When I was growing up, there was 8 of us in the family. My dad was a bus driver for the Cleveland Transit System and my mom stayed home with the kids. That meant our family budget was pretty tight. We didn’t have money to travel, but mom and dad always found really cool things for us to do. Mom had a gift for making the most mundane thing seem really fun. Now that I am grown with kids of my own, I find myself in the same situation mom and dad were in. I want the kids to look back on their childhood as a fun time in their lives. So, I just did some research and found some really fun and affordable adventures you can take with your family. Here are my favorites!

• Camp Out In The Backyard: My kids love to camp, but Henry won’t venture too far from home. The best solution is to camp in the backyard. This way he will have the thrill of camping with the safety of home just a few feet away.
• Nature Scavenger Hunt: This is so much fun and doesn’t cost a dime (other than gas if you drive to the park.) I will write down things for the kids to find on an index card. Then they take their cell phones and take a picture when they find each item (I prefer a picture of a bug, not the actual bug!!)
• Go Geocaching: This is much like a scavenger hunt using your GPS. There are tons of websites you can visit to get more information on Geocaching in your area. Oh…and free!!

• Learn Something New: This is open to a plethora of possibilities! You can learn a new language, how to decorate a cake, how to give a piece of furniture a face lift and so many more! Most of these are free or will cost you just a few bucks! My daughter had a guitar she wan’t using and passed it on to Caitlin. This is Caitlin learning her first song, “Blackbird”, by The Beatles!
• Go Fruit Picking: We have a local apple orchard as well as a berry farm. Both are less than a 30 minute drive from our home. The cost is what you will pick, which is just put into our grocery budget.
• Take A Bus Ride: Since my dad was a bus driver, I have an affinity for riding on buses! We have a cute wooden trolley that runs through downtown. It is just 50 cents per person to ride and the kids LOVE it!!
• Make Ice Cream: We have a recipe that makes ice cream in a Ziploc bag. It is so good, easy and super cheap!

• Stream A New Show: We live in the south, so our Snowmageddon2016 was minimal at best. We did get 3 snow days out of it, so we had plenty of time to stream a new show on Netflix. We watched “Dawn of the Croods“, which is about the world’s first family is back for more laughs as they discover sports, sleepovers and other wonders in a world of exotic creatures and adventures.

This month on Netflix, there are plenty of shows to keep the whole family happy! The kids recently watch “Degrassi: Next Class“, which is Degrassi’s next generation. These high-tech newbies and returning students navigate real-world high school drama. If you’re a teen, this is your life. And I have a teen and yes, that is her life!

You can stream Netflix from your mobile device, computer, TV or gaming system for less than $15 a month! You can also sign up for their DVD plan if you prefer watching it that way. Either way, you are getting what you want to watch, right at your fingertips! Check out how Netflix is bringing back the 80’s in my post from November! Be sure to follow Netflix on Facebook and Twitter.