Cheap Children's Activities 26 Amazing Ideas

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The entertainment category of a family’s budget can easily get expensive, especially when you have bored children. The good news – it doesn’t have to be. Here is a fantastic list of cheap children’s activities which will help you solve the never-ending, “I’m bored” declarations from your kids!

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26 Amazing Cheap Children’s Activities

Closet Games

When did you last pull out some of the games in your closet? It’s time to get those puzzles, and board games out that have just been sitting unused.

Teach your kids the games from your childhood so they can become their childhood games!

cheap children's Activities such as Playing Board Games

Library

If you haven’t visited your local library in ages, you must check it out. You might be surprised by all of the things they have to offer!

At my local library, they have movies available to rent as well as eBooks, eAudiobooks, and magazines or newspapers that you can download to your device.

I understand it isn’t high on the list of cheap children’s activities but I guarantee you it is more fun than you think.

Visit Local Attractions

Have you been to all of the popular destinations in your town? Here in Brighton in the south of England, we have the Palace Pier and Several Museums that are free admission and great for kids to learn and explore!

Bring lunch from home so you can spend the day at the attractions and reduce your costs even more.

When it comes to cheap children’s activities, finding something in your home town is almost ideal.

Go to a Local Park

The park is one of my favourite places to go to. We are lucky to have a park close by that we can walk to from our house.

Always pack a lot of water and snacks just in case kids get hungry! Make a playdate out of it where you and your kids can enjoy time with friends and enjoy the weather.

Bring the Outdoors In

Camping doesn’t need to be a long weekend in the mountains. It can be a simple camp in your backyard or even your front room! If you haven’t done this growing up then you have missed out.

Try and make sure your kids can also look back with fond memories of camping out in your own back garden or yard.

Make it memorable with a movie night in the tent – and don’t forget the Popcorn!

Make Your Own Water Park

One year we decided to get a water toy from the store to cool down. Unfortunately, so did everyone in the city because all the water toys were sold out.

Instead of giving up on the idea altogether, we decided to use what we had at home. We filled shallow storage bins to create a ‘plunge pool’ and turned on the sprinklers.

We could not have cared less that the water toys were thrown together last minute and got to enjoy cooling off on a hot summer day.

As you can see cheap children’s activities can be a complete spur-of-the-moment idea that doesn’t need to cost any money at all.

Visit a Museum

Whether it’s a natural history museum or an art museum, it is important to introduce kids to new things. They might surprise you with just how much they enjoy it!

When I was a kid the Natural History Museum in London was my favourite place. Granted that wouldn’t be cheap unless you lived in London but there are museums in most cities.

With the different types of museums available, you are sure to find one to suit your needs.

Make Phone Calls to Family

Technology these days makes even the longest distances only a phone call away. And with cameras and video, you can help your kids connect with your parents and their grandparents from far away.

A video chat to Australia where I have family is always a fun thing to do.

Although this doesn’t always top the list of cheap children’s activities they are always going to love chatting to their grandparents even if only for a few minutes. If you get the kids to show off their latest school project on a video chat they could be kept entertained for hours.

Movie Night

Growing up, movie nights were a regular occurrence – but sometimes with your kids, you want to provide a ‘theatre experience’ once in a while without paying movie theatre pricing.

Buy all your treats from the local stores to save money and then go to the cinema using cheap or free tickets. Check out this post on how to save money with Meerkat movie codes

Staycation

We have done staycations a few times as it gives a welcome break but without the mega cost of flying abroad. A staycation is simply going for a vacation at a local destination.

For us, this was going to the New Forest. We can rent an air B&B for very little money and stay a few days and enjoy the beautiful surroundings and nature without paying any extra.

We enjoyed a hot tub and took advantage of the complimentary breakfast offered at the Air B&B. It was an experience to remember and cost us less than £150 since we went during the off-season.

It is one of those cheap children’s activities that can make it seem like a big adventure for them when in reality it costs you as much as a family trip out to eat.

Volunteer

Kids must learn how to serve in their local community. Whether it’s picking up trash at the park or baking goodies for your local police department, you and your kids will learn how good it feels to serve others.

If you aren’t sure what volunteering opportunities are available in your area, search online to find opportunities near you. Facebook is a good place to search for local events.

Visit an Animal Shelter

Growing up my family would always visit our local animal shelter or pet store to see the animals. Since it was a smaller store, we were allowed to pet, hold, and play with the animals in the centre.

Careful though, you might come home with a new pet after your visit! All of a sudden it is not a cheap activity.

Crafts

When I was little, iron-on bead creations were the ‘cool thing’ to do for crafts. Pull your kids away from their screens to enjoy crafting and creating together.

If you are worried about lacking the storage to store the crafts or future crafts, simply take a picture to create an album of artwork for your kids to enjoy later.

One of the fun things to do with kids is to take them to a craft store and let their imagination run wild as they pick out their own craft items to get started on.

Here is a list of 26 Amazing Crafts For Adults and Kids.

Enjoy Nature

Let kids experience the great outdoors! Go on a hike or teach them how to fish or garden. Whatever it is, they will enjoy spending time together as a family in nature. Weather dependant of course.

Cook in the Kitchen

The best way to get kids involved in cooking is by giving them a chance to play around. Bake a cake, or cookies, or maybe make some Ice Cream.

If a child was writing about cheap children’s activities or fun things to do with kids then licking the spoon after mixing would be top of the list.

Homemade Slime

I still remember this slime from when I played with it for the first time in school. It becomes a solid form when moulded in your hands, and a liquid form when left to pool in your hand.

The recipe is easy: corn starch, water, and food colouring that you mix for the desired consistency. Your kids will love it, and you will love the minimal mess!

Go Out for a Treat Instead of Dinner

Eating out with kids can be expensive. Instead of eating out for the main course, just go out for dessert.

If you are on a tight budget share deserts. Even something as simple as an ice cream cone can become a treasured tradition.

Do a Day Hike

Go for a hike as a family and bring supplies for a small fire and hot dogs to roast over the fire. It will be a break from the normal routine and get you and your family out in nature!

The National Trust in The UK provide plenty of places to visit and in most cases, you can also get national trust-free parking to save even more money.

Go for a Bike Ride

Pull out those bikes from the garage and go for a bike ride! If your kids haven’t learned yet, take the opportunity to teach them. You can even teach them how to maintain and clean the bikes.

Share Your Hobbies and Interests

My dad had many hobbies, one of them was stargazing. I loved having him teach me about the stars and still look up at the night sky to try and spot Mars and other constellations.

Teach your kids some of your hobbies. Even if they don’t share your interests, they will enjoy spending quality time with you.

Cheap children’s activities can be just as enjoyable for you the parents as well remember.

Get Lost

Grab a coin and hop in the car. Heads mean Right, and Tails mean Left. Let each person flip the coin to see where fate takes you! And there is always the adventure of getting back home, but you can use Google Maps for that.

Have Fun With Chalk

Get some chalk from the store and create sidewalk art as a family! Pick a theme so that your artwork tells a story.

Visit a Farm or Petting Zoo

Kids love animals and love getting the chance to pet them! Give them the opportunity at a local farm or petting zoo. Most of these kind of places are relatively local and cheap to experience as well.

Have Family Reading Time

When was the last time you or your kids enjoyed a book not related to work or school? Take time for each person to read a book of their choosing, or read the same book out loud. It will create great memories and a fondness for reading.

Visit a Historical Site

Teach your kids the importance of history while they are young. They will learn to treasure their heritage at an early age.

Scrapbook

So many of our photos these days are all on our phones. Why not take the opportunity to get them printed and put into a scrapbook? You can even go with a digital scrapbook if you prefer.

Whatever you do, find a place for family memories. It is so fun to look back on these when your kids are older and reminisce on old times.