Jodi Furman — author of a blog called livefabuless.com, which offers tips on how to save money without making big sacrifices — suggests starting by sitting down with your kids to find out what activities they really want to participate in.
Some ideas will ring familiar, like playing hopscotch or running through the sprinkler.
"It's easy to forget what you did when you were a kid, but I always go back to the well," says Rita Arens, a money section editor of BlogHer, the largest women's online network. Arens, who grew up on a farm in Iowa, also writes a blog called surrenderdorothyblog.com.
And there's much more at your fingertips already.
Source http://www.therepublic.com/
— WATER FUN. If you don't have access to a private or community pool, or you don't want to make the schlep, remember that water games at home can be just as fun. Think about running through sprinklers, battling with water pistols or playing ambush with buckets of water.
Sliding toys can cost as little as $20. Walmart.com's start with the $19.97 "Wham-O Slip 'N Slide NASCAR," which features a water spray arch and splash pool and works with a standard garden hose. If you want to splurge, there's even an 18-by-11-foot Banzai Wipeout Big Curve Water Slide for $699, with a motor.
— CREATIVE ACTIVITIES: When it's just too hot to be outside, consider craft projects and board games next to the air conditioner or room fan.
Arens suggests collecting recyclable items, from soda cans and toilet paper rolls to two-liter plastic soda bottles. Try cereal boxes for bodies and yogurt containers for arms, and spray all the pieces the night before with metallic silver paint. Provide pipe cleaners, duct tape and other fasteners and prepare for a science fiction odyssey.
Or try the free workshops that home improvement retailers offer for children on making small items like birdhouses. (The Home Depot and Lowe's both offer such classes; check http://www.Lowes.com and http://www.homedepot.com for schedules and information.) Or buy a kit online; Lowe's cost $5.98.
— OUTDOOR ENTERTAINING: When it's too hot to cook indoors, consider grilling, and then stay outside to enjoy the cooling weather as the day winds down. That's also when hopscotch on the sidewalk or driveway begins to sound like a good idea. Use glow-in-the-dark chalk, widely available online and in stores.
Many stores are offering attachments that help you grill much more than burgers and hot dogs. Home Depot's Stok Grill has a pizza stone, a vegetable tray and griddle so you could at least think about cooking breakfast and lunch outside, as well as dinner.
— STAYING COOL. If your home doesn't have central air conditioning, focus on efficient ways to keep it cool, from installing a ceiling fan with the living room light or putting in a window air conditioner.
If you can cool just the room your family uses most, a small air conditioner should do the job fine, and it may not cost as much as you think. The California Energy Commission says a 6,000 BTU machine is sufficient for a 350-square-foot room. Consumer Reports recommends two that size for $165. And the federal government's Energy Star calculator estimates it would cost about $83 a year to operate such an air conditioner in notoriously sweltering Washington, D.C.
Just make sure to buy an energy-efficient machine and change or clean the filter at least every three months.
— SHARE AND SHARE ALIKE: Try to coordinate activities with neighbors. One may have a water slide; the other a swing set. "Everyone has different stuff," said Dudley Blossom, chair of the marketing and management department of LIM College.
"We are all in this together," agreed Furman, noting many families can't afford summer camp. "Kids have a nice social hour. You're just not on your own."
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