Spring Break without Breaking Bank

Spring Break is scaring me this year. Honestly, there’s no way I can spend a few hundred dollars a day over Spring break. It seems everytime we get in the car and go anywhere, it costs more than $100/day.  Sometimes, it’s that just to get in the door. That being said, I’ve been brainstorming some fun thrills for spring break on a dime. Here’s my top 10.

* Load up and go to a local park. Take a picnic lunch and let the kids play. If your kids think they are too old for the usual park then find a nature trail, a skate park, go hiking, or have a scavenger hunt. (big kids can take roller blades, bicycles or skates and hit the sidewalks). We have a new skate park that is a huge hit. Lucky me, it has a playground for my little one also.

*Get kids involved in the community. Ask your kids what charity means the most to them. Take a day and visit their headquarters. Kids can collect items to donate and you can take them along with you. The bonus here is that you just might get your garage, their room,  or closet free of some of their clutter. (shhh…don’t tell them your counting on it)

*Go fishing. Baiting hooks isn’t exactly my idea of fun, but I have agreed to do it one day. (any volunteers wanting to do the dirty work are more than welcome to come along).  No one likes to fish? go to the lake and feed the ducks, take a walk for an hour or so. Take along a camera and let them be in charge of it as you walk along. You may be surprised what they enjoy taking pictures of.

*Give the kids a movie marathon day at home. We’re expecting rain for spring break (more than we’ve had all month).  Homemade tents, movies, games and popcorn will surely pass the rainy day.

*Tweens want Freedom. Hate to break the news to you but hanging with mom is no longer “cool”. Well, it’s also not cool for me to take my 10 year old and drop her off at the mall or movies and hope for the best. We’re working on “freedom issues” (a whole other blog post!) but I have managed a good idea. She’s having dance parties in my garage with a few girlfriends on Friday evenings. They bring their music, take out some drinks and snacks, I’ve set up a table they can “hang out at”, I back out the car and close the door. They promise not to play the music too loud. Those girls are out there for hours!  For spring break, she’s inviting a couple friends from school to come and join her and the neighborhood kids. After setting a few ground rules, this works wonders to give her freedom and me some peace of mind to know she’s safe. It’s a hit with the kids. I’m sure for spring break this will take place more often than just Friday night.

*We’re planting a garden together. Small, of course. It will be a fun outdoor day. Gardening is work but by giving them some control of what is planted and where you arrange things, they will help out and have a good day with you. You can have a container garden just the same. We planted herbs a few weeks ago from seeds, same idea.  It’s a fun project, they like to eat what they grow, so it’s another win-win!

*Go to the mall and make it a scavenger hunt. The buddy system must be in place. No kid is alone…ever! I am in the store while they go look at something else. She and her friends have a list of things to find and either snap a picture with their phone or buy but they can’t pay more than ____ for it. Text each other, meet up at the door and walk to the next store together. Kids love this. Time to eat? hit the food court!

*Have a spa day at home. Pedicures and manicures.  Bright colored polished. (lemon, lime green, orange, blue, pink, black, glitter polish, neon colors…they love those). Let them paint and design whatever they wish.  Add some more fun by having hair accessories and letting them play with styles. This is fun with a small group.

*Hit the craft store. I find things online that they can make, some supplies you can buy at the dollar store if you don’t already have at home. Set up the project inside or out and let them get to work. Homemade sand art? necklaces/bracelets/rings? building an ant farm? Making stepping stones? building a bird house? Painting? whatever their interest, they will enjoy this.

*Let them earn some extra money. Weather permitting, pay them to wash the car.  Throw out a few soaker balls while your’re at it. Playing in the water is the best day for kids.

One last suggestion: Ask them if they’d like to plan an activity? Give them a few boundaries and then go and do what they come up with. This is how I initially found our new skate park in the first place. Kids have a radar for what’s new and what their friends are doing for cheap fun.

Hope that you can enjoy some of these ideas and they help take the anxiety of money off your plate. I have found that times at home with projects like this are not only fun, they are a great bonding time with my children. During the course of day, the conversations that come up may surprise you. Relax and enjoy the week with them.

 

 

 

 

Tiny little boxes, A Whole Lot of Love!

Operation christmas child is a charity I honestly haven’t heard of until this year. Omg! I can’t believe I’ve missed this. What an amazing thing for kids to be involved in.

I have always passionately tried to make my kids understand giving to others. It all started when my oldest was 2 and I was cleaning out her closet. Suddenly every toy and old shirt was her favorite. At that time I was a new mom, and for the first time realized “she doesn’t have a clue what I’m doing, I need to make this easy while teaching her. This is MY responsiblity”. The best I could come up was to tell her that we were giving her things to “another little girl who doesn’t have anything”. Long story short, after a brief talk she was throwing her socks in the bag to give away!
That day marked the start of something we do often together. Now that I have the little one, she’s involved too. On any given day, those 2 girls will still say they are “giving it to another little girl” and help me fill a bag or two. It’s brought me to tears more than once.

Operation Christmas Child was the perfect way to get them involved, stay on their level, save on my budget, and let them be in control of it. This was introduced to me through their youth group at church. As soon as I heard about it, I grabbed 3 boxes and out the door we went. One for L, one for T,  and one for their friend A who goes to youth group with them. The oldest 2 kids purchased a couple of things for their boxes with points they had earned at church. The little one was given a set of markers by her teacher. The rest was up to us!

Last night we filled these boxes and had so much fun. I told them both again “this will go to another little boy or girl all over the world”.   We found so many things and I filled all three boxes for $25.00. Crayons, stuffed toy, playing cards, games, writing pads, jacks, balls, a teddy bear, book, tops, glow sticks, flip flops, socks,lip gloss, ring, plastic bendable animals,  the list just goes on.(I highly recommend Dollar General or Walmart if you’re going to do this). We even found hats and 2 pack of cute gloves for $1 each.  I can’t stand the thought of any child being cold. That must come from my mother, who did the same things with us growing up. Mom always bought pajamas, warm socks, hat and gloves. We donated old coats and blankets (which by the way, I have some I am taking the homeless shelter tomorrow)..Thanks mom for teaching me that!!

Our boxes were packed up within 15 mins of being home. The kids were so proud of themselves. Of course, I was beaming with pride for both of them. Tonight they will deliver their boxes and I think we can even track them later on. How exciting!

You see, these boxes are filled with a whole lot of love! My kids love for “the other little boy or girl” and my love for my kids.

Learn more about Operation Christmas Child at www.samaritanspurse.org

 
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Halloween on a Budget.

Halloween fun you can decorate or make quickly. Won’t blow your budget and Kid friendly too.

1) Paper Mache Pumpkins:

a balloon, strips of newspaper, flour,  cold water, orange paint, paint to decorate (or pipe cleaners, foam, markers, whatever you want on it)

Mix flour and cold water ( not too thick, not to thin…a nice glue is all you need)
blow up balloon
Dip newspaper strips in flour mixture, wrap around balloon
let sit a few minutes between layers
after 4 or 5 layers. Let dry ( this will take a few days to be dry and hard. I sit them out and turn once in a while)
once dry, paint and decorate
*we’ll make the paper mache part Saturday and then Friday evening, I will let them all paint. Works great for kids)

2) Halloween centerpiece ( From Sandra Lee)
sticks and twigs from yard, black spray paint, vase, spider webs, halloween novelties likes bat or spider rings)
Gather sticks, spray w black paint and let dry
after sticks are dry put them sparingly in a vase,
drape a little of the “web” around sticks
hang spiders or bats in web
add 2 or 3 white carnations
viola! you have the “bouquet of death for your halloween” centerpiece–This is a huge hit, Friends and neighbors loved it at my halloween party last year!
*my kids also put 2 rubber worms down in the water, (from dad’s tackle box), added  a little flare they liked*
You can also make a wreath like this. Just buy a straw or grapevine wreath and spray paint black.

3) Cheap finds at the dollar store
we found glow in the dark skeletons, pkg of 6 for a $1.00 (string with fishing line for a cute garland)
purple lights ($3.50)
Caution, this is house is haunted, or Beware streamer (1.00 ea)

For less than $10.00, I have my schrubs trimmed in purple lights, glowing skeletons hanging and Caution tape on porch banisters. Not too much light, not over decorated. Kids did this themselves and are quite proud!

4) Homemade Peanut Butter Cookies (from Allrecipes.com)
1 egg
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 Cup peanut butter

Mix together and bake til golden brown. Let stand on cookie sheet or they will fall apart. Delish!! We used chunky peanut butter

5) Carmel Apples
2 pkgs wrapped carmels
6 Tbsp water
*this will make 1 doz med sized apples*
apples
woodsticks

unwrap carmels, add water and put in crock pot. Watch and stir as needed so it doesn’t burn. when smooth, stick each apple with a wooden stick (I got 100 sticks @ hobby lobby for $3).
Give each kid an apple and let them dip in carmel.
Dip in nuts or sprinkles for added fun
Place on buttered foil to dry.
who doesn’t love carmel apples?  This treat is loved by everyone! make a few extras and give to your neighbors!!

Hope you enjoy these 4 quick and simple things to make your Halloween fun. I love Halloween, it’s such an easy time. Holiday without the stress, weather is just right to be outside!  The kids and I spend alot of time making little projects and playing.  We’ll be busy bees tomorrow. Saturday with fun things to do! they are already looking forward to it. (remember my last post? well, they’ve vowed to clean up their rooms  again!)

wow! I know when they get a little older, I’m going to miss this.