Frugal Fun

I mentioned earlier that I've had a lot of family visiting this week. It's been hard on my budget because I can't get over that mentality that I need take them out to eat, or to the movies, or zoo...all of which can get costly. But I've been trying really hard this week to cook at home and come up with fun, free activities. Sunday-Tuesday my Granny, my little sister (age 13) and my cousin (age 12) were here. We ordered pizza the first night, but that was the only time we paid for food. My Granny did by breakfast both morning, but other then that we ate at home. And you know what? No one felt like they were missing anything! We had a great time cooking together and sitting down at my table together. We could be as loud and silly as we wanted because were comfortable and alone. We also rented a movie free from RedBox and set up the projector in the den. It was JUST like being at the real theater. We had tons of popcorn and soda, and homemade brownies. What movie theater sales brownies? Only the free one at my house!!! We huge out in our jammies with piles of pillows and blankets and a blast, all for FREE. It would have cost over $42 for the 3 of us to watch a movie, complete with popcorn and soda, at the local theater. And once again we were able to talk as loud, laugh as loud and get up as much as we wanted. We could pause the movie if someone needed to get up, and we got to see deleted scenes. You can't get that at a normal, pricey theater. We also had a great time having a "Bowling Tournament" on the Wii. I can't even imagine how much it would have cost at a real bowling alley, since we played for hours on end, and all the drinks we would have needed. Again, totally free at home, and probably even more fun!
This weekend we plan to take a picnic to the local beach with our dog, our friends and their dogs, and my parents and sister. The dogs all love the beach, and the boys will skim board while we girls read and listen to music. I have all kinds of picnic food I've gotten with coupons, and I'll make a few homemade treats. We'll have a wonderful time, and make lots of memories...all for free.
I think it's fun to come up with cheap or free ways to have fun this summer, and I'd love to hear some of yours!