4. Spring Creek Cleanup: Many communities organize waterway cleanups this time of year. Grab some gloves, garbage bags, and turn environmental responsibility into a treasure hunt (who can find the weirdest item?).

Cost: FREE Memory bonus: Take "before and after" photos of your section to show what a difference your family made.

5. Botanical Garden Free Days: Most botanical gardens offer free or heavily discounted admission days in spring. These are STUNNING right now with all the new blooms, and many have kid-friendly activities.

Cost: FREE on special days (check your local garden's website) Pro tip: Challenge kids to sketch their favorite flower and display the artwork at home.

6. DIY Bird Feeder Project: Create simple bird feeders from pinecones, peanut butter and birdseed, then hang them where you can watch from windows. Track which birds visit over the season.

Cost: $5-10 for supplies Family bonus: Research local birds together and create a sighting checklist.

7. Farmers Market Morning: Spring brings the return of many farmers markets! Give each kid a $3 budget to pick a new fruit or vegetable they've never tried before.

Cost: $10-15 for the whole family Learning opportunity: Have kids ask vendors questions about how things are grown. Farmers usually LOVE teaching curious kids!

8.BONUS - Car Camping: Pack up a cooler with some easy to prep foods and hit a camp ground. Often the cost per night is somewhere between $5 and $10 and there are a ton of activities to do once there

Suns Out Guns Out - Summer Ideas

Library Summer Reading Programs: Free books, activities, prizes, and best of all—air conditioning! Most libraries run these all summer with awesome incentives.

Cost: FREE Family strategy: Set a family reading goal with a special celebration when you hit it.

Splash Pad Hopping: Create a "splash pad passport" and visit all the free water play areas in your region. Much cheaper than water parks but just as refreshing!

Cost: FREE (maybe gas money) Extra fun: Rate each splash pad as a family using creative categories like "best for toddlers" or "most likely to get parents soaked."

DIY Car Wash: Turn chores into play! Washing the family vehicles becomes way more fun with water balloons and popsicles involved.

Cost: $5-10 for supplies Memory maker: Take "before and after" photos with everyone covered in soap suds.

Visit a State Park: Most everywhere have access to state parks or botanical gardens that are absolutely stunning when visited.

Makes a family passport to record each one you visit with a picture to commemorate the trip.

FALL FESTIVITIES (For when pumpkin spice threatens your wallet):

Apple Picking & Home Baking: Skip the expensive fall festivals and go straight to a U-pick orchard, then come home and bake together.

Cost: $15-20 for apples (way cheaper than buying at stores!) Family challenge: Everyone creates a different apple recipe and votes on the winner.

Leaf Art Olympics: Collect colorful fall leaves and create art projects, from leaf rubbings to elaborate collages.

Cost: FREE (maybe $5 for supplies) Bonus activity: Press the best leaves in heavy books to preserve them.

Hay Rides and Pumpkin Patch Visits: These events often have an entry of $5 to $10 per kid and you normally walk away with pumpkins to carve later plus access to all the activities on site. We do one every year and have a blast.

WINTER WARMERS (For when your heating bill is already painful enough):

Indoor Fort Movie Night: Transform your living room with blankets, pillows, and fairy lights. Way better than $50+ at the theater!

Cost: FREE if you use what you have Cozy factor: Add hot chocolate with creative toppings bar.

Winter Hiking: Most people hide indoors, meaning trails are gloriously empty. The winter landscape offers a completely different experience.

Cost: FREE Family strategy: Pack a thermos of something warm and take "same spot" photos in different seasons to compare.

Museum Free Days: Almost every museum offers free admission days monthly. Mark them on your calendar for instant winter boredom busters.

Cost: FREE on special days Learning hack: Let each family member be the "tour guide" for one exhibit they researched beforehand.

The TRUTH About Family Activities Nobody Talks About:

The dirty secret of the family entertainment industry is what I call the "memory markup"—they charge massive premiums for experiences that often don't deliver the joy they promise!

The most meaningful family memories typically come from experiences with these three elements:

1. Shared participation (everyone's involved, not just watching)

2. Novel experiences (something new or unexpected)

3. Emotional connection (laughter, challenge, or learning together)

Notice how NONE of those requires a big budget? That's intentional!

Pro tip: Before any paid family activity, ask: "Could we create a similar experience for less?" The answer is almost always YES.

The Strategy That Saved Our Family $1,860 On Activities Last Year The "Experience Bank" Method

This strategy revolutionized how we approach family fun, and I wish we'd started it years ago. Here's how it works:

Create a physical "Experience Bank" jar or box where family members submit ideas for activities on slips of paper. Each idea must cost under $20.

Every family member (including parents!) must submit 2 new ideas each month.

Each weekend, draw one activity to do together.

The person whose idea was selected gets to be the "activity leader" with special privileges.

Document each experience with at least one photo for your family album.

The key is building excitement around the SELECTION process rather than the cost. Last year, my family realized we were spending around $155 monthly on weekend entertainment that nobody was particularly excited about.

By implementing this experience bank system, we kept the fun factor sky-high while saving $1,860 annually. The best part? Our kids now take pride in finding free or low-cost activities to add to the jar!

Remember: These entertainment companies BANK on your parental guilt and FOMO. Don't fall for it! As that family experience study found, what your kids will remember most is simply having your undivided attention.

Bonus tip: Many museums, zoos, and aquariums offer reciprocal membership benefits. If you buy an annual membership to one, you often get free or discounted admission to hundreds of others nationwide. Great for vacations or weekend trips!