Fun Cheap Family Day Activities

The following post has been written by Graham Rowlands from CheapDude.com. From cheap eats, to cheap travel tips, Cheap Dude helps you save money on everything.

Family day falls on the third Monday of the month every February in most Canadian provinces, and this year it lands on February 18^th. While most provinces call it “Family Day”, if you live in Manitoba or Prince Edward Island, you will know this day as Louis Riel Day or Islander Day respectively. The only province that celebrates family day on a different day of the month is British Columbia, where it is celebrated on the second Monday of February.

If you have kids, schools around the country will be closed on Family day. This article is designed to give you some ideas of how to spend the day, while spending as little money as possible. Most of these ideas are free, or very cheap. Here are our best frugal Family Day ideas:

Skating – Assuming we don’t get a freak heat wave, chances are it will still be pretty chilly out on Family Day. Most cities around the country have skating rinks outdoors where you can take the kids to burn off some energy for a few hours. If the weather doesn’t permit, there are also many indoor skating rinks where you can take the kids for free.

Tobogganing – Another weather permitting option, but given that many places around Canada are expecting lots of snow in the next few weeks, tobogganing is a great way to spend the day. Don’t own a toboggan? Most dollar stores have plastic mat toboggans which are a great inexpensive option.

Visit Your Local Library – Many libraries organize special activities on holidays. Even if they don’t you can take the kids to pick out a book to take home or use the free internet access.

Swimming – Find a local indoor pool and take the kids for a swim. If your city doesn’t have an indoor pool try to find a friend with a condo or apartment as most come equipped with indoor pools.

Fast Food Play-lands – What kid doesn’t love fast food restaurants? Find one with a play area and let them run wild for an hour or two. It’ll help them burn off anything they eat there too!

Build A Fort – I don’t know what it is, but as a kid, building forts was so much fun! Turn one of the rooms in your house into a magical place for the kids to hang out and enjoy some snacks. If the weather permits, try building your fort out of snow outdoors!

Paint The Town – This activity requires snow on the ground. Next, fill up some spray bottles with water and food colouring. Take these spray bottles to your closest park and make some fun colourful designs in the snow.

Arts & Crafts – Head to your local craft store and grab some supplies. Let the kids go wild and design their own masterpieces. Assign prizes for the designs to make it even more fun!

Bowling – Many bowling alleys offer early week specials. Since family day falls on a Monday you can take advantage of these savings.

Have A Tea Party – Bake some delicious treats with your child then end off with a fancy tea party.

Movie Day – If you don’t feel like going anywhere, have a movie day. Pop some pop corn and have a marathon of movies. If you have more energy, get out of the house and go to the movie theater.

Board Games – This will require a slightly longer attention span, but grab some games and play. To make it interesting, switch to a new game every 30 minutes.

Make A Family Calendar – Sort through all your family pictures and assemble a family calendar to give out to other family members. This will really embrace the “family” aspect of Family Day.

Host A Talent Show – If you need to entertain multiple kids, have them put on a talent show where they can showcase their greatest skills. Have lots of prizes for all the participants.

Go To The Zoo – Most Zoo’s are open family day and some offer Family Day specials.

Visit The Museum – Slightly more expensive option, but a great way to spend a day and learn something in the process.

Hopefully something on this list sparks your interest and you are able to have a fun Frugal Family Day.

Have any other ideas? Share them in the comments section