Family Fun Frame

A lot of times I feel the need to go and do something. Most days when this need strikes me, I don’t even care what it is, I just want to go somewhere and make a memory. Unfortunately, The Husband and I are pretty boring, so we do the same handful of things over and over without very much spontaneity. So I decided to make a list of all the family fun activities I wanted to do this summer. But a traditional list on a piece of paper is too boring, so I made a cute one.

It only took about an hour to make, and I already had most of the needed items, so this was a relatively inexpensive project for me, somewhere around $12 I think. Here’s what you will need to create one of your own:

• Empty frame
• Chicken wire
• Spray Paint
• Staple Gun
• Clothespins
• Permanent Marker

I laid the chicken wire out to flatten a bit while I spray painted the clothespins and let them dry.

After the wire had flattened a little while (the length of an episode of How I Met Your Mother, to be precise), I stapled the wire to the frame. Then, I wrote everything from my list onto the clothespins and put them on the wire. I was supposed to be thrilled with my new creation, but it seemed kind of boring.

So I got some red spray paint and sprayed the chicken wire. So you should do that step between flattening the wire and stapling the wire. Now it looks much better, see?

I put a small jar under the frame to collect the ones that we’ve already done, and we’ll likely recycle some of them to repeat! I wrote on the clothespins some specific things that we want to accomplish over the next few months. A few activities will require tickets or a coupon, so I love the idea of keeping it in plain sight, giving us something to look forward to!

I think I’ll revamp this project once the Itty Bitty is old enough to understand, and when she says she’s bored or there’s nothing to do, I’ll tell her to go grab an idea off the frame. I’ll probably color code the clothespins, to differentiate between activities that cost money and the ones that are free. It will also be a great teachable moment because she can learn to save money to go toward some of the more expensive activities, and reaping the reward once we have enough! You could even write the amount needed on the bottom of the clothespin so the kids know the goal. There are so many ways to customize this, I can’t wait to really put it to use!

Does your family have a summer fun list?