If you have older kids, let them download and install Inkscape. This is a free program that has many of the same features as Adobe Illustrator. They can really get creative. I downloaded it a week ago and would like to set my girls up with it, but I fear it would take all their time and attention! Plus, if you have a blog they can design nifty banners for you. Win-Win! Another is GIMP - like photoshop but again it's free. Both of these are "open-source" meaning they're not little hobbies but huge projects by teams of volunteer programmers. I don't have anything to do with these, other than as a happy user. It's amazing what's out there for free these days. I can't post links to these but google will find them with a simple search.
