Family Fun Ideas

Interested in having a good time for very little money?
Here are some of our favorite ideas for family fun on the cheap!

DIY Caramel Apples

Ingredients:
6 apples
1 bag of caramel chews, unwrapped
2 TBSP milk
6 popsicle sticks
Wax paper on a baking sheet. (You may substitute a buttered baking sheet if no wax paper is available.)

DIRECTIONS

Wash each apple thoroughly and dry. Pull the stem from each apple and put a popsicle stick in its place.

Combine caramel and milk in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for up to 2 minutes. (Microwave power and cooking time vary, so keep an eye on it. Stir intermittently.) Allow 30 seconds to cool (or until it is a safe temperature to proceed).

Roll the apples in your caramel mixture and then place on your baking sheet.

For added bling, decorate the apples with candy pieces, tubed chocolate drizzle or sprinkles.
Enjoy!

School Prayer Journal

When shopping for school supplies, have each child pick up a small-sized notebook and fun stickers.

Every week, ask them to record their hopes for the coming days, and what they hope to achieve: good grades, a part in the school play, new friends, help with a problem. Encourage them to write these thoughts down as though they were praying out-loud to God.

To make this a family affair, keep one yourself and share your prayer requests for their lives.

Each week as a family, review the past entries to see where God has specifically answered your prayers. Earmark those entries which resulted in special blessings. Your prayer journals will help the kids to see God acting tangibly in their lives, and this will help to deepen your faith journey as a family.

Be Your Own DJ's

Tired of the noise passing for music these days?

Eliminate the radio by making a mix CD for your commutes with the kids. Have each child list some songs that they especially like and add some of your own. Keep the requests a secret. Download your family's choices via itunes or amazon.com and burn them to a disc. This is a great way to monitor what your kids are listening to, and encourage personal expression.

When playing the CD, have the kids guess who picked which songs. Change up the selections on new CD's to keep the music fresh. Older children can download the family's playlists on their MP3 players.

Home Helpers

One mother has a creative solution for getting the kids to pitch in. Rather than tempting her offspring with monetary rewards, she mixes it up, literally.

She writes the name of each household duty on a slip of paper and puts them into a bowl. Each child gets to randomly pull three chores (each drawing one, and then repeating, to build suspense).

Our mom likes to offer the option to trade or redraw only once, and enjoys watching their reactions.

When everyone has their tasks, an egg timer is set for an hour and kid-friendly music plays throughout the house. The children have to complete each of their three chores in that time.

Lead by example, and draw three chores yourself. Kids will enjoy racing the clock and having limited obligations. You will love having a large chunk of your housework done in a timely manner. Incentives can always be offered to the chore-doer with the best and brightest result.

Stir and repeat as necessary.

Have you got a recipe or activity your family enjoys together? Send it to us: editor@promisenetwork.com, and we may feature it on our website.


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