50 Free or Cheap Summer Ideas for Kids

My kids are out of school this week so I am relishing my last few days of quite and gearing up for the noise, chaos and fun of summer time! Besides for a few vacations and day trips planned, we will mostly be home this summer, and of course, will be at the pool lots- but what happens when the pool is closed, or the weather isn’t cooperating? This is where the “Mom! I’m bored!!” start to appear. Not wanting to run out and spend oodles of money on entertaining each time they say this, I wanted to share some of our favorite free or cheap summer ideas for kids so that you can have a secret stash of ideas ready for when the boredoms strike.

Some of the best parts of summer are those lazy days where you just lay around and do not much of anything- but any parent knows that often those lazy days turn into kids saying “I’m bored” and you not sure what to say! I am a big fan of allowing kids to be “bored” for awhile, and often out of this boredom, creativity will grow- but sometimes that doesn’t happen and that’s when a few ideas can help. These 50 ideas are all fun for kids and are either free or pretty cheap! They will keep your kids busy, having fun and won’t break the bank.

Make some homemade play dough.
Have a squirt gun fight.
Visit the library and get some new books to read or new movies to watch.
Make cupcakes.
Blow bubbles.
Catch fireflies at night.
Make s’mores by the fire.
Paint rocks or seashells.
Go on a scavenger hunt around the park, beach or neighborhood.
Make a homemade slip n’ slide.
Have a dress up day at home.
Make a “drive in” movie theater at your house.
Eat ice cream sundaes for dinner.
Build a huge fort.
Go for a hike.
Go geocaching.
Plant some flowers outside.
Feed the ducks.
Go backyard camping.
Press flowers and turn them into a bookmark.
Have a DIY spa day.
Have an outdoor tea party.
Visit a farm and pet the animals.
Make a funny movie at home.
Have a lemonade stand.
Make Pom-Pom creatures.
Have a movie marathon in your pjs.
Make homemade pizza.
Make some origami.
Make homemade snow cones.
Write a letter to a far away relative.
Find free admission days for movies, parks, zoos and museums.
Write and create an at-home play!
Have a “mathlete” competition and see who can solve some math problems the fastest.
Play Frisbee.
Make homemade popsicles.
Fly a kite.
Play cards.
Host a playdate.
Make a collage out of magazines pictures.
Have a “chopped” style competition.
Find a free concert in a park.
Play ring toss.
Play flashlight tag.
Play hide and seek at night.
Build a tower out of cut up sponges.
Make a river out of tin foil in the back yard and fill it with a hose.
Make a mini bowling set out of pencil erasers (the pins) and a marble (the bowling ball).
Make an obstacle course in the backyard.
Make an obstacle course in the hall way with some yarn.

These 50 ideas are all either free or pretty cheap and are excellent ways to keep your kids busy when they run out of ideas of what to do- and if it’s hot out, try these 20 ideas for cooling down without a pool!