Time To Get, "Summertime Creative"!

With gas prices on the rise, bare grocery shelves, and bored kiddos following you around.... it's time to get "Summertime creative"! With summer comes much longer days. And longer days come with bored kids that apparently do not find reading a book entertaining enough! But with gas prices on the rise and steeper grocery bills..... it hasn't been very easy keeping the family comfortable and entertained. However, there are ways to get your family smiling again without it costing an arm and a leg!
Imagine that you're all professional chefs tonight and you want to design an original menu unlike any other. Dig up some goofy looking aprons, tuck in towels, and give everyone on the team a duty to perform in the kitchen (age appropriate, of course!)
Everybody start digging through the pantry and refrigerator. Pull out anything and everything! Spaghetti served on steak? Canned veggies mixed with cheese and served on toast? Get creative and have fun! My personal favorite was mixing up bowls of pancake mix and allowing each kiddo to add an ingredient of choice. I've seen everything from cut up apple pie, left over casserole, to even smarties! You'd be surprised at what works! After y'all have cooked up a storm, using only what you had in the home.... set the table nice with whatever you have and take turns passing your dishes!
Beach a bit to far from home? No problem! Set up a beach day in your backyard! Everyone's got one of those little plastic pools or has a neighbor with one. Dig out the old boom box and set the radio or pile up the cds and designate someone to DJ! I've found it fun to even roll out an old cooler and cram it full of snacks, juice boxes, cold sodas, etc! Don't forget the beach towels and old blankets!
Start making phone calls to all your friends! Have your kids invite their friends! And have yourself a "crazy hair day"! Have no worries for we're not talking about anything permanent by any means, but it could get a little messy and best to be done outside! Mix up a packet of kool-aid with warm water and start dipping the hair.  Or even better.... mix the kool-aid with a bit of hair conditioner to make it more applicable. Choose different shades! Get creative! Leave on for about 30min and rinse! This array of fun should only last in the hair for a couple weeks!
Another great day at home with the family is to set up a backyard campsite! Pitch that old tent or get creative with a good old fashion close line and blankets! Designate a safe spot for a little campfire just big enough to tell spooky stories around or make smores! Feel free to go the extra mile and set yourself up an outside movie night too!
We're all feeling the stress of high gas prices and noticing that even a gallon of milk is costing more than plastic surgery, but there are ways to keep our kiddos from complaining about boredom without breaking the bank. Goodness, if you had a clan the size of mine you could even set up your very own car wash and make a few bucks! Sounds like a great idea actually.... You'll have to excuse me for I've got an assembly line of boys to get busy!