I may be a grandmother, but I'm not grown up yet. I still know how to have fun and how to enjoy spending time with the grandkids. Here are some ideas of ways you can enjoy your children or grandchildren without having to spend a lot of money. But you do need to have some imagination and remember what it was like to actually PLAY before the kids had video games, computers and DVD's. Some of the items below can be done in the house or outside. This is a mixture of indoor and outdoor activities.
1. Spend a lazy afternoon setting out on the back patio playing jacks or marbles. To us it may be just something we used to do. But to a child who have spends to much time with electronics, the simplicity of jacks and marbles.
2. Is your child an animal lover that loves to go to the zoo, but trips tor the zoo isn't in your budget? Go to your local Dollar Tree or Walmart and buy a few inexpensive bags of Wild Animals. Designate one room in the house that the child doesn't normally get to play in as the Zoo. Allow him/her to set up exhibits around the room i.e. the zebra area, the giraffe barn, etc. Print up some tickets for other members of the family (Mom & Dad as well) and then take the whole family and visit "The Zoo". I have played Zoo so many times with Garret that I could probably run a zoo. We have a blast. If you have Lincoln Logs, they can build enclosures with the Lincoln Logs.
3. Tea Parties for little girls are always a big hit. And believe it or not sometimes, you can even get the brothers to participate with the right temptation. We play tea party with one of my real tea sets, but you can buy child china or plastic tea sets for around $5 if you don't want to use your real ones. Print or hand write an invitation to the tea party and give one to each child in your family. I keep a cheap plastic tablecloth around the house for these occasions. You can buy one for $3-$5 at Walmart and Dollar General. I like to buy the 108" rectangle so we can use it for many things. I make popcorn and buy the package of the little mini cookies. I fill the teapot with their favorite drink (milk, tea, juice) and we set on the floor and hold a tea party. With the vinyl table cloth under us as our table, spill are of no concern and clean up is really easy. I let each child have her/his turn to serve the "tea" and goodies. We hold little miniature adult conversations while we snack and just have a wonderful time "visiting".
4. Hold a car/truck show for your little auto enthusiasts. Most little boys go through the car/truck stage. But a car show can not just be a simple "sit your cars out and we'll look at them". Put a stool at the bathroom or kitchen sink and run a little bit of sudsy water. Give each son/grandson a rag to "wash" the cars he wants to enter in the car show. Then let him use another soft cloth to dry and "buff" his car until it shines. Let them sit the cars up in the designated car show area and then the family can walk around and judge the cars. You can print your own awards and cut it out in a circle and glue a ribbon to it. If you have more than one child entering cars, make enough awards that everybody gets one. Here are some award ideas: Shiniest Blue Car, Best Semi-Truck, Favorite Firetruck....you get the idea.
5. Hold a play yard sale. For some reason, children love to emulate what they see us do. Buy or make some play money and set up a yard sale at your house. Let them "shop" and help them determine how much they have to spend and how much what they want will cost them. I like to dig in the toy chest for items that were once favorites but haven't been played with in awhile. Buying their own items back will give them something new to occupy their minds for awhile and the money lesson is very educational.
6. Dominoes is a great game to play with young children who are learning to count. They have to count the dots on the dominoes so they can match them up. And there is just something fascinating to a child about playing with dominoes. When you are done playing the right way, you can always let them line them up and touch one to watch the rest fall. Endless hours of fun with something that is so simple.
7. Bingo is another great game to play on rainy days. It helps them learn their numbers and letters together. You can even go to the birthday party aisle and buy some of those cheap packages of little gift bag items and put it in a "treasure chest". Whenever someone bingo's, let them get a gift from the treasure chest. This works well for two reasons. You get the fun of spending quality time playing with the kids, but when you need to get back to housework, they have a few new toys to occupy them for awhile.
8. Hold a Barbie fashion show. Trust me, you would be surprised how much your macho little man who is all boy will even want to be involved in the fashion show. It's not so much about him wanting to play with Barbie as wanting to spend the time with mom and sister. Let everybody have several turns dressing Barbie in various outfits and "walking" her down the runway (Hot wheels track can make a great runway if brother has some.) The use the same theory on the awards for the car show and do some awards for "Best High Heels" "Prettiest Outfit", etc.
9. This is a great idea for a long winter day when you've been snowbound for days and our sick and tired of being in the house, but can also work well for once a week or once a month family night. Take the family to "dinner and a movie" without leaving home. Prepare the kitchen ahead of time. Keep another plastic tablecloth on hand that is red & white checkered and keep some frozen pizza in the freezer to be prepared for this one or order delivery. It's good to have paper plates and cups as well so you don't have to spend a lot of time on clean up. Put the checkered tablecloth on the table and decorate light some candles to put on the table for atmosphere. If your dining area has any "lower" light options, adjust the lights so they are so bright. Have everyone "dress" for dinner in their favorite Jammie's, lounging pants or sweats so they will be comfy for movie time. After dinner, provide the kids with a pillow and blanket to get comfy on the couch or floor of their choice, put the movie on and turn the lights off. I recommend you print some "movie tickets" for them to turn in to attend. It adds to the something special effect of the night. Stop it midway and have intermission where you can serve them drinks and snacks to munch on for the remainder of the movie.
10. Spend some time introducing your children and grandchildren to "The Family". Most of us have boxes and books of old photos of when we were growing up and when our children were younger. Drag out all the old pictures and sit down with the kids and look at them. Tell them a lot of the stories about their Uncle's and Aunt's when they were little and even some about their grandparents if you know any of their stories. They will love learning about your life when you were little and the older children love looking at themselves when they were babies and hearing the special stories you remember about them.
