As parents, it’s easy to confuse what having fun for our kids looks like verses what we assume they “need” for fun. With two of our own, we continue to understand and seek out to do the simple things that make them so excited!!.
We have a couple of things that we do as a family(yes as a family because doing these things with the little ones always seems to make it more fun for them…..as parents, we can tell)
Here are some of tho sew things;

1. Free petting zoo. Believe me, this is real!!!. All husband’s idea…..So any pound close by and a pets mart does it for us. The kids get so excited at the mention of it which leaves hubby and i smiling from ear to ear knowing no penny will be spent. End result, free fun!
2. Board games with the kids. Watching television as a family is good but not the same as getting down onto a good board game. Just watching the kids try to challenge us, cry when they think they have lost to us in one of the board games, watching them laugh when they win…..it’s just some good old fun right there. Our favorite games are (sorry, chutes and ladders, connect 4, monopoly…just introducing this one and some good puzzles)
3. A movie and popcorn. We rarely ever go to a movie theater(you could call us cheap skates). It doesn’t really add up to any fun paying alot only to watch a movie that soon or later we can get in the mail(through netflix) and watch in the comfort of our own home. Our babies love it and get really excited for our in house movie nights. Still all free!
4. Getting down to what they love(their hobbies). Our boy loves Legos as well as reading (Ralph series books) and our little girl enjoys creating things with paper, scissors and crayons….she is so good that she leaves hubby and i in owe at what she can do at 5. Doing these things with them always seems to be alot of fun for them and in the end its all free and time well spent bonding.
5. Going on walks. This is a very good way to get in some exercise as family but also make small talks. It’s all round fun but free as well.
6. Playing loud music and doing crazy dances. My husband does this part best….he gets so goofy with the kids that am left speechless( my guy is the best daddy!!!)
7. making up knock knock jokes. We all love jokes as we should as human beings.  We love them even better when they are made up and don’t seem to make sense. Kids (mostly ours are good at making up silly jokes). Again, free fun right at home.
8. Playing hide and seek. I think kids love it when parents are involved in any kind of play that seems solely for kids. Well, why not join in and play this “old school game” that at some point in our lives we have all played. It’s fun but also free
9. Sorting through family photos and creating family photo albums. I have realized that our babies love, love looking through their baby photos. In the middle of creating a big family album and also planning on creating one for each of our babies with their help. I have so far had them write notes to stick in the albums as well as cute out paper hearts. It’s been fun for all of us and am very sure it will create lots of good memories for everybody in the family
10. Reading books at home(letting the kids highlight their favorite parts of the books). This is very fun and personal for the kids. If you want to do it exactly the way we do it, every time you buy a kids book,give it to one of the kids(or if it makes you feel better, buy extra copies for each of your kids). This helps the kids personalize their book when it’s being read to them or when they read it(if they are old enough to read). It may not seem like it but it this is a very fun, cheap and free way to have fun with your kids
11. Grocery shop with the kids. I know you are thinking, this is not free? or there is no way grocery shopping with the kids can be fun!!. I know, and i get it. To start with, we are going to buy groceries any ways, why not include the kids(or make it a family affair)? This helps the kids know that mommy is not off just having “fun” without them but instead they get to be part of it. Allow them to bag the produce and if they are curious about any of the items….in my case it’s usually the different seasonal fruits and veggies, go ahead and talk to them about them. Like how that particular fruit or veggie grows, what time of the year it grows, how we can eat it and more. This can become something you get used to doing as a family. Yea, sometimes by the end of our grocery haul my mouth is literally dried out from talking(to our lovely babies about food and also the don’t touch this and that). But the time spent together is all free, fun and well worth it for good memories.
12. For mothers with daughters, paint your nails at home(all for free). I think this is something i will always do until my daughter decides it’s not a good idea anymore. But is she is anything like me, she won’t care about the perfect manicure or pedicure.
13. Make ice cream at home. Milk of some kind is something in almost everybody’s fridge or pantry. In our household, it’s coconut milk. We usually have a can or two that we can toss together with a little fruit for good hustle free ice cream at home. To the kids, this is just as fun as going to the ice cream shop if not better since we don’t have to pay extra for the fancy cup and spoons.
14. For the boys(in my case my daughter as well), gaming does it with hubby. They love it and so does he. Am yet to get on board on this one…..but am sure i will eventually.