Cheap Fun

Let’s face it.

When the weekend comes, you’re ready to stall out and have some down time. Not so with the kids. They’re wanting to go here, there, anywhere but stay home. You hear things like “I’m bored, mom,”

or “Can we go do something?” The only thing on your mind is what it’s going to cost you in money, time or energy. 

I remember barely getting in the door on Friday evenings after a long work week, sitting in traffic, picking up the kids, running errands and finally getting home. The LAST thing I wanted to do was get back in the car. Plus I was always thinking about conserving my gas. I was tired of counting out change for gas just before payday.

Being a mom is exhausting, isn’t it? Being a single mom is…well, it’s hard to describe. It’s easy to become buried under everything that falls on your shoulders. Weekends are catch-up days. There’s laundry, grass to cut, bills to pay, grocery shopping, bathrooms to clean, the car needs an oil change, new brakes or something around the house needs fixing.

The list never ends, does it?

Any head nods out there?

Where does fun fit in? How do you budget money, energy and time for fun?

Fun is as necessary as rest. Too much seriousness and sticking to the schedule can be suffocating for all of you.

When Fridays rolled around and it was my weekend with the kids, I already knew my to-do list was getting tossed. If the laundry didn’t make it out of the dryer, at least the clothes were clean. The dust that had settled on the furniture could stay a few more days. Grass cutting could be done in small blocks of time. If the neighbors didn’t like it, they’d get over it.

Flexibility is your friend.

Now for the fun part. Below is a list of seven things I used to plan with my kids. They were five years apart, boy and girl, so we had to be creative.  It’s easier when they’re younger, under 10. Once they’re a preteen and teenager you have to change things up, but the truth is they really just need time with you minus all the stress, chores and to-do lists.

1. Movie and popcorn night (Friday or Saturday) We had
   
   Blockbusters, but these days it’s Redbox and Netflix.
2. Nice weather? Pack a picnic basket and small drink cooler and head out to the nearest State Park ($5). When I didn’t have $5, we’d just go to a free park with picnic tables and hang out, eat and play.
3. Windy weather? Go fly a kite. Don’t spend money on one,
   
   make one. In my day it was with newspaper and ripped pillow cases. Today you’ve got Pinterest and Google for ideas. Go to a nearby unoccupied soccer field. Bring your picnic with you.
4. Summertime? If you have access to a pool
   
   or lake (once we lived in an apartment complex), have a swim day and cook out. I made a big deal out of cooking out with charcoal and making burgers with all the trimmings. Eat outside on the patio. No patio? Spread a quilt.
5. Nasty weather? Have a bake off; brownies, cookies, or whatever they like. Sometimes we had Thanksgiving for dinner with a cheap roasting chicken and all the trimmings. Let them help with the prep. Before you know it, hours have passed and you have a
   
   Thanksgiving meal with leftovers.
6. Invite another single-mom family over. Cook together, play games or just hang out.
7. Go to local festivals, community yard sales, and other free events in your town.

These are just a few things, but the jest of it is the time factor. Your kids will be happier and enjoy a sense of security with relaxed, uncomplicated fun with mom.

You’ll also find you have the energy later to then tackle laundry, cleaning and yard work.

Feel free to share your suggestions for cheap and free fun in the comments section below.

Have fun,

Terri