Two Dollars CAN Buy Happiness!

Are you all sitting around bored? Need something to do, but don't have a lot of money? I have the perfect activity for you! All you need is paper, pencil, a car and $2.00 for each person.

We have done this activity on numerous occasions - with just our family and involving other people - and every time it is a huge success.

Have everyone write their name on a strip of paper, fold it up and then throw it into a bowl. Mix the names up and have everyone draw one. Who ever you draw, that is the person you are going shopping for.

Arm everyone with $2.00 each and hop in the car. You are really going to need to go somewhere that $2.00 will actually be able to count for something. This is where dollar stores and Wal Mart actually come in handy. What you buy isn't going to be high quality anyway, and let's face it, that's not going to be the point.

Now the fun begins. Everyone is to spread out on their own throughout the store and buy a gift for the person they drew, using only their $2.00. Have a time limit and a meeting place. Half of the fun is trying to keep others in the store from seeing what you are buying. Make sure to tell everyone that once they purchase their gift, it needs to be in a bag so that no one can see what you have got.

Everyone now gets back into the car. The following step can be done in several different ways. We have done all of these, just be creative and make it fun.

1. Go to McDonald's and order a bunch of fries to share

2. Go get ice cream cones

3. Go home and sit around the living room

4. Go to a local park 

Where ever you decide to go, keep with the theme and spend as little as possible, but make it a fun outing. The point is you are together and having fun.

Now is the time to unveil what you have bought. Taking turns, each person is to tell who they got, several things about that person that they admire and why they bought what they bought for that person. They then present their gift to them and it's the next persons turn to go.

This is a really fun, bonding experience. The best part? It's time consuming and cheep. To this day I still have a mug that Jessi bought me and a picture frame from Jeff.

Go out and HAVE FUN!