It’s easy to get sucked into the idea that fun and entertainment must cost money. However, there are dozens of ways you can have fun without spending anything at all!
Here are just a few of the many ideas we had… feel free to share yours in the comments below.
Fun Things To Do For Free To Build Relationships
1. Write an encouraging email, text, or letter.
2. Invite a friend over for coffee.
3. Bake something for your family or for a friend.
4. Join a small group or Bible study.
5. Pray for someone and then text them to let them know you prayed for them.
6. Find a funny joke/photo & share it with a friend.
7. Invite friends or neighbors to your house instead of going out.
8. Make a meal for a friend.
Personal Wellness Activities That Are Free
9. Take a nap.
10. Read a book you already own.
11. Count your blessings.
12. Do devotions and pray over your day.
13. Give yourself a manicure or pedicure at home.
14. Go for a walk and pick some wildflowers.
15. Go for a bike ride.
16. Make a bucket list.
17. Try a new hairstyle (on yourself or others).
18. Shop your closet & put together a new outfit.
19. Go to bed earlier.
20. Take a hot bath or shower.
21. Do an at-home facial.
22. Bring flowers from your garden into your home (or to a neighbor’s house).
Things To Do For Free: Entertainment Ideas
23. Play a board or card game.
24. Watch comedy videos on YouTube.
25. Have a family movie night with fun snacks.
26. Find free art, music, or educational classes online
27. Have a bonfire and make s’mores or hobo pies.
28. Listen to a podcast or audiobook.
29. Make a variety of playlists and share them with friends.
30. Camp in your backyard (or your basement).
31. Watch the sunset and/or star gaze.
Free Activities:
33. Go to the park.
34. Go to the beach.
35. Go to the library.
36. Go to church (either Sunday services or weeknight activities).
37. Go to a friend’s house.
38. Visit a museum on a free admission day.
39. Go for a hike at a local nature center.
40. Volunteer at a local mission or shelter.
41. Decorate your driveway or neighborhood sidewalks with chalk.
Free Things To Do Today: Home Improvement
42. Organize a drawer or closet.
43. Weed your garden.
44. Have a garage sale (after you declutter!)
45. Deep clean one room in your home.
46. Implement an “eat from the pantry/freezer challenge” and come up with creative recipes.
47. Catch up on the laundry!
48. Wash and vacuum your vehicles.
49. Defrost your freezer.
50. Wash your windows and let the sun in.
Things To Do For Free in the Winter
Have a snowman-building contest.
Try to build an igloo.
Go sledding.
Go snowshoeing or skiing.
Make a hot chocolate buffet at home (with a variety of toppings).
Drive around looking at the lights.
Write letters (or emails) to friends and family.
Visit the library.
Host a board game night at your house.
Learn to knit (there are lots of online tutorials for this!)
Things To Do For Free in the Summer
Go for a hike, a walk, or a bike ride.
Walk a dog with friends or neighbors.
Visit a local park with friends.
Head to the beach (or a friend’s pool).
Sit around a campfire in your backyard.
Invite friends over to run in the sprinklers.
Have a picnic in your front yard with neighbors.
Pick flowers from your garden or the side of the road.
Watch a sunset or sunrise.
Read a good book while laying in a hammock or on the lawn.
Give yourself an at-home pedicure.
More Fun Things To Do For Free
Free Things To Do FAQs
There are an endless number of fun things you can do with friends all throughout the year.
Consider going for a group walk or having a picnic in the park during spring. Summer would be a great time to head to the beach together. In the fall, you could set up a weekly game night (board/card games) or Bible study. And winter is a great time for a white elephant gift exchange or an at-home pedicure party.
Much of this just comes down to your attitude! Even if you are an extrovert, you can still find plenty of ways to have fun when you’re home alone.
Catch up on your favorite books, TV shows, movies, or podcasts (you can even clean, fold laundry, or exercise while listening to podcasts.) Call a friend. Write letters to special people in your life or just journal for a while. Cook or bake a special meal. Take an extra long shower or bath. Take a nap!
What about you?
Painting rocks and hiding them at a park with the grandchildren.
Recently, we have discovered that our local library has several season passes that can be checked out to a number of local, or within reasonable driving distance, parks and exhibits – Mostly things like zoos and national parks. Great day trip idea.
Great tip! Thanks for sharing!
I really needed this article. Although, we are doing well, we know there are some big BIG expenses coming up for which we need to save. New A/C for the house, and son will need braces for his teeth in a few years. SIGH. We have been eating at home a LOT, and watching netflix, going to the library, and going to the park.
Cleaning and organizing over here!!! Love to play Scrabble too!!!
Play Mahjong on the computer, Organize EVERYTHING I have, color in my adult coloring books, read, work on projects with acrylic paints, mend or alter any clothes that need it, clean my apartment, talk on phone with friends.
We do jigsaw puzzles. They are available at thrift stores and I have a collection at home from which to choose. We play pinochle or other card games with friends. My hubby and I play Scrabble. I write in my gratitude journal, reminding myself of all the many blessings in my life. I try out new recipes. I play games on my computer. I go to either the library website or BookBub and download free books and settle in and read. I have a stash of fabrics so I can create a quilt. We go to the local library and find books on a new topic of interest. And then, of course, there is always cleaning and gardening to do…..but not so much fun!
Riding a bike is something that keeps me busy and not spending money.
I garden (which saves money when I grow veggies), read, take a walk, or I look at my net worth. It’s not very high, so looking at it gives me reason not to spend!
Completely clean the dryer and find the loose change from laundry.
Go through things that can be donated.
Hug my kids.
Repaint furniture and repurpose it.
*Pack a picnic lunch, go to the local park…we like taking bread to feed the ducks from the lake.
*Go on a nature hike with a journal…collect leaves, or take notes about what you saw, how you felt, future goals. From the collected leaves, lay them flat on wax paper & add in all colors of shaved crayons. Then top with ANOTHER sheet of waxed paper. On low setting, use an iron on dry heat setting…the crayon wax will fuse together the sheets creating a “mosaic” placement.
*Go to the local museum (bank of America card holders get in to all museums for free on certain days)
Paint with the grandchildren. We especially like watercolors.
Sew on one of my already paid for projects.
Cruise Pinterest for fun ideas of kids crafts with items I already have.
Read books with the grandkids. We especially enjoy seek and find books.
Bake and eat something from the freezer.
Work on the budget (a sure-fire way to make me not want to spend money) or clean anything. 🙂
Go for a walk, go on a picnic or go visit an older neighbor
Watch the wild birds in my backyard. They have a hotel of houses high on a pole, a bird feeder and birdbath. They don’t have to leave my yard. I hear the babies they are raising and watch them grow up each year.
I look online for deals, then I can justify spending if its a great deal. I also read, or craft. I agree with what Lana said, going outside or enjoying coffee on the porch is awesome!
Go to the gym
Organize a playdate
Volunteer somewhere
Play Nintendo Sports with my girls, bake something sweet, fold the laundry together, watch The Voice and vote for our favorite contestants, head to the library for arts and crafts, listen to music and dance around, clip coupons, organize our rooms, clean out drawers, go through the girls clothes and see what does not fit anymore (which ends up being a fashion show!).
We turn “Switching out the wardrobe” into a fashion show too! I love it as much as the girls do!
Thank you! I have a giant car repair looming and so, so need to read this, actually I need to print it out and glue copies to my wallet and my arms…
This time of year I like to do anything at all outside. We would rather eat in our screen porch than go to a restaurant. I love to sit on my deck with coffee or a cold drink, water my 100 plus flower pots, weed flower beds or swing on the porch swing in my backyard. No way I want to get in my car and go into town where it is so hot and lug some stuff home.
Anything outside this time of year whether it b watering flowers or riding 4wheelers
I looove the library! I always grab a book or two (or five) for myself and my kids load up on picture books. Not only is reading good in and of itself, but there are lots of books that inspire kids to great playtime together that is totally free.
YES!
* Polish my nails
* Play spa/beauty salon with my girls
* Write in my journal
* Become chalk artists (recreate painting masterpieces to the best of our abilities on a sidewalk square)
* Go through photo albums and school memory boxes
* Play the “Would” game (What would you like to be when you grow up; Where would you like to visit one day; What invention would you create and why; What super hero power would you choose; etc)
* Visit Brownielocks website and celebrate a random holiday (Recently we celebrated National Penguin Day!)
I love play spa days and journaling!!
We are settling in a new world..already have a lot of household items arranged in my apartment.instead of buying new stuff..i try to clean and keep the stuff up to date.
There are a lot of other things to plan and discover and that too in a freebie style
I clean house and look at all the things I already have. I have really become an anti shopper! Spending time at home is a joy for me. We have been getting our garden in finally after such a long and cold winter. The evening have been spent working in the yard and drinking orange juice and lemonade mixed together, yum.
Uninterrupted, elusive sleep 🙂
Reading Money Saving Mom !!
That is on point.
Yes