My Top 10 Free (or almost free) Activities

It seems like people are spending more and more money these days….and not just on big vacations, elaborate birthday parties, etc.  I’m talking about everyday stuff…going out to eat, taking their kids to over-priced play places, etc.  Whatever happened to some good old-fashioned free fun?  Here are my own personal favorites, in no particular order…

1.Take a walk.  I absolutely love going for walks.  Anywhere, anytime.  As a kid, I spent nearly every weekend at the park with my family, hiking and walking in the creek.  When I went to college, I would walk with my roommate or with Matt, and poor Matt never got to escape!  After we got married, we just kept walking…and when I was pregnant with our first son, my mom and I would walk 2-3 hours (sometimes more!) a day! Now, you can find me pushing my two boys in the double stroller in our beautiful neighborhood. Who doesn’t love a good walk?

2. Go to the library.  I also love the library.  Anywhere with books, actually, but especially the library because they are free! I love sitting among the rows of books, I love the smell of the library, and I love taking my boys there to pick out a stack of books.  If you don’t frequent your local library, you really should. I wish we had more time to go there, too!

3. The dollar store.  While it’s not free, it’s pretty close! (well…depending on how full your cart is when you make it to the checkout lane!) Anyways, you can probably find me in the aisles of the dollar store once a week or so, usually with my kids.  It’s so fun for them to be able to pick out a new toy every time we go, and I don’t have to worry about how much it costs.  But I actually like to go there by myself, too.  They always have something good if you look hard enough—just last week I found some plastic bins to put the boys’ toys in, which I had purchased the day before at Wal-Mart for $4 a piece.  Needless to say, I returned those to Wal-Mart the next day!

4. People-watching.  Ha, that sounds a little creepy, sorry!  I’m just talking about going to the mall and sitting, enjoying the diversity of the people around us.  We don’t go to the mall very often (obviously, since Matt and I are always looking for the bargains…the mall is not the best place for bargains!), but when we do go there, I love to just find a bench and watch people walk by.  I like to see what they are wearing (good or bad), what kind of strollers the other mommies have, what people are talking about.  I know, it’s weird….but it’s fun for me, and it’s free!

5. Go to the park.  This one became more important after I had children, of course.  I’ve always loved to go to parks, either to hike or just sit around and enjoy the day, but after becoming a mommy, I’ve really come to see the importance of having local parks.  We are lucky enough to live smack dab in the middle of three parks, one of them being the biggest one in town (VanderVeer).  It is such a joy to walk (or drive) to these parks, open the van door, and let the kids run for the playground.  No entrance fee, no hassle, just a good time.  And no matter how many times we go to the same little park, they still want to go back tomorrow!

6. Checking the mailbox.  Yes, you can make fun of me now!  I’ve mentioned in previous posts how much I love to get mail, but I just have to say it again.  I LOVE getting mail!  Letters, packages, magazines, anything! (except bills, of course…) When I was in college, my family was so good about sending me mail…my roommate always laughed at me because I only lived 30 minutes from my family but I always had the most mail! And when I lived in Spain for a semester, I absolutely loved coming home to a little yellow slip of paper that said “you have mail waiting for you at the post office”.  I was such a lucky girl!  I have to say, I haven’t gotten as much mail at our new house, so for all of you friends of mine out there, drop me a letter or something! I’ll return the favor, as you know…I love sending mail, too!

7. Sitting on my porch (porches).  One of my favorite things about our house is the back porch/sunroom.  It is so bright and sunny in there, and I love to just snuggle up on the couch with a book.  When my boys are napping, this is usually where you can find me…grading papers, reading, writing these blog posts.  I love how the room is filled with windows, and how it’s always toasty warm in there.  And speaking of porches, I also love my front porch.  Last year we got a rocking chair at a garage sale, Matt painted it for me, and I would sit out on the front porch and rock my little boy to sleep.  I think that “front-porch sitting” is becoming a lost art…no one does it anymore! I’d like to bring it back into style…so if you have a front porch, get yourself a rocking chair and do some sitting!  Matt and I always joke…what we look forward to most in “retirement years” is sitting on the front porch drinking lemonade.  Sounds good to me.

8. Going to church.  This probably shouldn’t be so low on the list, but I’m just writing as I think!  My family has always been faithful church-goers, and I’ve tried to do the same with my own little family.  Unfortunately my husband works on Saturdays, which is the day we go to church, so I’m not always motivated to go (let’s face it…taking two kids under 4, and soon a third baby, by myself is not exactly easy!), but I am thankful for my family members who go with me and help me out.   Church has always been one of my favorite places, I love to sit and listen to the music, listen to the words of our pastor, and think about all of the wonderful  things God has given me in this life.  No matter how you choose to worship, don’t ever take it for granted.  We are lucky to live in a place where we can do it freely, and I hope that my children grow up to love Jesus and the church as much as their mommy does.

9. Lunch with the family.  As I’ve said before, our family is super close.  In fact, we are all together every Saturday after church, usually at my grandma’s house.  These lunchtime visits have been a staple in my life for as long as I can remember, and I know this family-oriented activity has made me who I am today.  I value this time with my family so much—being able to get together, share our thoughts (good and bad) about our week and about what’s going on in our lives, and just enjoying each other.  Playing cards (another thing that should be on this list! Totally free, yet hours of fun!), eating good food, and being with the ones we love…that’s what I call a good day.

10. My journals.  This may not be something that you enjoy, but perhaps you have another hobby that makes you happy.  For me, it’s always been writing.  I’ve kept a journal (or numerous journals) for as long as I’ve been able to write by myself…and I’ve kept all of them! It’s so fun to go back and read them sometimes, to see what my life was like and what I was happy or sad about at the time.  When Matt and I got married, I kept a journal of our first year together, and gave it to him on our anniversary. And as soon as I found out I was pregnant the first time, I started writing to my firstborn.  Now that he’s 3 ½, I’ve almost finished his second journal, and my second son has two as well.  And their baby sister has one now, too! It’s a lot to keep up with, but I enjoy it immensely, and I love to picture them reading the journals someday when they are older (my mom kept “summer journals” when I was little..she would write down all of the fun things we did while I was off school for the summer.  These journals are some of my most prized possessions. You can not put a price on that!).

How about you?  What are some activities that make you happy, that you love doing, and most importantly that don’t cost a ton of money (or any money at all!)??  Please share!!!