My girlfriend asked me to research and write this article as her 2 nieces are gearing up for their summer holidays and her sister has asked for some ideas (and for us to help out a little). This topic got me super excited. I can’t wait to try some of them out (with or without kids involved).
Once you become a mother or a father, you quickly realize that, unless you keep your spending in check, you can end up broke in no time. So most of the items on this list are free or have been frugal-ed to make them as cheap as possible. Kids don’t need expensive vacations to be happy, and after all, isn’t that the goal of living? Kids want to spend time with their family and friends and have fun. Here are a bunch of ideas that will hopefully get your imagination swarming with ideas.
#1 Treasure Hunt
My best memory (ever) was on my sixth birthday when my parents organized a pirate treasure hunt. I’ll walk you through it so not only will you understand what makes my parents kick-ass but hopefully inspire you to do a treasure hunt of your own.
All the kids had to dress up in the theme of pirates (the costumes and accessories were epic, I had a Johnny Depp style outfit with sword and everything). We were all split up into teams of 3 and given a bag containing a map, a compass and other goodies to keep us entertained along the way. We were all set loose in the local woods with an adult accompanying (but not helping) each team. Then we hunted for treasure. There was treasure in the tress, buried, under rocks and other hidden places. While I imagine it would take ages to set this up it is an amazing way to create new memories and let the kids imaginations run wild. You never know, it might just bring out the kid in you.
There are other methods that you can use to spice it up if you’re a gadget family. One such way is known as Geocaching, where teams have GPS devices and it usually involves a whole host of people acting in teams. This sounds like a great family activity but the equipment seems costly.
~ Eye Eye… Them be treasure in there