50 Money-Saving Summer Activities To Keep Kids Busy (and You Sane)

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Summer is here and kids are out of school. This means they’re likely looking to you for nonstop entertainment, which can get expensive fast.

Thankfully, there’s plenty of free and low-cost activities that can keep your little ones occupied all season. Keep reading for 50 fun ideas they’ll enjoy — that will also tire them out — so you don’t lose your mind this summer.

Outdoor Activities

• Try out a new playground.
• Take a nature walk in a local park or around your neighborhood.
• Set up a sprinkler in your backyard.
• Have a picnic in the park.
• Create a nature scavenger hunt.
• Go camping in the backyard (still fun even if you don’t spend the entire night outside).
• Take advantage of free concerts in local parks.
• Plant a garden together and enjoy watching your flowers, herbs and vegetables grow.
• Make s’mores in a bonfire or fire pit.
• Find rocks outside, paint them, then decorate the backyard with them.
• Seek out local community festivals and events with free or cheap entertainment.
• Make homemade bubbles with dish soap, water and sugar.
• Cover all pavement surrounding your home with sidewalk chalk drawings.
• If your kids are younger, invest in an inflatable pool instead of a pricey pool membership.
• Take family bike rides.

Get Out of the House Activities

• Go to storytime at the library.
• Look for discount matinees at your local movie theater — i.e., From June 10-August 6, Regal offers $1 movies to the first show on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
• If your local library offers this perk, check a museum pass out and enjoy free admission.
• Seek out free and discounted kids’ meals — i.e., kids’ meals are half off at Red Robin on Wednesdays.
• Ride local public transportation — i.e., commuter trains, buses and trolleys.
• Sign up for Kids Bowl Free to get two free games of bowling for your kids every day at more than 1,300 locations. You can also purchase a Family Pass — starting at $34.95 — that covers two games per day, per person for two to four adult family members.
• Find a local fast food restaurant — i.e., McDonalds, Chick-fil-A — with an indoor play area.
• Use sites like VolunteerMatch to find ways to give back as a family.
• Start a community garden.
• Find a local farm that offers free or low-cost access to visit their animals.
• Go geocaching.

At-Home Activities

• Plan a playdate with a family member.
• Turn cardboard boxes into race cars, houses and kitchens.
• Build a fort out of pillows and blankets.
• Pull Halloween costumes out of the closet and play dress up.
• Have a board game tournament.
• Encourage older kids to write a play, create props and find costumes, then watch them perform it before bedtime.
• Have a talent show that every family member participates in.
• Set up stand to sell it at the end of your driveway.
• Buy a 10-pack of reusable water balloons from Five Below and have a several epic water balloon fights.
• Create artsy attire by picking up a few cheap t-shirts and a $9.99 Tie Dye Kit on Amazon.
• Sign kids eight and up for International Pen Friends to connect with a pen pal.
• Make an erupting volcano.
• Give kids cooking lessons, then challenge them to make a dinner of their choosing.
• Have a masquerade ball by turning paper plates into masks, then letting your kids decorate them with sequins, markers, glitter and feathers.
• Gather old magazines, newspapers and catalogs, pick a theme and have your kids make collages.
• Visit the blog on the Art for Kids Hub for free drawing lessons.
• Bake and decorate sugar cookies together.
• Take them to check books out from the library and create a summer reading challenge.
• Make old-fashioned friendship bracelets.
• Shop for topping together and have a make your own pizza night.
• Create a backyard obstacle course.
• Make a chore chart and give a small allowance or prize when all tasks are complete.
• Purchase plastic balls and a small inflatable pool for a DIY ball pit.
• Use Facebook Marketplace or Nextdoor to get free or low-cost new-to-you toys and outdoor equipment to replace those your kids are bored with or have outgrown.

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