Fun Ideas For Money-Saving Family Nights In

*This is a collaborative post.

Everybody knows that taking the family out for entertainment is expensive these days. It’s hard to spend less than a hundred dollars on anything, and sometimes you’re not even guaranteed to have a good time. That’s why we’ve created this guide. We take a look at some fun ideas for money-saving family nights. Everything you’re about to read can be done indoors and is fun. 

Indoor picnic

Top of the list is an indoor picnic. These are a great way to bring the whole family together and really get children interested and involved in having real discussions and getting off their devices. You could spread out a blanket on the floor and then pack sandwiches, cakes, biscuits, and anything else from the pantry like nuts and raisins. Then you could all sit around the TV and enjoy a family classic that everybody loves. It’s the ultimate feel-good experience. 

Puzzle night

Another idea is to enjoy a puzzle night with the family. You could explore brain teasers, crosswords, or basic jigsaw puzzles. What’s nice about puzzle nights is that it gets everybody thinking. You really engage all of your cognitive skills when you’re trying to solve difficult problems together. It’s the sort of thing that children of all ages can do. You can tailor puzzles to an age-appropriate level so that they’re suitable for kids of varying patience. Once kids understand puzzles, they can find them very satisfying. Over time, they’ll learn how to master them and really get the better of them. Eventually, they’ll come to you asking for more puzzles, especially on school holidays. 

Family story time

Don’t underestimate just how much kids love family story time. Going through a book and sharing made-up stories is a great way to bring everyone together and engage their imaginations.

If you have younger children, introduce them to picture books. Get them to explore these and really enjoy the illustrations.

If you have older children, introduce them to novels and chapter books. These have interesting plots that create long-term engagement and make kids want to take up reading and writing themselves. 

Some of the best books for children are fantasy books. These take them to different worlds where they can explore a totally different way of being.

Indoor scavenger hunt

You could also try setting up an indoor scavenger hunt for your kids, sometimes called an Easter Egg hunt. The idea here is to provide your children with clues so that they can find the next item to scavenge. Every time they solve a clue successfully, they get a small piece of treasure with a large piece of treasure like an Easter Egg at the end. These small treats are highly motivating for a lot of children, and it can be fun for adults to create the clues that they need to complete the tasks. Think of it as a bit like orienteering, but with a real payoff at the end. 

Sometimes it’s nice to do scavenger hunts in the garden. This gives you more options and lets kids run around. The best locations are usually woodland areas because there are more nooks and crannies to hide things. 

Arts and crafts night

If you have an artistic family, you might want to experiment with an arts and crafts night. These are a great way to explore your children’s imaginations and get them to work on new projects that they might not get a chance to do at school. For example, you can make collages or greeting cards together, or you can make decorations for different times of the year. What’s nice about arts and crafts night is that it’s all about creativity. Kids can express themselves in any way that they want, and you’re right there to help them. 

All you need for arts and crafts night is a few supplies:

• Ink pens
• Paints
• Canvas materials
• Paper
• Card
• Pencils

Dance party

If you have a very active family, you might also want to spend the night doing karaoke and dancing to songs played through your TV. You can play your favorite playlist and then get everybody to dance along. You could also do dancing with instruction. These days, there are plenty of Zumba and salsa classes you can do over the internet with helpful instructors who will teach you through who will teach you all the basic moves. 

If you want to take this to the next level, you could add some silly costumes. Dressing up for a dance party is always a good laugh. 

Games night

Another option is to have a games night together. This is where you all gather around a board game or some other type of game that you all enjoy. It could be backgammon, Monopoly, Risk, rummy or something else. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that everyone’s having fun and they’re engaged. 

The best game nights are those that you can make competitive and strategic. Kids love working out new strategies to win, and it can be a good way to teach them how to think in a competitive world. 

Build an indoor fort together

If you really wanted to go to town, you could invest in an indoor fort tonight. For these, you’ll need:

• Blankets
• Pillows
• Chairs
• String lights

The more items you have, the bigger the fort you can build. Forts can be used for all sorts of things. For example, kids might use them for games like hide and seek. They might also enjoy them as a space for reading where they feel enclosed and better able to concentrate. 

While it can create a bit of a mess, it’s also easy to tidy up. You just put the pillows back where they belong and put the blankets in the airing cupboard.

Bake together

Lastly, but not least, you could decide to bake together. Give each of your children a different role and then show them how the chemical magic of baking happens. Make sure that there’s a reward for them at the end of all of their effort and they get to eat something tasty.