20 Cheap or free Spring Activities

Spring is coming!  Although, if you live in Canada, like me, you may be doubting Spring will ever come this year.  You know, I used to pride myself on being a northern girl, but seriously, I can't take this cold anymore!  Not gonna lie, I wanna punch winter in the face.

Ah....plus one.  Does it even really exist?

Anyways, I am living on the dream that Spring WILL come.  And soon.  And after being inside for so long with the kids due to crazy cold such as the polar vortex this year, I am READY to get out.  So, what is family to do outdoors on the cheap?

1.  Go to the park.  This one NEVER gets old with kids.

2.  Have a picnic.

3.  Go hiking in a conservation area.

4.  Read a book to the kids outside on a blanket.  Or hide in a tree and read a book all by yourself. 

5.  Paint.  Yes, kids can paint indoors, but trust me, your stress level will stay relatively low if you save the painting activities for outdoors.  No more paint on your table, on your floor, etc.  It will still be on your kids, but hey, it's better than nothing.  Let the kids paint rocks for a new type of canvas.

6.  Fly kites.

7.  Ride bikes.

8.  Go on a scavenger hunt.

9.  Take a trip to the farmer's market.

10. Blow bubbles.

11. Go puddle jumping.  Seriously, put all your "that will be one big mess" thoughts aside and do this at least once.  Your kids will LOVE you for it.

12.  Make bird feeders.

13. Make a fairy house. Use or sticks or anything you can find.

14.  Play with sensory bins.  We do the sensory bins indoors in the winter and usually end up with pounds of lentils or dried beans on the floor.  Think of how less of a mess this would be outdoors!

15.  Collect rocks.  Bring them home and attach googly eyes to them.

16.  Climb a tree.  For the big kids of course, and maybe the parents too!

17.  Feed the ducks.

18.  Have a bonfire.  Roast marshmallows and bring your guitar to sing songs.

19.  Yarnbomb a tree in your yard.

20.  Draw with chalk.  Do some serious artwork on your front step.

\

Spring,  I can almost taste it!!

Running Errands on the Cheap

I live in a small town 25 minutes outside of a main city.  All my main shopping is done there because as crazy as it sounds, I don't want to pay three times as much for the same groceries.  We do most of our stuff in the local city like go to church, swimming lessons, etc.  Maybe if you are like me you have some experience with a trip into the city ending up costing way more than you hoped because of those little people in your car complaining they were hungry or you ended up driving from one end of the city to the next 5 times because you weren't organized.  Here are some tips I have learned to minimize my expenses when going out.

1.  Avoid meal times.  This isn't always possible, but when you can avoid it, run your errands when it isn't meal time.  That way you avoid you and your kids getting HANGRY!  You know, hangry...when you are hungry, and then you get angry?  We are a family of hangry people, I swear it is in our genes.  Sometimes when the husband or I are being short with eachother the other one looks at the other and replies, "honey, do you need a sandwich?"  Speaking of which, a sandwich sounds really good right now...

2. Pack food.  If there is a chance you are going to be out for awhile, or around meal time, pack a lunch or snacks.  Truth is, if you have kids with you the chances of someone getting hungry if you are out of the house more than 20 minutes is pretty high.  Might as well pack some food for most trips just in case.  My kids have water bottles as well that they take with them quite often.

3.  Have a back-up plan.  Sometimes no matter how hard you try to be organized, life happens and you find yourself in town without food and hangry people. Have a back up plan for where you will buy food if this happens to avoid spending more than you want.  For us, we either go to the grocery store for snacks or get a 5 dollar pizza at one of the local pizza places.  Even if we buy 2 pizzas because we are REALLY hangry, it is still cheaper than buying dinner for our whole family through the Mcdonald's or Wendy's drive-thru.  (and don't judge on the drive-thru...if you have three kids in car/booster seats and you are on your own you know how difficult it can be to take your kids in and out of the minivan over and over again on an errand trip.)

4.  Plan your route strategically.  Write out what you need before you go and what stores you need to go to.  Then plan your route according to location.  This will help avoid you spending more gas than you had hoped because you are driving all over the city.

5.  Go by yourself.  I LOVE grocery shopping by myself.   If you can have someone else watch your kids while you run errands this can make the trip faster and less chance of spending more money in so many ways.

What do you do to avoid spending money when you are out?

Getting Kids to Eat Healthy

Getting kids to eat healthy can be a challenge, but there are ways to make it easier.  Here are a few things that I've learned to get some good foods into the little ones.

1. Start early: If you can, start as soon as they are on solids.  My kids have had green smoothies from a very early age.  People are often amazed at what they drink, but it's only because they are used to it.  And hey, if your kids are older, tell them it's a "Green Monster Smoothie."

2.  Section Plates:  You'd be amazed how excited kids could get over having their food divided into little sections.  Here are a few we've had at our house:

Homemade mango salsa, some leftover sausage (okay, maybe not the healthiest option, but everything else looks good!), tomato salsa, cucumbers, rice crackers, tortilla chips, and eggplant bacon!

Grapes, rasperries, blueberries, raw vegan strawberry cheezecake, peaches, and a date stuffed with natural peanut butter with an almond tucked inside!

Rice cake crackers, pretzels, plantain chips, oranges, grapes, raisins, bananas, carrots, cucumbers!

3.  Take your kids berry picking, or to a farm where they can see how the food is grown.  When kids are involved in the process, they are more likely to eat the food.

4.  Let them get messy!  Eating can be messy, especially some fruits, like peaches! ;)  But to me, the mess is worth it if they are learning to love food that is good for them.

These are just a few of the ways I've managed to get my kids to eat things that are good for their bodies. :)  What about you? Do you have any tips?