I enjoy and look forward to entertaining in the summertime and having fun with family and friends. I have 5 ways to do this on a family friendly budget.
1) One year I organized a 4 person monthly Supper Club with friends and/or church members – We had 4 other married couples (no kids) take turns hosting the monthly meal Sept-Dec and Feb-May. There are two ways to do this: Each couple takes a turn to do the entire meal preparation OR the hosting couple provides the main dish & drinks--then the other 3 couples bring a dessert, side, and appetizer. We made some great memories doing this with friends and had lots of fun getting to know some new acquaintances better at church. This is a great way to save money in your dining out budget. Plus, you get to hang out with other adults. We sometimes played cards after dinner but not always. 2) I organized a couples only card night monthly at 7 pm with appetizers at my house. I decided since I came up with the idea I hosted it every month. It was a good thing because I deep cleaned my house once a month! :0) We hosted between 3-4 couples (a good number for cards) and we had drinks, cards or dominoes, and potluck appetizers. We hosted it from Sept-Dec and Feb-May mostly. We felt summers were too busy to keep a regular routine and babysitter. It was fun to laugh and joke around with our friends in the midst of a serious parenting life! My kids spent the night at my mother in laws on the night of cards. We got pretty loud so it worked out great.
3) Eat a Fancy Meal IN – Instead of heading out to a restaurant for a date out, consider making an extra special meal in at home, instead. We have done this as a family or as a couple. Valentine's day is one time we do this often. Yummy crab legs and steak go on sale that time of year so it's a lot more affordable. I of course, use coupons and watch the sales for these evenings in. The groceries for the evening were always cheaper than a meal at a restaurant, the food was so much better, the time spent together was more intimate, and we usually had leftovers (so our dollar was stretched a bit further). I also decorated the table with items from my "party" box to make it extra special.
4) Swap with Friends – trade babysitting nights, DVD's, games, etc. Why spend money renting a movie when you can just swap with friends? One note: Make sure when asking to swap make sure they are interested in loaning them out and swapping. Some people are reluctant to loan or use your stuff. If you break it or scratch it replace it!! I recommend doing it on a monthly basis, that way you always have new movies, new games, and a set night out with a free babysitter lined up. Some friends of ours swap babysitting nights every-other-week, that way one couple goes out on a Friday night while the other couple watches their kids, then two weeks later, they swap. This way, each couple gets one night out each month and one night as a “play date” for the kids per month.
5) Get Creative with family or couple dates – Dates with your spouse don’t have to be expensive and you can have fun for less $$. I have a list of fun and cheap dates in a file in my filing cabinet. The sky is the limit and have fun being frugally creative. It's a game for me to find something cheap to do with my husband! For indoors: Spend the night watching old movies (borrowed, of course), giving back rubs, playing your favorite game (we have 20-minute monopoly and scrabble games). If you don’t want to spend the evening in the house: Head to the mall with a $5 spending limit and surprise each other with what gifts you can buy, pack a picnic and head the park, or be active and go on a bike ride or hike. In my town there are so many free things to do. I subscribe to the paper and seek out those events downtown ex. free museum admission, community events, fireworks, festivals, etc. As I said, go for it be creative!
I hope you all find these 5 tips inspiring. It's just the tip of the iceberg. Don't be shy share with us what you do to have fun and save money this summer as a family, with your adult friends, or your spouse?
