The times are a bit tougher than they used to be, our debts go bigger and our wallets smaller. Even the big guys are going bust! But it doesn’t mean we should compromise our entertainment and spend a less quality time with our family. There are various ways to have a good time for free or on a bargain.

There are many free tried-and-tested games for the family to play and enjoy.  A good game for children of all ages is called ‘Memory’.  Ten items are placed on a table and the family have 30 seconds to remember as many as they can.  The items are then covered with a cloth and contestants have 2 minutes to write down everything they can remember.  The winner is the person who remembers most items.

Consequences is also a great family favourite.  The first person writes down a name, the paper is then handed to a second contestant who writes ‘met’ and makes up another name.  The third person writes ‘at’, (a place is thought of), fourth ‘what they did’ (an activity is made up) and the fifth person makes up a ‘consequence’ – what happened.   It can be really funny making up stories of people you know or make up.  Board games such as Monopoly, Ludo, Snakes & Ladders and jigsaws are always popular.  Another great pastime is cutting out lots of shapes and items from old catalogues and dishing them out to children. You could also find some buttons, beads, string, stones, wool and beads, anything suitable for the age groups in your family.  Give each child a selection of items and glue and ask them to make a collage.  They can spend hours making up pictures.

If you have access to a computer, download Google Earth.  Each contestant has to find a specified landmark.  These could be easy or more difficult, depending on age groups.  For example, Blackpool Tower, Australia’s Ayers Rock, Mount Snowdon etc.  There are also many websites where children can do ‘online’ colouring, the Crayola website has lots of different activities, and ‘My Little Pony’ where young children can add a tiara and other items to their favourite pony.  Adding coloured beads and other items.

When the weather is fine there are also more energetic traditional games, such as Hopscotch, Hide & Seek, skipping, tag etc.   Children love competitive sports and games - the more running and chasing involved the better! Five a side Football is great if there enough people in the group and you don’t need to keep strictly to the rules. 

Kids love getting their hands dirty so gardening is a great activity to keep children amused.  They enjoy simple things such as digging, sweeping paths and watering the plants.  Buy some cheep seeds and help them to plant them in their own plant-pots.  The children enjoy watching their plants grow, watercress grows really quickly and they can eat it when the plants are big enough.  Another idea with cress is to make a cress ‘egg head’.  You need a hard boiled egg. Slice the top off and scoop out the egg.  Paint the shell and when dried paint a simple face in bright colours.  Place a small amount of cotton wool inside and moisten it slightly.  Place about a teaspoonful of water cress seeds on top of the cotton wool and leave on a sunny windowsill.  Within days the cress will grow, giving the egg man hair.

Local parks are great places to explore with the family.  Depending on the season, chestnuts may be falling from trees or there may be acorns to collect.  Chestnuts are great as children love playing ‘Cheggars’.  A hole is drilled through the chestnut and a string pulled through, knotting the end.  Two children play against each other, each trying to break the other’s chestnut.  Children love climbing the old trees in the park or running along paths and walkways.  There is usually a playground in the area and children can burn off lots of energy on the slides, swings and climbing frames.

It needn’t be expensive to keep children amused – simple games and activities where they can use their imagination are the best way of keeping the family entertained and your wallet happy. Reducing your going out costs doesn’t have to be daunting. Some debt solutions don’t have to involve drastic measures but might be simple adjustments to your daily routines, like taking your kids to a park instead of buying them another video game each weekend.