There are lots of ways to have fun with your family for free.

It may take a village to raise a child but you don’t need a fortune to have a fun, rolling in laughter, evening with your family. There are plenty of ways to spend the spring without spending cash. You can….

1) Camp out in the living room with lots of blankets, pillows and flashlights. Eat marshmallows, cuddle up and tell ghost stories. Hell, you can even look them up on the internet. (You’re still paying the bill for it….)

2) Eat breakfast for dinner. Pancakes, bacon and eggs are a fun way to start the day but these favorites are fun to look forward to all day long.

3) Family game night. Do not pass go, do not collect $200, but definitely pour yourself a drink. (What? That’s part of the fun.)

4) Have an art show featuring the kids’ masterpieces. Display the paintings, sculptures and popsicle stick figures. Acquire the most important pieces for your private collection. Discard the rest. (The next big shipment will arrive in the coming school year.)

5) Eat dinner by candlelight. Blow out candles.

6) Have a picnic on the porch or backyard. It’s timeless, not cliché. Because changing the scenery changes the chemistry, and when kids get excited they get giggly. It will be the-absolute-best ham and cheese sandwich ever.

7) Have an Easter Egg Hunt. Or find the Matzo. Or miniature Snickers bars. Just hide things and have your kids search for them. Winner gets to pick what’s for dinner.

8) Most museums have an Admission-Free day each week. (They also have gift shops, so steer clear.)

9) Bake something. Anything. Kids like helping in the kitchen but they’ll walk across the earth for bowl-licking.

10) Put out bowls of toppings – pizza toppings, sundae toppings, taco toppings, omelet toppings. Make-Your-Own Anything makes a meal special. Though maybe not salad.

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