Keeping your children entertained throughout their summer vacations is something that not all parents can comfortably and carelessly deal with, thus for many, this is a real impediment yearly. While each parent might have some days off each summer, the rest of the time is somehow boring for children, which may lead them to some problematic behaviour. But how can parents prevent this from happening, especially on a restricted budget? Below are some smart ways in which you can entertain your children on a budget during their summer vacation.
Find a camping spot nearby your residence
Not everybody is an avid traveller looking forward to travel the world, searching for that perfect camping spot. But if you still want to get involved with your children in an entertaining activity and stick to a very strict budget, you can find a camping spot nearby your house. If you think it carefully, you can really take your children camping in your backyard and make it sound as entertaining as possible. After all, your children will certainly enjoy another type of activity besides their regular console games. Set up a tent, have a backyard fire, have some Smores and sleep in sleeping bags. While this is an incredibly affordable entertainment mean, your children are very likely to have a great time.
Alternatively, find a nearby location with generous vegetation, preferably some woods, and make it the old-school way. Pick a place, set up a tent and enjoy an evening with your children and your partner outside the home. Keeping small moppets entertained isn’t really that difficult.
Take them to amusement park trips
This is by far one of the best strategies if you want to make your children feel that you are all doing something different and entertaining. Amusement park fees are generally highly affordable, and the necessary time for such a trip is a relatively short one. This way, you can manage this “adventure” even during a short week end. While you may not afford to take your children to Disneyland yearly, alternatives are plenty if you carefully think about it. The Discovery Cove in Orlando, Florida, Dollywood, in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, these are only some of those incredible amusement parks that you can visit with your children. Keep in mind that each state has several locations of this kind and you have a wide selection where to choose from. Make it sound like an exciting experience for your children, they will certainly love it. The expenses vary widely, depending on the entrance fees and what products and souvenirs you’ll be purchasing from the Park, but generally, these incursions are affordable for most families.
Regular pool parties are the best entertainment for a child
All children have a real fascination with water and pool parties seem to always be more than welcome in their case. Make sure that your pool is in perfect shape before letting your children play in it. At the beginning of the season, you should most probably call by some experts and let them evaluate your pool’s state, repair and bring in perfect condition any potential faults. Experts advise investing in spare parts if you need them, as this is a more affordable solution, but you have to make sure that everything is in great shape and can be safely used by children of all ages. Ideally, you also have to invest in some safety equipment for your pool parties as well. Pool noodles and lifejackets are those things that should always be in hand, just in case. Sometimes, allow them to have friends by for their pool parties, but make sure that some children come attended by their parents. More eyes to watch all those hyperactive moppets are necessary, in this case.
A day-long trip outside your state
If you really want to take your children outside the home, and more importantly, the state, reach for one of the Natural National Parks in the area. Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Bryce Canyon, the Everglades in Florida, these will all make your children really have a “vacation”-like experience and will leave them with plenty of discussion topics to debate with their peers when returning to school. Generally, children are not pretentious, and a location that will be reached by car will certainly increase their excitement levels. While there will be some expenses with the entrance charges, those will still keep your family’s expenses at a low level.
Useful tips to master on-a-budget trips
Some small details will help you to master the process of entertaining your children on a budget. Besides finding the most affordable destinations and activities, you can also try some of the tips below.
- Always check availability – this is a key-detail because you want to make sure that you will find available accommodation (if necessary for your trip), before reaching your destination. In most of the cases, this can be a spontaneous decision and you may come to a conclusion when reaching your destination that there are no hotel rooms available in the area. This will make the trip itself even more expensive, as you will end up spending money on gas without an outcome.
- Pick those places with discounts – if you want to maintain your expenses low, check for discounts. Especially amusement parks have their tickets for sale if you buy them online.
- Cash the rewards on your credit card – using a rewards credit card comes with the great advantage that at some point, you’ll be able to use those rewards for various things. Keep those for the summer vacation and save plenty of cash by doing so!
- Don’t buy souvenirs – of course, you will all want to have some memories from your adventures, but how about taking some sweet pictures of you and your family and creating a photo book instead of buying souvenirs?
These ideas will help families to keep their moppets entertained throughout their summer vacations, without overspending. In fact, if you want to save some money in the long run, these solutions might be the most suitable for this situation!
