Just because you're trying to keep the family on a sensible budget doesn't mean you have to do without everything fun. Likewise, an economical evening with the family isn't limited to a night of shadow puppets, though in the right context, even that can be a blast!
Instead of dwelling on what you can't spend money on-and really, at this point, isn't everyone a little sick of harping on the economy?-take this as an opportunity to focus on what's really important; enjoying one another's ...