CASA DE CHEAPSKATE: Family Fun Night

"We all Scream for Ice Cream"

This family night was born from a purchase at Dollar Tree. These fantastic little ice cream dishes gave me the ideas to base our family night on ice creams.


These little ice cream bowls were perfect for dairy-free raspberry sorbet. Complete with sprinkles (clearanced down after last summer's Target line).

Our game for the evening was a counting game. Nuts in mini cupcake papers.

And our art/craft was paper cone & scoops to be glued on by my little scoops. ;) Completed with confetti & paper grass.

What could you do at your Casa?

• Make your dinner into ice cream/topping shapes.
• Make homemade ice cream.
• Do this in the winter time (& make SNOW creme!).
• Make a family sized sundae (each member is in charge of a topping), the length of your table!
• Finish the evening getting a 'real' ice cream (I recommend the super cheap cones at Lion's Choice!).

Casa de Cheapskate: Family Fun Night "DINOSAURS"

Friday night we enjoyed another FAMILY FUN NIGHT. We did it DINO-style.

Here's what we did...

Cooked our Tyson dino nuggets. Steamed some broccoli 'trees'. Then propped them up between the dinosaurs. I tinted their cups of milk w/ blue+green food coloring & called it, 'dinosaur blood'.

Our collection of dinosaurs made the table setting & atmosphere.

After our supper, we learned a new dinosaur song:

I'm a Mean Old Dinosaur

(Author Unknown)

(Sung to tune of "I'm a little Tea Pot")

I'm a mean ol' Dinosaur

(Make a mean face)

Big and Tall

(Gesture hands big and tall)

Here is my tail, here is my claw.

(Gesture hands behind your back for tail and make claw hands)

When I get all hungry

(Rub your tummy)

I just growl

(have the kids exaggerate their grrrowl)

Look out kids I'm on the prowl.

(I tickle each of my kiddos' tummies)

Then we made a cool craft.

After a dinosaur hunt, for all the dinosaur books in our collection, we ended our quiet evening with some story stories & facts.

How you could up this ante:

• Dress the part. You could go dino or caveman.


• Get some vines (crepe paper) & hang from ceiling or your dining room light.


• Make a volcano. Small scale or go crazy with it.


• Dinosaur shaped cookies.


• Dino bone dig. Just get a small container (I like using the under the bed storage units) & fill with sand. Put any type of little bones (or anything resembling one) in the sand & have your little paleontologists dig them up. You could even add brushes, magnifying glasses, or any other 'archaeological' devices.


• If you're good with breakfast for dinner (one of my favorites), there is a great instant oatmeal with dinosaur eggs.

Hope your FAMILY FUN NIGHT is dino'tastic!

Casa De Cheapskate, Family Fun Night: CIRCUS

Family Fun Night: Greatest Show on Earth (originally posted, Aug '08)

Ladies! and! Gentlemen! Children of all ages!

A couple of weeks ago, I found this pink hat & tie at the dollar store.
And was inspired (I use that word loosely) to have a family night, Circus Style...
because, well, it usually is a circus here anyway.
Our dinner was clown faces comprised of cherry tomatoes for eyes & noses, cucumber smiles & ears, brocoli hair... with a side of grilled chicken breast & soy cream cheese (as a dipping sauce) tinted red (pink).
For dessert, barnum's animal crackers -- off a barnum plate.
After eating our clown faces, we decided to create clown faces with BINGO dobbers & elbow mac.

Then there were carnival games to be played, inspired by genius (my 4 yr old).
Including the ONE RING GAME: little balls being tossed through the hula hoop.
Also a crowd pleaser are foam rings being caught by the big orange bowl on Momma's head.
And my bargain game from a garage sale, the tossing game.

Candy of course, must be included...
so we used our candy as sticky animals in their cages (paper).

The final act of the night included our circus kids picking out something for Daddy to juggle.
The only rule was that it must be edible.

So after our final act, we enjoyed necterines!

And then it was over, because I sang...

Do you have a great family night to share? Then, please share it! We want your ideas!

Whatever you do with your family, HAVE FUN!