We have obligations every weekend in June, one in July, and almost all of Aug. is booked but we hope to squeeze in at least a little bit of frugal fun.

Some of our ideas are:

Camping out in the backyard
Campfires in the backyard
Frequenting the nearby park as much as possible
Swapping playdates and babysitting with a local family
Riding bikes on the river trail frequently
Spending time together working in the yard and garden
Lots of outdoor messy crafts
Beach combing for treasures

What are some inexpensive ideas on your list?

We plan to have a lot of evenings just running around catching lightning bugs. :D

I'm looking for popcicle molds (ice tups) on ebay right now, and will make our own popcicles, have lots of barbecues, invite over friends and family, and play in our new backyard :D

We also have two drive-ins, both of which play double features. One is $17 for our whole family to go and the other is $8. We'll do that a few times this summer and bring our own popcorn and drinks (in pajamas with pillows and blankets in the back of the van) :)

We will also do lots of water play - maybe a kiddie pool this year is in our budget :smirk: and maybe those sponge balls that are on the Martha Stewart website to fill with water. Lots of "golf" and swinging and sprinklers, too :D

There was another thread around here with some great ideas...
http://www.amitymama.com/vb/mamas-simplifying-thrift-forum/335541-lets-talk-thrifty-summers.html

We have made sponge balls several times over the years. I wonder if they are similar to the ones we make. Do they use the cheap 20 pack of dollar store sponges and zip ties? If so, they are a ton of fun for water fights and also a blast if you have a parachute.

I think so :) You cut them into strips or something, right? :D

Sounds like a blast!!!

I'll have to look into a parachute!

Discountschoolsupply.com has great prices on parachutes and free shipping on orders over $59

*Play in our brook
*Jump on the trampoline
*Maybe get an easy set pool (um is that frugal? :lol: )
*Head down to the lake 10 min away and hang out on the beach (will do this for most of the summer, I swear!)
*Grill out on the deck
*Work in the garden

Oh, I needed this today, mamas. It's snowing so freaking hard, and we're in for a foot of accumulation tonight. They won't even talk about the nor'easter coming on Sunday/Monday but if it is cold enough to be snow and not rain, they are talking "feet not inches." :eek:

YMCA pool, neighborhood pool, Poole's Mill Park (has a wide creek for the kids to play in, sliding down rocks), Lake Lanier beaches - the ones where if I pay for state park pass, we go for free - not that godawful water park they have. That's the wet stuff. ;). Oh, and another local playground with a faux creek - it's our park day location.

Playing in the yard, gardening, hanging out at the neighbor's drinking homemade frappucinos.

Free movies in the mornings. They're last year's movies - one theater even gives the kids a free popcorn if they bring a can of food for the food bank. The others have $1 popcorns, so it's still a cheap outing.

Library (hey- it's air-conditioned, right?).

Not so cheap, but sometimes nice after days of oppressive heat: going to the bouncy place.

Great thread!

Here are some of ours:

-Bike riding from my mom's to the farmer's market in DT St. Paul
-The beach (there are a few on White Bear Lake)
-Camping
-The park
-All of my town's various summer activities (beach dance, music by the lake, yoga by the lake, Marketfest, the regatta, free sailing lessons, etc.)
-Swimming at grandpa's pool
-Visiting my great-aunt in the country
-Berry picking
-Grilling
-Pizza party using the solar oven I am planning to build
-Gardening
-Fishing from the docks (Cheyenne has been practicing casting and reeling since we went ice fishing and she caught a fish)
-Picnics
-Playing with the water table in the back yard
-Kayaking and canoeing (for DH and I, I don't think the kids are ready yet)
-Visits to the nature center
-Watching the sailboats on the lake
-$.35 kids ice cream cones at Cup and Cone
-Walks by the river

Those sponge balls sound like fun! I am going to have to make some of those.

I think I mentioned most of these on the other thread, but here are some things I'm thinking of. I needed this too. I am looking out the window at snow, and I'm afraid my spring flowers aren't going to recover...

Bobbi Jo, there is a drive in in Muskegon, I think.

There are a lot of nature trails in the parks around here. I hope for us to do more hiking around here this summer.

grilling

homemade popsicles and slushies --I got a Hawaiian ice machine a couple years ago at a garage sale.

hanging laundry on the line(OK, maybe that's not entertainment for most people...)

water play

planting flowers

YMCA pool

walks around the neighborhood

library

parks

berry picking

bubble blowing (the kids love it when we make a huge ol' batch of bubbles and use odd things to make huge bubbles)

camping in the back yard
camping at my folk's house for 4th of July weekend
possibly camping at Ludington State Park for a long weekend
visiting the beach near Grammy's house, meeting up with family there.
campfires in the back yard

Have you ever stayed at Mason County Campground in Ludington? We love it and it is a bit more private than the state park. We are going their the second weekend in Aug. this year for Pen****er's homecoming.

No, we haven't...We'll have to look into that one!

We should meet up at the Children's Museum or Meijer Garden's this summer. We like to go to the Children's Museum on Thursdays since the admission is only $1.