Using Plastic Containers for Frugal Summer Fun

This past winter, I wrote a post suggesting you save your plastic containers for the children to use this summer. If you have a collection of these plastic necessities, hand them over to your children and watch their imagination soar. My children helped me compile this list of ideas on how they like to use plastic containers in the summer. Grow your own mini garden. Make giant ice cubes for the pool. Use the bowls to hold paint and [+]

Frugal Summer Fun for Kids – Art and Science in a Spray Bottle

Occasionally on Fridays through the summer, I will be posting Frugal Summer Fun for Kids. I hope you like the ideas and feel free to chime in with your own as well. Do you remember these spray bottles from the snow paint post this past winter? Here's a new summer use for those bottles. Fill them with water and let the kids go to town creating water pictures on your driveway or patio. Evaporation is easily taught [+]

Easy Lemon Cakemix Cookies

If you like cookies that are easy, chewy and something a little out of the ordinary, you will love these Easy Lemon Cakemix Cookies. Easy Lemon Cakemix Cookies Ingredients: 1 (18.25 ounce) package lemon cake mix 2 eggs 1/3 cup vegetable oil 1 teaspoon lemon extract 1/3 cup confectioner's sugar for decorating Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Empty cake mix into large bowl and break up any clumps. Stir in oil, eggs, and lemon extract until thoroughly blended. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls into the [+]

WFMW – I’m Bored Edition

The first Wednesday of each month, Kristen at We are THAT Family hosts a themed edition of the Works for Me Wednesday blog carnival. This month's theme is  "Mom, I'm Bored." Thankfully, my children have rarely said this to me, though I have a pile of rock waiting to moved, lest I hear the dreaded phrase this year. I do have a few summer secrets that I have tried in years past that I will [+]

Frugal Family Fun – Toy Swap

For the past couple of weeks, I have talked about a Trash to Treasure party over at Happy to be at Home. The party entailed a group of ladies bringing unneeded items in good condition from their home to the host's house in which the other ladies could "shop." We were all able to leave the party with new, free treasures that suited our families. I listed several ideas and variations for the [+]

How to Shop for Free – Swap Party

In a previous post, I explained how I shop for free. I recently had an opportunity to shop for free again, though it was quite a bit different than the first post. You can read about it at Happy to be at Home. [+]

How to Introduce the Arts for Free

Each week I have been providing potential ideas for frugal family fun. I'm talking about Spring this week at Just Doing My Best and Spring is the perfect time to introduce the arts to your children for free. Spring is recital season and larger schools often publish the recital schedule in newspapers and online in hopes for a large audience. If you live near a university, the options are endless. I live near one and have [+]

Dinner Conversation – Part 2

Last week, I shared with you how we learn about the children's day while gathered around the dinner table. I promised you another conversation idea this week. This week's idea will not only make the meal time more fun, but will also give you an interesting glimpse into your children's developing personalities. A while back I found a book called Kidchat Too! and fell in love with it. This book is intended to spark conversations by [+]

Dinner Conversation

Do your children like to talk? Or do you have to drag information out of them? My children love to talk. I mean they really, really love talking. Honestly, I wouldn't change that about them even if I could. I understand some children do not open up much and even when asked about their day, they might shrug and give a one word answer. You will find the other extreme in our home. There [+]

Frugal Family Fun – More Than Just Coloring Easter Eggs

This weekend, if you have children, chances are you will be one of many who will have stained fingers from coloring Easter Eggs. As part of the weekly Frugal Family Fun series, I would like to provide you with some ideas to make coloring the eggs even more special and unique than the egg stands and stickers that come in the flat boxes. Having said that, I just purchased the flat-box coloring kit and will [+]