing all of the crazy costumes other people had concocted. I had told them ahead of time that probably other people would dress up, too, but I guess they didn’t quite believe me until they got out of the van and saw all of the cow-decked people headed inside.

They kept laughing at the hilarious things people had come up with — and, let me tell you, there were some doozies! I couldn’t believe how many teenage boys and grown men dressed from head-to-toe like cows. Some of them looked like they had put a whole lot of effort into their costumes and seemed not a bit embarrassed about wearing them for all to see!

We arrived at 11 a.m. and I’m so glad we did, since we were able to get a table back in the corner away from all of the throngs of people. Plus, we didn’t have to wait in a line that stretched out the door!

Some dear friends of ours who currently live in India but are back in the states for a few weeks met us there and we enjoyed getting to catch up and visit for awhile while the children played.

All in all, it was a wonderful experience — and definitely something we’ll be doing again!

Did you do something fun and frugal as a family today? If you blogged about it, I’d love for you to leave a link to your blog post below. Or, you can just tell us what you did in the comments.

Note: Since the purpose of this series is to encourage you to be intentional about fun in your home this summer, please only link up posts showing pictures/sharing details of fun things you did as a family today (or within the last few days). Posts that do not adhere to these guidelines will be deleted in order to make it fair for those who are putting forth a lot of effort to participate in this challenge.

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4 Weeks of Frugal Family Fun: Free Movie & Kool-Aid Ice (Day 18)

by Crystal on July 12, 2012

We met Angie and her four children at the local movie theater for their Free Kid’s Movie showing today.

It was a wee bit crowded and noisy, but you can’t beat the price of free!

We headed over to Angie’s house afterward and she made Kool-Aid Ice with Sprite for the kids while we moms snacked on Fudge Babies.

Did you do something fun and frugal as a family today? If you blogged about it, I’d love for you to leave a link to your blog post below. Or, you can just tell us what you did in the comments.

Note: Since the purpose of this series is to encourage you to be intentional about fun in your home this summer, please only link up posts showing pictures/sharing details of fun things you did as a family today (or within the last few days). Posts that do not adhere to these guidelines will be deleted in order to make it fair for those who are putting forth a lot of effort to participate in this challenge.

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4 Weeks of Frugal Family Fun: Elephant Toothpaste (Day 17)

by Crystal on July 11, 2012

We had a busy day today so we didn’t get to do our planned frugal family fun project until after Jesse came home tonight. He was quite impressed with the project and amazed at the creative idea I came up with (Thanks, Pinterest, for making me look like I’m a cool mom! :) ).

The kids were scratching their heads when I told them we were making Elephant Toothpaste. “Elephants have to brush their teeth, too?” “Oh wow, so this is what their toothpaste is made of?”

They were a little disappointed when I broke the news to them that this wasn’t actually Elephant Toothpaste, but regardless, we sure had fun making up crazy stories with the idea, anyway. :)

We didn’t have 6% Hydrogen Peroxide like the recipe called for (only 3%), but I thought our end result was still pretty cool — and the kids had a blast watching it bubble up and overflow.

Did you do something fun and frugal as a family today? If you blogged about it, I’d love for you to leave a link to your blog post below. Or, you can just tell us what you did in the comments.

Note: Since the purpose of this series is to encourage you to be intentional about fun in your home this summer, please only link up posts showing pictures/sharing details of fun things you did as a family today (or within the last few days). Posts that do not adhere to these guidelines will be deleted in order to make it fair for those who are putting forth a lot of effort to participate in this challenge.

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4 Weeks of Frugal Family Fun: The Long Jump Contest (Day 16)

by Crystal on July 10, 2012

Inspired by watching the Olympic trials recently, we had our own Long Jump contest in our basement.

Maybe we didn’t quite match the jumping style or finesse of those participating in the Olympic trials, but we sure had a grand time attempting to leap through the air.

I made a Long Jump line with yarn and then we recorded the jumps with pieces of tape.

Everyone had fun trying to beat their own best jump.

It also was a great way to expend a lot of energy, without wilting in the heat outside!

I think this is my favorite picture of all the ones I took. The way Silas lives life with such gusto and joy brings a smile to my face and a reminder to me to take time to celebrate the little things each day.

Did you do something fun and frugal as a family today? If you blogged about it, I’d love for you to leave a link to your blog post below. Or, you can just tell us what you did in the comments.

Note: Since the purpose of this series is to encourage you to be intentional about fun in your home this summer, please only link up posts showing pictures/sharing details of fun things you did as a family today (or within the last few days). Posts that do not adhere to these guidelines will be deleted in order to make it fair for those who are putting forth a lot of effort to participate in this challenge.

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4 Weeks of Frugal Family Fun: Ivory Soap Clouds (Day 15)

by Crystal on July 09, 2012

We made Ivory Soap Clouds for our Frugal Family Fun project. The kids were less than enthused when I first told them about it.

“Stick a bar of soap in the microwave? What’s the big deal about that?” They said nonchalantly.

Well, I had them all crowd around the microwave, despite their lackluster attitudes.

Within a minute, everyone had forgotten all about their lack of enthusiasm as their eyes were popping out with what the soap had turned into in the microwave.

They started begging me if they could please play with it — and they had so much fun breaking off pieces and being fascinated with the transformation of a simple bar of soap.

Did you do something fun and frugal as a family today? If you blogged about it, I’d love for you to leave a link to your blog post below. Or, you can just tell us what you did in the comments.

Note: Since the purpose of this series is to encourage you to be intentional about fun in your home this summer, please only link up posts showing pictures/sharing details of fun things you did as a family today (or within the last few days). Posts that do not adhere to these guidelines will be deleted in order to make it fair for those who are putting forth a lot of effort to participate in this challenge.

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4 Weeks of Frugal Family Fun: Homemade Oobleck (Day 14)

by Crystal on July 05, 2012

We made homemade Oobleck today — something I haven’t done since I was a child. It’s easier than making flubber and the ingredients are not toxic, so it’s a great project for younger children. Plus, it cleans up quite easily with warm water!

It’s fascinating stuff — and even more fascinating is the fact that it only cornstarch and water to make. It hardens up into a thicker dry paste, then softens up into a gooey liquid, and back again as you mess with it. It’s hard to describe with words how it feels the the different forms it takes, so I just encourage you to try it for yourselves and see what it’s all about.

I can almost guarantee you’ll have some fun with it! To read more about the science behind Oobleck or to get some more ideas of things you can have your children try with it, check out Science Bob’s Blog.

Homemade Oobleck

makes enough for one child — we made separate colors for each child

  • 1/4 cup corn starch
  • 2-3 Tablespoons water
  • 2-4 drops food coloring of your choice

Put the corn starch in a bowl. Mix the food coloring into the water. Add water and stir until it forms a paste. Spoon onto foil or a cookie sheet or plate and let your child have fun playing!

Cleans off easily with warm water.

Did you do something fun and frugal as a family today? If you blogged about it, I’d love for you to leave a link to your blog post below. Or, you can just tell us what you did in the comments.

Note: Since the purpose of this series is to encourage you to be intentional about fun in your home this summer, please only link up posts showing pictures/sharing details of fun things you did as a family today (or within the last few days). Posts that do not adhere to these guidelines will be deleted in order to make it fair for those who are putting forth a lot of effort to participate in this challenge.

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4 Weeks of Frugal Family Fun: Red, White, & Blue Waffles (Day 13)

by Crystal on July 03, 2012

For our Frugal Family Fun project today we made Red, White, & Blue Waffles. It was so simple to do — and a fun way to be a little patriotic.

If you need an easy and festive breakfast for the Fourth of July, you could adapt this idea for tomorrow morning — or any morning of the year. It’s especially nice to make in summer, because the waffle iron doesn’t heat up the kitchen like the stove and oven do.

Red, White, & Blue Waffles

Makes 4-6 Belgian waffles

Waffle Batter:

  • 1 3/4 cups flour (whole-wheat, white, or a mixture of both)
  • 2 Tablespoons sugar (or raw sugar)
  • 1 Tablespoon baking powder
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 3/4 cup milk (You can use half milk/half water, if you prefer.)
  • 1/2 cup oil or melted butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Toppings:

  • Yogurt Sauce (6-ounces of yogurt or Greek yogurt mixed with 1-2 Tablespoons maple syrup) or whipped cream
  • Blueberries
  • Strawberries

Mix together dry waffle batter ingredients in one bowl. Lightly beat together wet waffle batter ingredients in another. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Pour batter onto lightly-oiled or buttered waffle iron and bake until done.

Top with chopped strawberries, blueberries, and yogurt sauce or whipped cream and serve.

Did you do something fun and frugal as a family today? If you blogged about it, I’d love for you to leave a link to your blog post below. Or, you can just tell us what you did in the comments.

Note: Since the purpose of this series is to encourage you to be intentional about fun in your home this summer, please only link up posts showing pictures/sharing details of fun things you did as a family today (or within the last few days). Posts that do not adhere to these guidelines will be deleted in order to make it fair for those who are putting forth a lot of effort to participate in this challenge.

 

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4 Weeks of Frugal Family Fun: Library Reading Program (Day 12)

by Crystal on July 02, 2012

We signed up for our library’s reading program for the first time this year. I read a lot of picture books to Silas each week, so it wasn’t much of a challenge for he and I to reach his goal, but the girls have been very motivated to read in order to reach their pre-set reading goals.

Kaitlynn was so motivated, in fact, that she read 10 easy readers the very first day and then recorded all of their names on her little reading record. I’ve never seen her quite so driven to reach a goal — and it was fun to watch!

Today was the first day that we could go and pick up the prize bags, and the girls were SO excited. They’d been talking about this day for weeks, literally.

Truth be told, I was a little concerned that maybe the prize bag wouldn’t be much and it might be a disappointment.

Boy, was I ever wrong!

Not only did each child get to choose a free book to take home, they also got a bag stuffed with great coupons and offers from local businesses — things like free Kid’s meals, free miniature golf, a free smoothie at McDonald’s, free baseball game tickets, free ice skating passes, and more.

They were beyond thrilled — and I was totally impressed with the coupons and freebies. Some of them required an additional purchase (like an adult entree purchase in order to get the free kid’s meal), but some of them were completely free — such as the free McDonald’s smoothie coupons, free tickets to an indoor kid’s play center with inflatable slides, etc.

Once again, I’m so thankful for the free service that libraries provide. Not only do they allow us to read hundreds of free books each year, but then they offer amazing programs like the summer reading program — for free.

If you aren’t utilizing the resources at your local library, I encourage you to check into it and see what all they have available. It just might save you a lot of money — and provide hours of frugal fun!

Did you do something fun and frugal as a family today? If you blogged about it, I’d love for you to leave a link to your blog post below. Or, you can just tell us what you did in the comments.

Note: Since the purpose of this series is to encourage you to be intentional about fun in your home this summer, please only link up posts showing pictures/sharing details of fun things you did as a family today (or within the last few days). Posts that do not adhere to these guidelines will be deleted in order to make it fair for those who are putting forth a lot of effort to participate in this challenge.

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4 Weeks of Frugal Family Fun: Swimming (Day 11)

by Crystal on June 29, 2012

We survived the first week of swim lessons for all three children. While we got off to a rocky start at the beginning of the week since two children were struggling with quite a bit of fear of going under water, by the end of the week, all three children are loving their lessons — which I am so happy about! And we’re considering continuing on with more lessons after this first two-week period, if the excitement and progress keeps up. We’ll see!

We celebrated a successful week of swim lessons by heading to Grandma & Grandpa’s house to swim in their above-ground pool. Gratefully, it was a hot day because the water was freezing — especially at first!

I didn’t get any pictures because I was so focused on helping all three children swim. But we had a great time — and the children were especially excited that Mommy swam, too! :)

Since we didn’t have any pictures from today, I thought I’d share these pictures of the children all ready and decked out in their goggles and swim cover-ups before we left for lessons yesterday. I don’t suppose I have to mention the fact that we’ve got quite a bit of energy and personality at our house. It’s a little loud and crazy at times, but we have so much fun and laugh so often that it makes it all worth it! :)


Did you do something fun and frugal as a family today? If you blogged about it, I’d love for you to leave a link to your blog post below. Or, you can just tell us what you did in the comments.

Note: Since the purpose of this series is to encourage you to be intentional about fun in your home this summer, please only link up posts showing pictures/sharing details of fun things you did as a family today (or within the last few days). Posts that do not adhere to these guidelines will be deleted in order to make it fair for those who are putting forth a lot of effort to participate in this challenge.

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4 Weeks of Frugal Family Fun: Fireworks in a Jar (Day 10)

by Crystal on June 28, 2012

When I saw Jenae’s post on making Fireworks in a Jar, I knew we had to try it. Only we didn’t have any empty jars, so we used clear glasses, instead.

Each child got to choose their color or colors for their glass. We found it worked better when you did multiple colors and only put 1-2 drops of each in the oil.

I got smart this time around and did most of the pouring and all of the food coloring handling so that there was little mess to clean up afterward — unlike yesterday’s Homemade Bouncy Ball mess! :)

See Jenae’s post on I Can Teach My Child for step-by-step instructions for making your own Fireworks in a Jar.

Did you do something fun and frugal as a family today? If you blogged about it, I’d love for you to leave a link to your blog post below. Or, you can just tell us what you did in the comments.

Note: Since the purpose of this series is to encourage you to be intentional about fun in your home this summer, please only link up posts showing pictures/sharing details of fun things you did as a family today (or within the last few days). Posts that do not adhere to these guidelines will be deleted in order to make it fair for those who are putting forth a lot of effort to participate in this challenge.

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