15 Fun Things To Do For Under $1

For a lot of people, these are difficult times. The economy is in meltdown, unemployment is on the rise, and it seems the media only wants to report the doom and gloom stories. Don’t despair, there is so much fun you can have with your family without having to spend anything more than a dollar. In our family we have learnt to live on a strict budget, but that doesn’t stop us having more fun that a barrel of monkeys! Here I’ve put together some of our favourite activities that won’t have you dipping into your wallet.

Don’t be concerned about paying hundreds of dollars for toys your kids don’t play with. These classic fun activities can be created with stuff you probably already have lying around your house, plus they will entertain your kids for hours and when they are done, you can dump them in the knowledge that you haven’t had to spend your hard earned wages!

These are a few of the best ways we entertain our kids (and ourselves) for under $1:

Large cardboard boxes

Perfect for making houses and small castles. These can entertain an imaginative mind for hours. Make sure you are nearby to take pictures and get involved as you build a rocket to the moon or drive to your next holiday destination! Many of the larger department stores will have plenty of big boxes that they will happily let you take away for free. With some paints or colouring pens you can make almost anything.

Rubber band and pencil

This is a simple toy that I remember building in primary school. Take two (unsharpened pencils) and wrap a rubber band around the centre. Twist the pencils lengthwise against each other (as you would wind a propeller on a toy plane). Set down flat on a table and let the jumping begin.

Origami – paper planes, poppers, and all sorts

Get a comprehensive origami book and, honestly, this can keep you and your child occupied for weeks. My brother made some amazing features, including an Aladdin his lamp (which even had a genie coming out of it) and you never know when these “paper-construction skills” may come in handy. I remember folding boxes in the kitchen to use as mini garbage bins when guests came over or making pretty decorations for kids’ birthday parties.

Do you remember how to make the “Paper Popper”?

· Fold a sheet of paper lengthwise down the middle – open the sheet back up and lay flat.

· Fold all four corners of the paper inward toward the centre crease.

· Fold the sheet of paper in half the other way keeping all four corners folded inward – you will end up what looks vaguely like a stealth aircraft.

· With the point facing away from you, grab the right side and fold it upward so the bottom is parallel with the crease.

· Do the same with the left side.

· Unfold so you are back to the stealth fighter.

· Using the crease as a reference, tuck the upper right hand corner into the popper.

· Repeat with the other side. It will look like a diamond.

· Lastly, Fold it one more time so it looks like a triangle.

· Hold from the bottom and as if you were throwing a ball, flip the popper rapidly through the air.

· The inward folded corner will “POP” out making a fun and satisfying sound.

Plant something, grow something

First and foremost, playing with dirt is usually a sure-fire winner with children! And you can use this fun activity as a simple way to teach young children how to take care of a living organism. Using some old container (plastic cups will do nicely) you can do pot-planting if you don’t want to or can’t plant something outdoors. Imagine the thrill, also, when the little baby plant pops his head up from the soil. It’s a really great feeling! If you want something with quick results, plant green beans or sunflowers (beans will come up in few days).

The garden hose

Wouldn’t it be great if you could do two chores at once… well, now you can water your garden, while bathing the kids! OK, I’m stretching the sales pitch a little here! But seriously, on a hot summer day, your grass needs plenty of water and this is a great time to have fun with the kids.

Blowing bubbles

This is one of my favourites. Mix up your own bubble water by pouring a teaspoon or so of liquid soap (preferably the stuff you use to do your dishes) into a cup and adding approximately 3 teaspoons of water. Stir and then test. You can make a free bubble wand by unbending a large paperclip and folding it back into a triangle with a small handle. You may need to add a little more soap or water to get the perfect bubble. If you pour the bubble solution into a small plate, it’s much easier to get the bubble film onto your bubble wand.

Once you get the bubble bug, you’ll find you start seeing great items that can be used as a bubble wand or blower. For example, the other weekend we found some old curtain rods which we bent into a (kind of) triangle. We then attached some string and had a competition to see who could make the biggest bubbles. My kid even had the great idea of using a hair dryer as a fan to blow bubbles with!

The first telephone

· Tin cans or two Styrofoam cups will do for this.

· Using a tack or the end of a pin, punch a hole into the centre of the bottom of each cup.

· Cut a piece of light string 25 feet or longer.

· Feed one end of the string through the hole of one of the cups.

· Tie a large knot on the string so it doesn’t fall back through the hole.

· Feed the other end of the string through the other cup and tie a knot like you did for the first cup.

· Now give the cup to your child and walk away from each other until the string is tight.

· Now you can whisper back and forth into your child’s new telephone.

This is not only a lot of fun, but it also educates your child about vibration, harmonics, sound waves and energy. Try the phone under doors and around corners of your house. If you keep the string taut it will still work.

Go to the library

I love going to the library; the sense of history, the quiet, the calm… and all those books. You can get imaginative and send your child on an adventure by giving him tasks to figure out. Send him or her on a Da Vinci code quest, with a small treasure if they get to the end (if they are young, just finding a particular book by an author will do the trick, as they get older, the information they must seek out can get more and more challenging!).

Enjoy the outdoors

Go on a bike ride together. Kids and adults need and enjoy exercise. If you don’t have bikes, you can go for a walk instead. We spend hours at the park close to our house and the kids love it. Take some snacks and picnic food for a special treat.

Write a story

Corroborate on a story by each writing one paragraph at a time. It will teach cooperation and writing skills, even if it doesn’t make the bestsellers list.

Make some crazy pictures

Pens, paper, and crayons are always fun, but if you want a variation on a theme, try cutting out pictures from a magazine or catalogue then glue or tape them together in funny ways. For example, cut out pictures of a person’s body, a face, an extravagant hat, and a lawn tractor then glue them together. You could put together a scene of multiple silly characters. They’re also a lot of fun to look back on in a scrapbook.

Engraving

Use a pencil or ballpoint pen on a folded piece of tinfoil. If you draw deep lines in the foil, you can then make groovy prints by rolling a little paint on the foil, then laying paper on top of it. Press lightly for a few seconds, peel off, and hang to dry.

Painting your garden

Yes, you heard me right! Our little girl takes great delight in getting some big paint brushes, filling up a bucket with water and painting the concrete. Be sure to wash it off when you’ve finished or you may find (as I did) that the kids (and pets) end up walking tiny painted footsteps around the house.

Life size models

Buy some cheep roles of paper (I mean large roles here) and have the kids lay down so you can trace around them. Then cut out the outlines and let them decorate their counterparts.

Treasure hunts

This does take a little more thought, but scavenger hunts are great fun! I once hid some gold coin candies and a glowing glow stick in a cabinet, then gave my brother clues to find it. Once he found it, he re-hid it and we spent the whole day finding and re-hiding our treasure.