50 Cheap but Creative Ways to Have Fun ...

You shouldn’t ever let being on a tight budget keep you from having fun. Back in the day when I was younger; as I don’t consider 50 being old, I knew better than to ask my parents for money in order to do things. My siblings and I found cheap and creative ways to get rid of boredom without spending any money.

We would get together with our cousins that lived close and turned old plastic into an impromptu slip and slide. We used empty toilet paper rolls, paper towels rolls, and soda bottles filled with beans and rice for instruments. We found plants to use as “food” along with homemade mud pies and we entertained ourselves for hours. We might have driven our parents crazy, but we had fun.

We didn’t wait for vacation times before having fun. We had fun every day and it really didn’t matter what we did. We had fun because we were together and we enjoyed our times together.

I don’t think I would enjoy spending my Saturdays now shaking a homemade maraca or beating a coffee can drum, but there’s nothing stopping me from being creative during my downtime. I don’t spend my days looking at a tablet or computer screen or totally immersed in chores. I like to find a new cross-stitch pattern that I haven’t done or pull out my jewelry makings supplies and let my creative juices flow.
Here are some cheap but creative ways to get out and enjoy your weekend.

1. Take a Flip the Penny Hike. Assign Each Member as Either Left or Right. when You Get to a Fork in the Road, You Flip the Penny to See What Direction You Will Go in. Make Sure to Keep Track of Where You Are in Order Not to Get Lost

2. Use Technology and Have a Scavenger Hunt

3. Ask Everybody to Cook Something and Meet in the Park for a Picnic

4. Design and Create a Kite and Go to the Park to Fly It

5. Learn to Urban Forage. This is Picking Fresh Vegetables, Fruit and Other Edible Plants around Your Town, if Allowed

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6. Begin Collecting Natural Things like Heart-shaped Shells or Rocks and Take an Entire Day to Get It Started

7. Start Your Own Vegetable or Flower Garden

8. Find a Free Bicycle App for Your Smartphone and Explore an Area of Your City You’ve Never Been

9. Go to a Flea Market and Look for Vintage Items from Your Childhood. See if You Can Find Your Favorite Toys or Memorabilia

10. Learn to Geocache. This is a High-tech Treasure Hunt Game That is Played All over the Entire World

11. Have a Recipe Swap with Friends and Make the Other’s Recipes to Enjoy Together

12. Create a Gift Jar for Someone’s Birthday. Find a Beautiful Jar, Decorate It if You Want to, and then Fill It with Brownie, Cookie, or Hot Chocolate Ingredients

13. Host a Cookie Party. Everybody Makes a Dozen of Cookies and then Swaps with Each Other. Just Make Sure Everyone Takes a Dozen Different Cookies Home with Them

14. Host Dinners with Friends and Take Turns. This is Not as Expensive as Going out to Eat and Everybody Gets a Turn to Be Hostess

15. Have Potluck Dinners with Different Food Themes. Everybody Will Bring a Different Cultural Cuisine like Chinese, Thai, Italian, Mexican, Etc

16. Food Art Parties: Have Everybody Bring a Food That is Creative and Edible

17. Hold a Food Contest on a Budget. Everybody Must Cook a Dish but Spend Less than $5 on It. Try Everyone’s and Vote on the Best

18. Hold a Julie and Julia Project. Find a Cookbook That Interests You and Begin Going through It. Remember to Blog as You Go

19. Create Your Own Recipe Book about Your Favorite Dishes and Give It to Someone Special

20. Hold an Ugly Cake Contest. All Your Friends Need to Make an Ugly Cake. Vote for the Ugliest and then Enjoy All of Them

21. Hold a Karaoke Night and Theme It to a Certain Decade

22. Check Your Local Craigslist to Find Free Concerts Happening near You

23. Host a Movie Marathon Where Everybody Brings Their Favorite Movie

24. Host an Independent-film Marathon and Watch Free Indie Movies Online

25. Take a Day and Look for Free Street Performers in a Nearby Large City. during the Summer You Should Be Able to Find a Ton

26. Host an Open Mic Night. Invite Your Friends Who Consider Themselves Poets, Comedians, or Musicians and Have Fun

27. Host a Cultural Day and Find Museums That Offer a Free Day. on the Way There You Can Listen to Classical Music. Later on in the Evening, You Could Watch a Classic Movie

28. Contact Your Local Theatre and See if They Use Volunteer Ushers. Some Theatres Will Give Free Tickets to Volunteers Who Either Clean up after the Movie or Help Seat Guests

29. If You Are a Parent and Have Friends Who Also Are Parents, Host a Barbecue That Allows the Adults to Catch up on All the Latest Gossip While the Children Create a Show to Perform Later That Evening

30. Utilize Social Media to Create a Flash Mob. You Are Going to Need a Large Number of People and This is Going to Require Some Work but It is a Lot of Fun to do. Check out Some Flash Mob Videos on YouTube to Inspire You

31. Have a Clothes Swapping Day. Everybody Will Bring Accessories or Clothes They Don’t Wear Anymore and Everybody Leaves with a New Outfit

32. Change Homes for the Evening. Staying at a New House Can Be Freeing of Sorts. You Don’t Have to Worry about Anything Just Sit Back and Relax in a New Environment

33. Trade Hobbies. Lend a Friend Your Bicycle and You Figure out How to Rollerblade

34. Exchange Books with Friends. after Everyone Has Read Their Books, Host a Book Party and Discuss the Best Parts of the Book

35. Host a Board Game Night. Have Everybody Bring Their Favorite Game and Have Fun

36. Barter Your Expertise to Someone else in Exchange for Theirs. Help a Friend Get Their New Website up and Running in Exchange for Them Teaching You How to Cook

37. Have a Garage Sale Where You Don’t Accept Money, but Instead Barter Your Goods. List Everything You Have for Sale on Social Media and Make a List of Things You Are Looking for. You Will Be Surprised at All the “new” Stuff You Will Find

38. Exchange Ideas. Ask Friends and Family How They Spend Their Days off and You Tell Them Yours. You Can Try Each Other’s out and Let the Others Know How Well They Went

39. Trade Videos with a Family Who Lives in a Different State. Each Family Plans a Fun Day and Videos It then Sends the Other Family the Video at the End of the Day

40. Exchange Blogs. You Let Your Friend Host Your Blog While You Host Theirs Especially if the Blogs Are about Different Things. This Allows Each of You to Be Creative about Something New

41. Make a Digital Product about Things You like but Donate the Proceeds to Your Favorite Charity

42. Create a Video Blog and Share Things You Are Passionate about

43. Go to Your Local Animal Shelter and Volunteer to Be a Dog Walker. You Could Also Help Them Create Fundraising Events, Help with Grooming, or Just General Care

44. If Your Local Hospital Has a Children’s Wing, Call to See if You Can Come Entertain the Children with a Sing-along or Dress up as a Clown

45. Volunteer at Your Local Zoo. Some Might Require You to Volunteer for Specific Times Others Might Allow You to Come when You Can

46. Be a Volunteer at a Park for a Day. You Can Clean up Litter in between Relaxing and Reading

47. Google Your Local Charities and Find One That Interests You and Go Volunteer for a Day

48. If You Have Elderly Neighbors, Go See if They Could Use Some Help with Housework or Cleaning up outside

49. Create a Midnight Run and All Proceeds Go to Help the Homeless

50. Host a Bake Sale in Your Neighborhood and Donate All Proceeds Go to Your Favorite Charity