Family Fun on a Budget: May Family Coalition Meeting Recap
🎉 What Happens When You Bring Families Together to Share Real-Life Ideas?
You get a room full of laughter, creativity, and the kind of connection that makes our community stronger.
Our May 2025 Family Coalition Meeting focused on Family Fun on a Budget—a night full of free dinner, prize-filled Bingo, summer activity planning, and family-to-family inspiration.
Whether you’re looking for free summer activities in Livingston County or creative ways to spend time with your kids without breaking the bank, our families had you covered.
📝 What We Did at the Meeting
- ✅ Reviewed Protective Factors that make families strong
- 🎯 Voted on next year’s Family Coalition topics
- 💡 Shared ideas for low-cost family fun
- 🎲 Played Free/Low-Cost Idea Bingo for prizes
- 🗓 Created personal “Plan Your Own Free Day” schedules
- 🤝 Built new connections with fellow parents and caregivers
🔝 Top Family-Recommended Activities
Here are just a few of the real free day ideas parents shared:
- All of our Livingston County Libraries & StoryWalks
- Outdoor breakfast and bike rides
- Park picnics + lake afternoons
- Taco and movie nights
- Visit to Meijer just to ride the pony
- Home Depot and Lowe’s Kids’ Workshops
- Dance parties, backyard games, and nature walks
- …much more!
👉 Find more family-tested ideas (and add your own!) on our Family Fun Padlet.
📊 What Families Told Us They Need
This year’s Parent & Family Survey showed us the top needs in Livingston County:
- 📚 Finding free or low-cost family activities
- 🧠 Managing parent stress and burnout
- 🤝 Developing and maintaining social connections
- 💡 Positive discipline
- 🗣 Affording childcare
These concerns directly shaped the topics you helped us vote on for next year’s meetings.
🗳 2025–2026 Top-Voted Family Coalition Topics
Here are the most popular meeting ideas voted on during the event:
- Managing Big Feelings & Behaviors
- Screen Time for Young Children
- Parent Burnout + Vision Board Night
- Family Craft Night
- Feeding Families on a Budget
- Speed Friending
- Family Bingo Night
- Raising Readers/Literacy
- Potty Training
- Milestones + Development
Families also signed up to help lead or co-plan future meetings. Want to join them? Become a Family Coalition member today!
📸 A Look Inside the Night
📆 Upcoming Events for Families
Looking for free things to do with young children in Livingston County? Join us this summer! More events coming soon!
- June 2 – StoryWalk Kickoff at Howell Library
- June 10 – Playdate at Oceola Township Park, 10:30-11:30 a.m.
- June 16 – Books & Beats Concert at 2|42
- June 19 – 🎉 Family Picnic at Genoa Township Park (Register here)
- June 26 – Playdate at Pinckney Town Square, 10:30-11:30 a.m.
🖱 Full Playdate calendar at GreatStartLivingston.org/playdates
Full event calendar at GreatStartLivingston.org/events
💬 Join the Conversation
Want to help shape next year’s Family Coalition meetings? We’d love to hear your voice.
