Frugal Family Activity Ideas

Whether you have a small family or a large one, engaging in family activities on a frequent basis can get ridiculously expensive. It is important to note that you do not have to spend a lot of money in order to have a good time with the family.

There are a number of great activities that will leave money in your wallet.

Take Advantage of Dollar Days

No matter where one may live, they are almost certain to come across local museums or other area attractions which offer discount days. Some of these incentives are called Dollar Days where it is possible to get into the attraction for a one dollar admission, whereas other places offer extreme discounts on admissions during cold weather. This is a great way to save money on admission prices and have money left over to spend on other goodies such as food and souvenirs.

Visit a Local Park

There is no cost for admission, and many parks offer a wide range of outdoor activities to the public such as hiking, biking, play equipment, Frisbee golf ranges, picnic areas, and more

Game Night

Another frugal family activity option for those who want to have a great time without spending their weekly earnings is game night. Playing board games or cards is a great way to have a good time while getting the whole family together. It provides low-cost no frills bonding time for the entire family. Throw in a few snacks, and your game night is good to go.

Eating their fruits and veggies

There is some controversy surrounding the release of Deceptively Delicious, a cookbook by Seinfield's wife.

Some of is is because there is another book called The Sneaky Chef that some feel she plagiarized.

She suggests pureeing fruits and vegetables into foods that you do not have to fight your children to eat or drink in order to get them the nutrition whether they like it or not. Examples include pureeing sweet potatos into hot cocoa to make it creamier and more of a healthy treat.

What do you think? Should children be deceived into eating healthful foods by hiding fruits and vegetables in starchy, high-sugar dishes? What happens when they grow up and think those foods are healthy and do not understand just how many servings of fruits and vegetables go into a healthy diet? Is "by any means necessary" jusitifiable in this case?

How do you celebrate Halloween?

Many parents, usually for religious reasons, do not celebrate Halloween.

Others like to dress up, but I do not allow their children to wear "scary" costumes, or have cemeteries set up on their front lawns. They go with more of a "harvest" theme.

Other families are religious but go all-out with the gory decorations.

What do YOU do?

Bumbo Baby Seat Recall

Click the link below to read more about the Bumbo Baby Seat recall. Apparently a few babies have fallen over in the seat and suffered head fractures.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21472055/?GT1=10450

Free E-Cards for Baby's Milestones

Evenflo has e-cards to commemorate your baby's milestones, like sitting up and getting the first tooth. Requires free registration with Evenflo.com

http://www.evenflo.com/Homepage/eCards/tabid/218/Default.aspx

Playing with Potatos

You can buy two children all the "developmentally appropriate" toys in the world, plan learning activities, and they will giddily entertain themselves for an hour with a raw potato.

Easy recycling with HP - Blog Action Day!

So, here's the idea: Today is Blog Action Day, and the theme this year is the environment.

There is a free and easy way for your family to recycle ink cartridges from your printers, as well as several other office-related items. Let's reduce the "e-waste" we are creating.

What am I suggesting?

Easy, no-stress way to recycle printer ink cartridges, through Hewlett Packard. To order postage-paid envelopes, go to HP’s Planet Partners auto-form at

http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/globalcitizenship/environment/recycle/index.html

and select the first box (unless you are interested on recycling hardware, mercury lamps, or cell phones, in which case you can follow those links instead.) Follow the prompts to order your non-returnable at this link:

https://h30248.www3.hp.com/recycle/supplies/ink_page1.asp?__cc=us

It is really simple and at no cost to the consumer. Each envelope holds up to three cartridges. Once you have signed up, envelopes are sent at regular intervals, so you do not have to repeatedly request them and then wait with your used-up cartridges taking up space in your desk.

HP also offers up several other ways for families to get involved in recycling other computer trash and cast-offs.

http://h71036.www7.hp.com/hho/cache/505112-0-0-225-121.html?jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN#4

Can you think of other easy ways for a family to get involved in reducing waste, such as Nike's sneaker recycling program?