Creative things to do with my daughters?

You sound like a terrific mom. Visit a local farm, go to a playground, or bake cookies with them and let them each have a friend for a tea party. In the summer, the movies near us have something called movie camp. Once a week, they have a movie for two dollars and bring in entertainment for the kids. You should see if your theatre offers anything similar. They were not first run movies, but the kids loved it. Visit your local police or fire station. If you call in advance, they will often show the kids around the station. Visit a pet store.

Visit Hobby Lobby or another craft store and let them each pick out an age appropriate craft like stringing beads, painting or play dough. Then work on the crafts together.

Get Ice Cream and eat it in a nice park

make puppets and put together a show

have a makeover session and do each other's hair, nails, and make up. Yes I know they are little and little kids shouldn't wear make up but it's fun for dress up, but just make sure it will come off pretty easy because things could get wildly messy.

have a fashion show

make a tent in the back yard (or living room) and have a camp out (even if it is the middle of the day)

make pudding, then put your swim suits on and paint each other with it. This sounds crazy but kids LOVE the idea of making a mess with food.

String noodles and then decorate the bushes or trees with them.

Take your children for a hike around town, the park, or better yet, through a trail in the woods. Let them pick up all the different leaves that they can find. Take them to the library and check out a book that has all the different leaves in it. Go home and have them find all the leaves in the book. Have your 3 yr old glue the leaves onto construction paper while your 7 yr old writes what the leaf is on the paper. Punch holes in the corners and tie it with string. It becomes a book about leaves. I loved doing this with my mom when I was younger. You can do the same with bugs, rocks, and bottle caps. It is very inexpensive and extremely entertaining. This is something that you can stretch over days or weeks. Make it a challenge to find new leaves all the time to add to your book. This is also something that they can keep and show to their children. Good luck, and I hope you have fun!! I am also really into photograpy. I buy my 5 yr old a disposable camera and we go on walks. Whenever we see something that she thinks is cool, she takes a picture. When we get them developed, she makes a collage of everything that we saw that day and dates it. We have one heck of a scrap book going with all her collages. She absolutely loves it. It is also a great conversation peice for later.

You don't need to spend alot of money to do special things. go to the park, pack a picnic lunch. Go for walks, ride bikes. Blow bubbles, sidewalk chalk!

Look into yearly memberships to the zoo and the childrens museum! Our childrens museum...(the kids love and have so much fun every time we go) A yearly family membership is $60. If the three of us go once it is $19, so the membership is well worth the money especially in the cold and rainy weather. the Bronx Zoo also has a great membership price...I think it is $160 for the year which sounds like alot but if it costs $50 to go once...you can go whenever...for $160. If you have family or friends who ask....what can I give ...for christmas. or birthdays. the membership or going in for a membership is a great year long gift!

I do something special with my kids every weekend...usually both days. In the summer...it is mostly everyday. My kids are 4 and 6 so it is easier now...they can both do the same things. They love riding bikes, roller blading, going for nature walks(i make up a game, a list of things to find sothey dont get boared) the park is a few times a week....kids always have fun at he park. Our park is great, there is the playground, a lake...to throw rocks, look for turtles and frogs. They have row boats...I take them out every so often. they have met alot of friends at the park. If you go most satrudays or sundays at a specific time...you will usually see the same families.

special trips...like you have done are great but IMO shoud be only a few times a year. Invest your money in things that will keep them busy each day or week. Bikes...a bike with a handle so you can push the 2 yo on while the 5 yo rides. A skooter, roller blades for the 5yo. the 2yo if they are closer to 3...or when they are roller skates are great! Get kites...we got them at the dollar store, my kids play with them all the time. They are small and cheezy but they do fly, my 3yo niece did good withthe one we go her. Summer is comming so the pool is a great place to go, or the beach for a day!

Look in the newspaper or your local parenting magazine...they have lots of activies mostly free or cheap. usually on the weekends.

when you have no money or little time..or alot of time...go to the park! We are tight on money these days so the park is our place to be....park hop! We go to different parks. Bring bikes, rollerblades, bubbles, kites, balls. My car is a mess with all my kids crap but...everywhere we go there is always something to do. We could go to a parking lot...which we have done and had a fun time...or the kids have.lol.

Find out what your local area has to offer. Here are some free things I do with my son.

1. Storytimes at local library branches.

2. Sign language classes at library

3. Playing at local playgrounds

4. Playing at local sprayground (open play area with lots of water features, fountains, slides, sprinklers...)

5. Go for long walks

6. Head downtown for free movies outside, art shows, local celebrations, etc.

7. Picnics by the water

8. Beach

Of course, some towns don't have as much to offer. Call the library and ask for information on their children's programs. Check out your town's website for activities! I hope you find something.

ADD:

Just wanted to add some stuff to do at home:

1. Turn your living room into a fort. Use sheets, couch cushions, chairs, ec!

2. Turn your backyard into an outdoor funzone! Drag out stuff from the kitchen to use to play in the dirt, make mud pies, build castles, or whatever. Use your garden hose as a low-tech sprinkler. Do you have a tarp? It works as a slip 'n' slide with a little dishsoap.

I have two girls and a boy. They are a bit older then yours. There's all kinds of free stuff or next to free you can do. You don't always have to take them somewhere. Work on a puzzle together? Make some jewelry with cheap beads and fishing wire? Go for a walk in the woods and look at flowers and birds? Read to them? Kids don't really care about having big fun. They care about having time with Mom.

Having a picnic in the park would just cost you the amount for food. Taking them to the playground is usually free. Maybe having a dress-up tea party at home with them and their favorite stuffed toys would be fun? It's good to see a parent spending time with her children!

Picnic at the park, visit a library. You can stay home and bake cookies together and play board games or make crafts.

I have twin boys who are 2 1/2...they love the outdoors and arts and crafts. we go for lots of walks, go to the different parks around us, the beach (we live in florida). we like to go outside and look for things to do as crafts...gather up some leaves and dip them in paint, and press the leaf on paper, take it off and you have a painted leaf...etc. There are lots of books at the library for arts and crafts ideas. sometimes we bake, or we will make our own play dough...or sometimes bubbles...they love bubbles...

library, nature walks, finger painting, park, swimming, dress up