74 Fun things to Do on the Holidays with No Money!

The holidays are coming! In a few short days, the school holidays will be upon on us. I literally can not wait! I’m one of those mums who love school holidays with her kids and want the holidays to linger for as long as possible. This term, for us, has been far bigger than the 10 weeks we have all just travelled. It stung, but here we are a couple of days away from the final day of term two.

It would be nice to go away over the holidays, and it would be lovely to have a holiday where we could throw money at a number of fun and crazy activities, but that is not the kind of holiday we are going to have this break.
Most families with more than one or two children find holiday times difficult because we don’t have ‘mad money’ to splurge and go a little nuts with.

Guess what, though?!

Just because the finances are tight, doesn’t mean you can’t have fun, it means you get a chance to be creative, and find ways to enjoy the holidays.

Tight doesn’t mean boring.

So here we go, Ready?

1. Family bike rides

2. Game night – don’t buy games, go to the cupboard, swap with friends, borrow from the library, invite friends over!

3. Neighborhood walks – family walks around the block, on the beach, mix it up and walk in the evenings or early mornings

4. Family project – work on the yard, or make over a room. If there isn’t any money, just take everything out of the room and clean the walls, thorough carpet cleaning, toss out rubbish, and clean the windows.

5. Sports training – Get some families together for a game of whatever you like. Most sporting grounds can be used for free during the week.

6. Baking Day – Make some yummy foods with ingredients you have in the cupboard. Challenge kids to come up with some ideas.

7. Laundry Day – Sounds boring, but lets face it everyone loves clean sheets and clean clothes.

8. Family movie night – Whether you love Disney movies, or you love Narnia , or Harry Potter, get together and watch it together. Put the phones down and be present with the kids. Talk about favourite and best bits!

9. Wash the Cars.

10. Take some fun photos in different locations – mountains, beach, urban spots

11. Slumber party – whether just with the family, or with the friends!

12. Create a scrapbook – pull out the family photos and get creative together. Use what you have, and just enjoy the process.

13. Have a garage sale – Holidays are a great time to organise a garage sale…..or a facebook marketplace sale.

14. Hang out with friends – meet at the park or the beach for a picnic

15. Attend church together

16. Go rollerblading

17. Hang out at the library for a few hours. most libraries have lots of activities on over the holidays.

18. Create a home version of a popular game show

19. Walk the dog or the neighbor’s dog

20. Wander through Bunnings

21. Get creative for the afternoon – have a maker afternoon. Learn to knit or crotchet, sew!

22. Play flag football

23. Play Wii Fit or Xbox Kinect

24. Create homemade birthday or holiday cards

25. Take youtube classes – drawing, cooking, learn a new language etc

26. Create a family tree with the kids

27. Lie on a blanket and search for constellations/stars

28. Go on a family picnic

29. Have a family barbecue

30. Create emergency plans (fire escape)

31. Get comfy around a outdoor fire, and read a couple of chapters of a book you want to read to the kids. Think Narnia, Anne of Green Gables, The faraway Tree, etc

32. Create a history timeline

33. Create and practice a family play

34. Driving lessons with children who have their learners.

35. Go visit some Display houses

36. Create a family recipe book

37. Ask Seri to tell you jokes

38. Start a collection (coins, rocks, beads, etc.)

39. Create legacy videos with Grandparents. Invite grandparents over and ask them about what their lives were like when they were kids, ask if they wouldn’t mind it being videoed

40. Go through family photos and make albums or some photo books.

41. Have a scavenger hunt

42. Go to the beach! Even in winter the beach is amazing!

43. Work on a puzzle

44. Climb a mountain

45. Create a list of local “kids eat free” locations and days and eat at one

46. Create a family handshake

47. Create a family mission statement

48. Have a fun science day – do a project

49. Label all the things in your house with a new language you want to learn

50. Have a push-up contest (dad has child on his back to level the playing field)

51. Go to all the Art Galleries on the Sunshine Coast or pick a couple of areas

52. Visit homeless shelters and give out meals

53. Playground crawl. Go to as many playgrounds as you can over the holidays

54. Have a home “professional” photo shoot (kids act as the “professionals”)

55. Watch reruns of old shows that were popular when you were young

56. Go on a nature hike

57. Have a scavenger hunt

58. Play hide-and-seek

59. Create a time capsule and bury it in the backyard

60. Perform magic tricks

61. Collect and paint rocks

62. Have a Google hangout or Skype call to out of town family

63. Start a garden

64. Go op shopping

65. Take things to the ops hop

66. Have a formal dinner at home (complete with servers, menu, dressing up, etc.)

67. Collect seashells

68. Go fishing

69. Hang pictures in the house

70. Paint a bedroom

71. Listen to old school music (make the kids sing and dance along)

72. Have a family house party (kids play family DJ)

73. Watch old/classic movies

74. Fly kites at the beach

So here we are…74 ideas to make the holidays fun, and very little money will be spent! Fingers crossed!

Let me know what plans you have for the holidays…your ideas might help when my last options are cleaning the pantry or sorting out the garage.