Ultimate List of Summer Fun Ideas To Keep Kids Busy This Summer For Cheap

Summer is here. Are you looking for ideas to keep kids busy this summer for CHEAP? Well, we have got you covered. This will keep your kids more than busy this summer with the surplus of ideas ranging from FREE to very CHEAP. 

We love summertime as it is such an amazing time of growth for kids to experience childhood and to learn to be creative and learn to think outside of the box to cure boredom. But, it can be a trying time for parents to figure out how to keep them busy. Instead, harness the ideas below and allow your kids to harness their own skills and creative thinking to do the boredom busting. 

Before reading the list of over 50 ideas below, a fun thing to print off and make a fun goal for is the Summer Fun Printables including a Summer Bucket List. Print off these free printables and hand them off to your kids to make their summer plan. Look through this list of ideas and come up with a plan for the summer, or use the list for ideas off the cuff! 

Outdoor fun for the kids and family:

• Free Water Play – Last year, we were able to spend much of our summer at the splash pad at our local park and all of the parks all around. We just had a burst of splash pads that went up and it made for fun all summer. We posted about this last year and discovered that this was like the greatest place to hang out all the hot summer long! Visit your local splash pads…most should be free. 
• Create Your Own Water Park – Another fun activity is to set-up your own water park in your own back yard. Give kids hoses, sprinkles, PVC pipes, tarps, pool noodles and let them go to town! It’s a fun way for kids to be creative and have free play too. You can also see the 16 Ideas for Backyard Water Parks for even more ideas. 
• Free fishing – Enjoy FREE fishing days in the month of June and other summer months all across the country meaning that you do not need a fishing license to fish!   Check out the list Free Fishing Days 2017 HERE to find out what dates are available in your area.
• National Marina Day for some local water fun on June 13, 2015. Details are on the National Marina Day site HERE.
• U-Pick Farms – Such a fun activity for kids to be involved in picking raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, peaches and more ; Pickyourown.org is a great resource to find U-pick farms; prices should be lower when you pick them yourselves, too. So, it’s a win-win-fun for the kids and cheaper, fresh berries and produce
• Visit a local Farmer’s Market – They offer more than just fresh produce to buy – you could find free entertainment/music, little craft activities for the kids and more; Visit LocalHarvest.org and search “Farmers Markets” on the right side to find a Farmer’s Market near you.
• Create a Summer Yard Work Money Chart – Another idea, put the kids to work! When you add the free water play and other freebies, you will likely have time left to cure boredom. Let them do some outdoor work and get some sunshine while earning a bit of money. Just set-up a chart with tasks and value on index cards and tape it to a board, wall, poster board, etc. and let them work away by their choice of task and earnings. We did this last year too and it was so fantastic! 

• Free Concerts and Movies in the Parks – Check with your local city or town (or surrounding areas) to see their schedule of free concerts and movies in the parks; bring along chairs or a blanket and a picnic lunch/dinner for some great frugal family fun. To find these, check in your local newspaper, your local city’s or county’s websites for the calendar of events or even follow their Facebook page for the low-down on the community movies and concerts in the park.  Plus you may see other ideas or activities going on in your area too! 
• Festivals or State or Small County Fairs – There are often free or inexpensive admission options with fun entertainment, kids activities and play areas, variety of food options (or bring a picnic lunch or dinner and drinks to make it more frugal) for one or all of these. Many fairs offer completely free admission or days in which there are free or discounted admission.  Our kids (and us!) love the fairs and especially love to see the animals!
• City or county parks – Check out the local parks in your area to find those which offer free wading pools or splash parks; also, make sure to check the list of events as many Parks and Recreation departments will offer free (or inexpensive) activities for kids in the summer-gardening ideas, crafts, nature walks, etc. Keeping up with your local city on Facebook is a great way to be notified of events and free things that they have going on. By following our local city on Facebook, we discovered when they are having national trails day with lots of local hiking with fun extra incentives done by the city that we wouldn’t have otherwise known about.
• State or National Parks – These also may offer free guided nature walks (or other kid-friendly activities) – check out the list of events on their website before your visit the park. Also, check out the Fee-Free National Park weekends this summer at all National Parks.
• Minor League Baseball Games – In your local area, keep an eye out for promotional games and tickets.  We can often go to our local games for buy one get one free with different promotions.  Sign-up for your city’s baseball newsletter or follow the Facebook page. Also check the individual Minor League Team websites to see if there are any special events or family specials going on thru the summer at the ballpark.
• REI’s Passport to Adventure Program – An incentive program for kids ages 5-12 to encourage them to get out with their families on bike rides, hikes, nature walks and more. They can earn a free prize by documenting their activities for the summer. You can also find out some great information about local hikes, walks, bike trails and more on their website. Find out more about the REI Passport to Adventure Program HERE.
• Cabela’s Summer Kids and Family Events – Visit your local Cabela’s website for upcoming kids and family events.  Each location is sponsoring their own events.
• Free local attractions or even special summer discounted days – If you have special attractions in your area, check the websites of those attractions or the city, county or state sites calendar of events to easily find any discounted or free days available.
• Summer camps from local fitness centers and YMCA – Check the websites of those attractions or the city, county or state sites calendar of events to easily find any discounted or free days available for sports camps or other fun active activities in your area.
• Visit the local or community pool on the discounted days or get a summer pass –Many community and local pools will offer a discounted day or a multi-visit pass for cheaper.  Call or visit your community pools sites to find those extra discounts.
• Save on amusement/theme parks –  If you are visiting a theme or amusement park, don’t miss our 25 Ideas to Save on Amusement and Theme Park Tickets HERE.
• Don’t forget movie night – If you or a friend have a projector and a sheet, schedule a outside movie night and invite your friends!  If you want to add a fun dimension to it, if you and your friends chip in you can rent a cotton candy machine; what kid doesn’t love cotton candy? If you want a quick tip on setting up a stellar outdoor screen with a white sheet, check out this Facebook video on our Facebook page. 

• Schedule with your friends to have fun playdates throughout the summer – If you or your friends have a trampoline, pool and even a swingset it can be a fun way for the kids to get together and play while the adults enjoy some time of relaxing as well. Or take advantage of other things on this list with friends!
• Go to the drive-in Theater – this is typically the most affordable way to see movies that just came out in the theater without paying 2 arms and 2 legs.  For example, our local drive-in only charges for 12 and up and it is only $6 for two movies.  So our whole family can see 2 just released movies for $18 (we have one over 12)! We can also take our own concessions, which saves us even more!
• Go on local hikes to explore the sites and nature in your own backyard – You can find a list of family friendly trails close to where you live on Local Hikes site HERE.
• Go Geocaching– this is one of the most popular family summer activities.  We actually plan to try this out this year! See the details of all of the free fun on the Geocaching official site HERE.

Indoor Fun:

• Create the Boredom Busters DIY Game – This is a fun activity that we have set-up each year. It takes about an hour to create this DIY game and to collect all of the items. You probably have nearly all of the items needed already in your home. It’s a fun way to cure boredom as your kids just reach in the bag and pull out an activity and find the coordinating instructions and engage in the activity. There are over 200 pre-written activities and then you can create your own if you want more ideas. The ideas range from bean art, make a bird feeder, write a handwritten letter, act out a book, build a cardboard box car, ice cube tag, and more! The 200+ activities are designed to get your kids off the couch and to be creative in their play and think outside of the box. Print of the game and instructions for FREE HERE. 

• Find free roller skating across the nation – Wow, this brings back memories from our childhoods!  This is a new program and you can check out the list of roller skating rinks that are currently part of the Kids Skate Free program HERE that are participating now.  If there is not one in your area, they have a letter already drafter that you can send to your local rink to ask them to participate.
• Museum / Science Center Time – Check out your local museums or science centers’ websites to see if they have any free (or discounted) admission days during the month and put those on your calendar. Your local library may also have free family passes to museums or cultural centers.
• Free and cheap movies – Many theaters are offering their Summer Movie programs for cheap from the National theaters.  Check out Regal Theaters HERE, and Cinemark Theaters HERE. Plus, since there are hundreds of local theaters across the country, we suggest calling or going to the websites of the local theaters in your area for even more FREE or cheap movies this summer! A small, locally owned movie theater in our area does a FREE summer movie club for kids. This is what we do! So great!
• Free admission for Military to Museums – Active-duty military members and up to 5 members of their family (spouses, sibling and children) can have unlimited visits to over 600 museums nationwide as part of the Blue Star Museum Program. This will be starting Memorial Day, 2014 and running thru the summer, ending on Labor Day, 2014.
• Free and cheap museum entrances for all – There is a possibility that you have many local museums that are free in your area or offering promotional days in the summer.  One museum in our area offers $2 Tuesdays for a whole month in the summer, when the admission is normally $10-$14.  Our family only goes there this time of year. See our previous post on the topic of Free Museum Entrances HERE.
• Free bowling for Kids – Check out Kids Bowl Free HERE where kids can get 2 FREE bowling games every day during the summer (shoe rental not included).
• Free library programs – Your local library is a great resource for free kids activities throughout the summer. They may have free puppet shows, movies, kids concerts, craft days, etc. Also, make sure to check out their Summer Reading programs for great incentives to keep your kids reading.
• Lowes has their build and grow clinics for kids to build a fun activity – You can see their calendar of Lowe’s Build & Grow Clinics HERE.
• Free or cheap kids crafts – Michaels has free or cheap kids craft projects and classes in-store all summer through their Camp Creativity.  You can visit the Michaels site for the free kids craft project classes schedule.
• Free kids building workshops – Similar to Lowe’s, Home Depot also has a kids free building workshops. You can see their schedule of projects on the Home Depot Kids Free Workshops site (they will add the kids ones as they become available).
• Join in the Pottery Barn Kids Activities this summer – Most are free and some are a small fee from crafts to exploring science and more!  See the Pottery Barn Kids summer schedule for events!
• If you have a membership to a local museum or attraction, visit the reciprocal attractions – For example, we have a membership to our local zoo.  Our membership gets us free admittance on certain days to other local attractions.  Check out what is included on yours and make plans to visit those other places too!  It can be challenging to do this during the busy school year, so summer is a perfect time!
• Vacation Bible School – Enroll your kids in a Vacation Bible School program at a local church. They typically last a week and are several hours a day, filled with songs, crafts and more to keep your kids entertained and meeting some new kids. They are usually free or inexpensively priced for children to attend. You can search for listings in your area on the VBS website HERE. 
• Local church summer activities – Similar to Vacation Bible Schools, churches will also offer fair/carnival days, or other summer fun type activities.  Call around or visit the websites of the local churches to find out the calendar of events for churches in your area.

Fun around the House:

• Make a Boredom Busters DIY Game – This is mentioned above too, but it’s so fun to create the homemade Boredom Busters Game with over 200 activity ideas that are frugal and fun! All of the printables and instructions are free to print and create your own game!
• 150 Hands-on Craft and Activity Ideas – Check out 150 hands-on craft and activity ideas to help you find something to do around the house on “one of those days.”

• Summer Reading Programs – This is definitely a family favorite as Alex and I remember loving these reading programs at our local library!  They are available all over the country from your local libraries to some national chains. You will want to check the list of Kids Summer Reading Programs 2017 HERE for the full list!
• Make Your Own Fingerpaints – We have shared an easy non-toxic DIY fingerpaint recipe! 
• Make your own Chalk – Another fun recipe that we have shared is on how to make your own chalk for some creative play before, during and after!
• Shaving Cream Fun – Get a cheap can of shaving cream (if you coupon, you might have a stash you got for free); Spread it out on an outdoor table and let your kids go at it, making fun designs and being silly. When they’re done, just spray down the table {and them, for that matter!}
• Outdoor water fun – Invite friends or family over for some fun on a hot day – get out the sprinklers, slip and slide, water balloons, squirt guns. It really doesn’t take much for outdoor water fun!
• Movie time at home – Rent a movie from the library or cheap or free from Amazon, Redbox, Netflix for a marathon movie morning or a family movie night.  Even organize a summer movie exchange with friends and neighbors.  Facebook is a great outlet for setting up groups for this purpose.
• Board games, role-play and dress-up creative play. Playing these outside makes it even better!
• Make homemade ice cream- make it in a bag and everyone can participate! 

• Have some giant box fun – Go to Furniture and Appliance stores and ask for the big boxes that they will be throwing away.  Take them home and let your kids create their own playhouses with them! My parents did this when we were kids and it was some of the most fun and memorable summer activities we had!
• Go on a Staycation – we have done this many times and we encourage you to do the same! You can read about our Staycations HERE.
• Go on a backyard camping trip –Just like the real thing with tent and all!
• Create homemade playdough – This is a fun 2-ingredient, super simple playdough to make from a tub of frosting! 

• Make some extra income as a family or for your kids to earn too – Our girls are doing this this summer! They have started a scrapbooking business and will be selling at local craft and farmer’s markets.  Be sure to check out our Over 100 Ways to Earn Extra Income to help you get some ideas! You can also see the summer money making idea HERE with a 500% profit margin.
• Take the time to read out loud to all of your kids – We feel that this is a super important and beneficial activity that you can do this summer.  Several times per week, sit down with all of the kids and read out loud for 30 minutes! This encourages learning, a love of reading, quality time together and learning to just sit and pay attention.

Also, be watching as we are going to have quite a number of fun summer activities and ideas for at home play all summer long! You can keep up with this on our Thrifty Kids link, the DIY Project Gallery to find fun projects to complete with your kids and our Fun for Kids Pinterest Board. 

Use your time in the summer for some educational opportunities too! One area to consider is to educate your children on the topic of finances.  Here’s some ideas:

• Complete the family financial focus worksheet and budgeting.
• Implement a Summer Be Intentional Challenges with your family so that you can make the most of your summer and start of the new school year with harmony, efficiency and happiness!
• It can be a good time to get them involved with couponing too!  They can learn everything from cutting and counting (for the younger kids) and organizing in groups and categories (for the older kids).  There are so many more skills even such as addition/subtraction practice and the challenge of getting as much as they can with the family’s grocery budget on items your family would eat (obviously for the older kids on this one!) while at the same time build those life application skills from preschoolers all the way through high school! Plus you will enjoy the help from coupon cutting to grocery shopping trip planning and implementing!

What ideas do you have for your kids and family this summer?