Free Family Activities for a No-Spend Weekend: Fun Activities to Enjoy

How many times lately have you heard your kids complain, “I’m bored!”? It is hard for families to plan fun activities any time, let alone during a pandemic. During these unprecedented times, many families are finding it difficult to make ends meet, and therefore, they might not have given much thought to planning fun outings and activities for their families.

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Free Family Activities for a No-Spend Weekend

The good news is you do not have to spend a lot of money in order to have fun with your family! There are many activities in which you and your family can participate for free!

Here, we will examine some of the creative, fun and free activities that you and your family can do to fill up a “no-spend weekend.”

Indoor Activities

Some of us are still under stay-at-home restrictions, or might simply feel that it is safer to keep our families indoors. These indoor activities are also perfect for a rainy day or when you and the family cannot get outside due to weather.

You can have fun inside, for free, whether it’s inside your own house or a public place (once they have reopened, adhering to all social distancing measures and wearing protective gear such as masks, of course).

Inside Your Own Home

Food-Related Ideas

Family bake-off- each member of the family bakes something different and then everyone samples the creations

Make homemade ice cream (instructions: https://barefeetinthekitchen.com/homemade-ice-cream-recipe/)

Cook and eat dinner together, where everyone is responsible for something- if kids are too little to help cook, have them set the table, wash dishes, dry/put away dishes

Make cookies and decorate them

Do blind taste tests with various drinks and/or food

Make homemade pizza (if you don’t have dough, things like English muffins or pitas work just as well)

Artsy-Related Ideas

Make a book together (use magazines for pictures)

Have an arts and crafts day, using any or all of the below-mentioned ideas

Make homemade gifts to give to loved ones and friends or each other

Build with Legos or blocks

Make paper airplanes to fly indoors or outdoors

Color together

Make slime (use a simple recipe like this three-ingredient one, using just baking soda, glue and saline: https://www.iheartnaptime.net/homemade-slime/)

Make playdough (use a simple recipe like this one: https://stayathomeeducator.com/absolutely-perfect-no-cook-scented-play-dough-recipe-without-cream-tartar/)

Form a family band (if you don’t already have them, make your own instruments using ideas like these: https://redtri.com/homemade-instruments/slide/1)

Make tie-dye shirts using food coloring (here’s how: https://www.favecrafts.com/Tie-Dye/How-to-Tie-Dye-a-Shirt-with-Food-Coloring)

Paint pictures together and create your own family art gallery

Finger painting (particularly great for younger children, just make sure to do it with newspaper underneath to contain the mess!)

Begin a new hobby together, or let each family member individually choose their own new hobby to start (ideas include painting, crocheting, photography)

Tell each other stories (one person starts, then the next person builds upon it, and so on)

Write a simple play and act it out together

Create a puppet show

Create a house of cards

Getting Active with Your Family

Have a family fun night, in which everyone contributes an idea of what they’d like to do

Hold a dance party

Have a karaoke party (these can get pretty active!)

Play video games together (ditto – some video games are more active than others!)

Practice tongue twisters

Play hide and seek (this could be outdoors or indoors, or both)

Set up an indoor obstacle course

Play charades

Practice yo-yo tricks

Learning About Each Other

Create memory books for each family member

Make a family scrapbook

Go through family photos

Research your family tree together (this can be done online through sites like familysearch.org, ancestry.com and myheritage.com)

Make a family time capsule

Research careers online (find out what careers your kids are interested in and research them together)

Quiet Ideas

Do jigsaw puzzles together

Play Simon Says

Do a science experiment (like the diet coke and mentos volcanic eruption)

Teach your kids how to read a map

Play board games together

Hold a movie marathon, based on a family vote of who wants to see what type of movies

Do crossword puzzles together

Read your favorite books together (if there are younger children, take turns reading aloud to them)

Have a home spa day (do your nails, hair, facials, feet)

Build an indoor blanket fort

Create a scavenger hunt (outdoors or indoors or both)

Play dress up and/or have a family fashion show

Camp in the family room overnight

Have a tea party

Play chess

Have a bubble-blowing contest

Play checkers

Have a pajama day, in which everyone stays in their PJ’s all day long

Play tic tac toe

Take an online class together (many are free)

Play hangman

Ideas to Help Organize Your Home

Clean out your closets and create piles of clothing to donate

Clean the house together (believe it or not, this can be fun as a family activity)

If you’re looking for other ideas for family activities, check out our guide to gardening with kids, or backyard camping with kids.

Activities You Can Do in Other Indoor Facilities

Here are some family activities that you can participate in within other indoor facilities. They might not all be completely free, but if not free, they are usually low-cost. With a little research beforehand, you might find days on which these activities are free!

Visit a free museum or go on a day in which families/kids of a certain age get in for free

Take a trip to your local library

Visit an art gallery (check to see which ones, like on college campuses, offer free admission)

Take a class together (many music stores, libraries, and specialty shops like the Apple Store offer free, short classes)

Visit and have playdates with other family members at their homes (again, when permitted)

Outdoor Activities

The weather is turning warmer in many places, and many of us are itching to get outside and enjoy it! There are so many fun, free activities in which you and your family can participate outside, whether in your own backyard or in a public space (with social distancing measures in place, of course!)

In Your Own Backyard

Food-Related Ideas

Have a picnic breakfast while watching the sunrise

Go and Have a picnic dinner or snack while watching the sunset

Outdoor picnic (this could be in your own backyard or elsewhere)

Have a teddy bear’s picnic (can be with real or pretend food and beverages)

Active Ideas

Play a sport together in the backyard

Turn on the sprinklers and hoses and hold backyard water games (like filling water balloons, create your own water slide, and more)

Fly a kite (in your backyard or elsewhere)

Create a scavenger hunt (this could be outdoors or indoors or both)

Rake leaves and jump in the piles (this is a seasonal activity)

Wash the car

Build a snowman (again, this is a seasonal activity)

Take turns jumping on your trampoline

Climb a tree

Wash your dog

Make a rope swing, tie it to a tree and have fun!

Exploring Nature

Pick flowers from your garden/backyard and arrange them

Start a worm farm

Plant a garden in your backyard (vegetable, flower, herb, you name it)

Start a compost pile in the backyard

Look at the stars at night (a telescope is helpful but not required)

Go rock hunting, then collect and paint your findings

Collect bugs, figure out what they are and let them go

Study the intricate workings of a spider web

Look for four-leaf clovers

Build a bird house or bird feeder (simple instructions can be found here)

Other ideas

Have a yard sale

Use chalk and draw inspirational pictures and sayings on your driveway or sidewalk

Outdoor Activities in Other Settings

There are many activities you can participate in within other local outdoor venues. Make sure to adhere to all local regulations regarding social distancing if you choose to do any of the following:

Play at a local park (make sure the playground equipment, basketball nets, etc. are not off limits)

Go on a hike in your local park (most have trails, and many have difficulty levels noted, so that you can plan which trails your kids can accomplish with you)

Take a walking tour of a local city

Go on bike/scooter rides together

Visit a botanical garden

Go fishing together

Collect shells from the beach

Visit local farmer’s markets

Attend free local community events (many communities offer free concerts, movies, etc. especially during the summer months)

Go to a yard sale

Visit a boat show, car show, RV show, classic car show, or other auto show

Go swimming (in your own pool, a friend or family member’s pool, or, perhaps for a small fee, at a community pool)

Volunteer as a family. Ideas include:
- Beautifying your neighborhood – make sure everyone wears disposable gloves, get some grabbers and an empty trash bag for each family member and walk around your neighborhood together, picking up trash
- Caroling – it doesn’t have to be Christmas to go around to local nursing homes and sing to the residents
- Visiting residents in nursing homes
- Serving meals at a homeless shelter

Go geocaching (click here to get started)

Feed the ducks at a local pond (as long as it is safe to do so and there are no signs warning against it)

Go metal detecting (this requires special equipment but can be quite fun – read more about it )

Make paper boats and try to float them at a nearby pond or lake

Check out the funny Daddy’s Biker T-shirt for your little one!

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Liliana

Liliana is a Licensed Montessori teacher known for her passion and dedication to education. She's been a teacher in the United States for many years, and she truly believes that education is the key to making the world a better place because today's students are tomorrow's leaders. Her experience with Toddlers, Beginners, VPK with Montessori methodology approach; Kindergarten, and first grade made her an authority and trusted resource. Liliana's family taught her important qualities like love, a positive attitude, strong motivation, and leadership. These values have guided her on her journey to becoming a professional and expert teacher. Her mission is to help children grow and contribute to a brighter future for the country.