Free {or cheap} activity ideas for friends and family

This week I am working late shift - this means I get to work until midnight, but I can enjoy the mornings at home!

On Monday morning, Stefano and I went hiking and brought Canito with us. The day was hot but we were blessed by some clouds and we managed to walk perfectly without much effort.

The whole activity lasted 2  1/2 hours and even Canito was tired by the time we reached home (he was tired but we were shuttered!).

There is a path that connects two small towns (Venta Melchor and Alcaidesa). People can easily walk through it and enjoy the view of the Mediterranean sea.

During our walk, we reflected on how many free {or cheap} things we could do as a couple, without spending a fortune - it may especially work for couples with kids!

Hiking is one of these activities: you get to spend a day (or few hours, like in my case) in the nature: doing something healthy and spending time with your loved ones without a PC or television that reduce the time of conversations.

poor quality pictures....but Stefano isn't trying to fly away, there is Canito running towards him :)

How many times have you simply stayed at home or gone to restaurants because there was nothing better to do, or you had no better ideas? We did it sometimes!

We realised that due to laziness or lack of ideas, there have been days where we stayed home instead of going to the beach because we weren't even considering the idea. We'd rather spend the afternoon at home instead of taking the car and going to an amazing beach 40 minutes away!

That day, while sweating like a pig enjoying the hiking and the view, I promised myself that I had to make a list of all the activities I could think of and keep it in the house. This way we can check the list to get some inspiration {and I won't forget all the activities I thought about, since I have them black on white}.

If you think you have the same problem, or you just want to save some money, come up with a list of your own. Some ideas are:

- Hike in a natural park: find a natural park near your home and plan a day or few hours out!
- Pic-Nic on the beach/park: prepare a basket full of food and bring your dogs and kids to a  nearby park or beach and enjoy the day;
- Play some sports like soccer or freesbe in the nearby park;
- DIY spa treatment: make some natural scrubs and enjoy a relaxing day at home. Family with kids have two options here: 1. kids can join the fun as well, if they are old enough 2. ask a friend or family to care for your kids for just few hours;
- Movie {at home} night: pick a good movie, prepare pop corns and make the room resemble a Cinema :) you can do this as a couple, family or night-in with friends;
- Play some board games: if you are looking for a fun night-in this is a good option. We have some board games and lately we have been playing Monopoly Hotel and Carcassonne;
- Puzzle night: this is highly reccommended for families with kids!
- Visit a free museum or look for local festivals around your city/town: many times we simply don't look for this stuff because we think we live in a small town. If you look closer though, you will always find some local festival or a gallery show for free/ low price entrance.
- Do a photoshoot: this is fun for the kids and good practice for photo amateurs;
- Call some family or friends and organise a dinner {at home}: everybody can cook something and you can spend the night playing games. Also, if you have a playstation/wii available, you might try some competitions [we have ping pong, beachvolley...they are super fun!]

What ideas did you come up with?

Until next time,
Daniela