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Add your ideas for cheap (as in, "low priced") family activities here:


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Jealous of your equestrian entertainment.

 

Library story time.

 

Library special events--i.e., the "fairy tea party" next month, $5/person.

 

University arts program has lots of free and low-priced entertainment. Music, theatre, dance, etc. We saw a "theatre for young people" version of Babe, the Sheep Pig, child ticket $4 and adult ticket $6.

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hiking, biking, geocaching.

 

Kite-flying

 

Bird watching

 

gardening

 

museums? Some have fairly inexpensive family passes

 

Our local newspaper has a section each week devoted to family activities in the area - many are very cheap or free

 

Our homeschool group has a low rate for ice skating and bowling. The whole family is welcome.

 

Anne

Edited by Anne
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When we lived in Wyoming, we lived at the foot of the Bighorn Mountains. There is SOOO much up there, I couldn't even begin to list it all. We saw everything from amazing wildlife, rock formations, ect. to ancient petroglyphs. It was awesome, and it was all free. Checking your state's tourism bureau can be absolutely invaluable.

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Sledding - all you need is a garbage bag or a piece of cardboard

 

Game Night - break out the board games

 

Go for a picnic (ok, it's a little cold here for that, but maybe it's warmer where you are....)

 

Frisbee and Frisbee golf - here the schools/parks have golf courses set up

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We do a lot of family movies, games, Wii, on-line games played together, playing music and other indoor activities you can do as a family. In the summer we play four square, basketball, kick ball, some weird variations of tennis and volleyball, swimming. Of course, we have a large family so there are plenty of participants and someone can sit something out if they want. It really costs a lot to take our whole group anywhere so that doesn't happen too much. Movies twice a year, the zoo once a year, the occassional trip to a science museum, aquarium.

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nature walks

camping

day at the park

 

check with your libraries for special events

community theaters might have free performances

check with college/high-schools for plays/sporting events

 

during the summer, in the Austin, TX area, movie theaters do a free family movie 1 or 2 days a week

 

neighboring towns (around here, anyway) often hold various celebrations/festivals on weekends

 

a Sunday drive

 

:)

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My parents used to take me on picnics in the graveyard. It sounds so morbid to tell this to people, but we used to go to a very old graveyard and the gravestones were fascinating.

 

I loved it as a kid.

 

I love hanging out in graveyards! Seriously! :)

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My parents used to take me on picnics in the graveyard. It sounds so morbid to tell this to people, but we used to go to a very old graveyard and the gravestones were fascinating.

 

I loved it as a kid.

 

I think it sounds beautiful! Graveyards are so peaceful!

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Our libraries have a culture pass program, which allows you to check out passes to different museums in the area. The only problem with it is that they tend to go quick!

 

One thing that I suspect my DD would find fun in our city is a train ride. We could just hop on the Light Rail and ride it from end to end and she'd love it. The cost would be $3.50 for a day pass for me; school kids in my city get free bus/train passes.

 

There's also lots of hiking to do this time of year around here.

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Volkswalking! http://www.ava.org/ I just posted about this last week. Volkswalks are non-competitive walking events. There are clubs in every state and they hold walks almost every weekend. The walks are almost always free unless you want to earn credit and even then it is a very small fee. Many of the walks have a theme or go near a location of interest (we've been to forts, a grist mill, waterfalls, murals, etc)

 

Ethnic festivals or community events. These are usually free or low cost. We've been to a pancake breakfast at the Sons of Norway Lodge ($3 per person for all you can eat pancakes), a Greek festival, apple festival, Asian Community festival, etc.

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My parents used to take me on picnics in the graveyard. It sounds so morbid to tell this to people, but we used to go to a very old graveyard and the gravestones were fascinating.

 

I loved it as a kid.

 

I like graveyards too. We know live back in an area where many of my relatives are buried. I plan on taking ds to the graveyards where we can trace many branches of our family tree. We had a hunt one time to find a relative who had been born in the 1790s.

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These are some things we have done, some are only for the summer months.

 

Free summer movies for turning in a book report

http://www.nationalamusements.com/programs/bookworm.asp

 

 

$1 summer movies

http://www.amctheatres.com/smc/

 

 

2 free games of bowling every day, all summer. You can also buy a family pass for up to 4 adults for $25. We bowl at least 5 days a week in the summer.

http://www.kidsbowlfree.com/

 

 

If you happen to be a Bank of America customer you can get into museums free on certain days

http://museums.bankofamerica.com/

 

 

Our library also has museum passes you can check out. We have seen some great museums in NYC this way.

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PA - Gettysburg (there are plenty of walking trails and monuments)

County Parks (some have environmental centers to walk through as well)

Wading in the creeks (there are so many creeks here!)

Small rodeos (we found one not far from us that is on one night a week)

DC - Plenty of free museums :)

MO - Forest Park (St Louis) has a free art museum, science center (awesome!), the Jewel Box (botanical), and zoo.

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Thought I would start a thread for low cost fun family activities, despite the hard times which many are enduring.

 

Lexington, VA - Horse Center: most venues are free admission.

We attended a dog agility competition last weekend. There are equestrian shows on most weekends.

 

That's nice and not too far for us! I didn't know. Thanks!

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