Sharing great times and making everlasting family memories doesn’t have to cost a fortune! Simply getting together with no distractions is the first step to having fun together and making these great memories. Read on to see our favorite budget friendly family activities!

Family Movie Night In
Going to the movie can be expensive. Tickets are costly even during off-peak show times and the available snacks are not only expensive, they aren’t health conscious and leave much to be desired. Even worse – most theatres do not allow you to bring in your own healthy snacks to enjoy. Skip the theatre and head to the couch! Host a movie night once a month and let each family member pick the movie. Pick names from a hat to see the order and enjoy the show. Pop fresh popcorn and sprinkle with a little bit of sea salt and grab some fresh fruits or chocolate covered almonds for the sweet tooth of the family!

Cook Off Competitions
Who is the master chef? Invite everyone into the family kitchen and challenge everyone to make a dessert, dinner, or appetizer. Set a time limit and encourage everyone to be creative with all ingredients available in the kitchen. If you have a large family, set one person as the judge beforehand who doesn’t cook/participate or know who made what. For smaller families, make a scorecard ahead of time and have everyone give a score of 1-10 for categories like taste, presentation, and creativity. Winner gets bragging rights!

Family Olympics
Who is the fastest runner in the family? Who can solve the puzzle the fastest? It’s time to get answers to some of these very important questions! Get a plan in place and head to the park on a sunny afternoon for your first annual family Olympics. Decide ahead of time what types of races or events you’ll want to compete in and get ready to give it your all!

Head to Head Game Night
As computers, video games, and mobile game apps have taken the world by storm, many forget just how fun board games or card games can be! Bring back old school and try a family game night. Put all cell phones and other distractions away and enjoy each other’s company. With so many board games and card games available, your family won’t have trouble agreeing to which ones to play!

Hopefully reading this has given you inspiration and ideas for some wallet friendly activities for you and the entire family to enjoy!