Motivated Mommy Monday's: Frugal Fun

Yeah, it’s almost spring! Around here that means getting out and about to enjoy the return of our friend the sun. It also means summer is not far behind. That realization has me planning out activities for the summer. During the spring and summer I like to plan at least one fun activity a week for the kids. I do this because I feel like it is sooo important to have fun with our kids. Not just important for them, but for us too. Sometimes being locked up in the house with the kids can be exhausting, and in turn; can cause lots of animosity and irritation between parents and children. So, it is definitely good to get out and have fun together. We as moms need that refresher and our kids need the fun. We do after all want them to enjoy their childhood and have lots of fun memories, which hopefully include us and exclude trouble. However, as we all know taking the kids to places like museums, amusement parks, zoos and water parks can rack up financially. Thankfully, with a few fun filled summers behind me I have come across a lot of cheap and great ideas. So, I wanted to share them with you guys and hopefully learn a few new ideas from you too.



1) Find out if your local museums or zoos have free days, or maybe even a few hours each week when admission is free.

 

a) A lot of museums do this at least once a month. Because of all the cold this winter we had to plan a lot of indoor activities, so I did my research.

i) I found out our children's museum was free on Thursday nights from 5 to 8. It made for a great family night. I also plan on taking my son again soon with some of my girlfriends and their older boys for a mommy/son date.

ii) The science museum also has a free night; Tuesdays from 2 to 5. My kids love the science museum. Jeremiah really enjoys the dinosaur exhibit and Cherish loves the crystals. There were also lots of other fun exhibits for them. However, they are not quite old enough to really understand these exhibits yet so this museum is somewhere I would only take them for free right now.

b) Our zoo even does a few free days each year, usually on holidays like MLK day or President’s day. I think they even did New Years day last year.

c) One final suggestion, if your museums or zoo do have a few hours free once a week or once a month PLAN OUT your trip BEFORE you go. Know exactly what exhibits you want to visit and how long you can spend at each one in order to see everything in the allotted time. Remember because it is free it might be crowded. Thursdays at the children’s museum certainly is, but Tuesdays at the science museum are sometimes often vacant. It really depends on the time period.

2) Find out if some of your favorite places have discount days.

a) For example, we have a jump place right down the street from us. On Thursdays they discount their rates from $8 a kid to $5. Parents are always free but can still bounce and children under two are free. For the last two years, we have gone several times all three of us for a total of $5. Best of all, they both love it. This year though we have to pay for Cherish, but 10 dollars for the 3 of us is still a great deal.

3) Use coupons, memberships and club passes.

a) Every year we get a membership to ONE of the kid’s favorite places.

i) Usually, the zoo because they have not been known to have free days in the summer and our kids love it there. Also, because it is a pass we can use when we travel to other cities all over the country.

ii) Trust me, if you know you will use it even just two times it will be worth it.

b) Coupons are also great! We always use coupons at places like Chucky Cheese.

c) Finally, check and see if some of your favorite places have club passes, where if you go there so many times you get one time free. The jump place I mentioned above has a club pass. For every eight times you go and pay you get one time free. They also have shirts you can buy. If you wear the shirt when you come in you get a discount.

d) Check around; if you know you are going to spend a lot of time at a particular place this spring and summer wouldn't it help if you could get some sort of discount?

4) Set up group trips to do events like bowling and skating.

a) Most places offer discounted rates for groups so if you set up a church playgroup not only will you have extra fun because all your friends are there but you can also save money.

5) Plan a camping trip.

a) This is something that can be fairly cheap if you can stop yourself from going overboard.

i) With small kids keep it to one night, maybe do it in your backyard or a friends the first couple of times.

ii) If you don't already have a tent or other camping essentials think of the purchase like this you are investing in lots of future fun. When I was growing up we spent almost every weekend camping at the lake. Depending on where you go and what you already have this can also include fun free things like fishing and rafting.

6) Pick fruit at a farm.

a) We like to go pick blueberries every summer at a local blueberry farm and I think this summer we will also try a strawberry farm a couple of hours away. Check to see what’s around you.

b) This is a great activity and cheap too. Usually you only pay for what you pick, and it is much cheaper to pick it at the farm than to buy it at the store. You can freeze most of these fruits for up to 2 years or just have a cooking extravaganza.

c) It is also a great way to get a picky eater to try something new. If he picks it himself he is much more apt to like it, after all, he's invested in it.

7) Attend story time at you local library.

a) For some of us this is pure torture, trying to keep active kids quiet for so long. But if your kids are more laid back why not try it? Even if you have an active kid you should try it. You might even find it is worth the torture, one of our libraries gives away prizes which often include free tickets to museums. And eventually your kids will learn to sit still.

b) Join the summer reading program. Usually if a kid reads 10 new to them books (or is read to) they get one book to keep. You will just have to see how your libraries program works.

c) Barnes & Noble also has a story time every week and they usually include a craft so it is lots of fun.

8) Check out Chick-Fil-A's events schedule.

a) If you know what that is you are BLESSED. If not sorry. Chick-Fil-A is a great Christian based fast food restaurant. Very family friendly. They are always having cool events and giving away GREAT free food. We have play dates at ours all the time.

i) One of ours has an event every Friday called Mini Moo it includes a story time, balloon animals, face painting and they even pull out some cool toys like mega blocks and play doe. I love it because my kids can sit and listen to the story for as long as they can take it. Then, WHEN they get antsy they can leave the playground and return to the dinning area to play with the toys.

ii) Our other Chick-Fil-A has a mad scientist night. One of our local science teachers comes and does cool science experiments with the kids.

iii) They also have family night with a clown, face painting, and balloon animals.

iv) Then there are a ton of one time and annual events.

(1) For their anniversary (in the summer) they always do Cow Appreciation Day. If you dress as a cow you eat free. Lat year one of ours had a petting zoo and a helicopter that dropped 200 stuffed cows with parachutes from the sky. Seven of the cows had a years worth of free Chick-Fil-A.

(2) They have also done events like Star Wars Night.

9) Check around for dollar movies.

a) AMC usually offers $1 movies on Wednesday mornings during the summer.

i) Often they are movies that have been out for a year or so, but young kids could careless they just like to see movies on the big screen.

10) Feed the fish or ducks at a local pond or lake.

a) Kids love this!!! When my son was little we had to hold him by the belt loop or keep him in the stroller because he would try to jump in after the fish.

11) Get creative.

a) Go to a candy factor and see how it is made.

b) Or do like Mandy @ Capitol Heights Mommy did with her daughter this weekend and go to Petsmart or another pet store to look at animals.

c) Take them on a tour of a fire house.

d) Drive to a local airport and watch planes take off and land.

12) If all else fails take them to a park.

a) We like to rotate parks so that the kids don't get board with them. However, we can do that because we live in an area where there are lots of parks.

i) If you only have one or two parks in your area I suggest taking some items along with you to add something new and exciting for the kids.

(1) For example if you have one you can take: a bike, or power wheels, a skateboard, skates, sidewalk chalk, kites, sand toys, etc.

(2) Finally, our favorite item to take to the park is...dunt, dunt, dun: A FRIEND. Let me tell you, we have had some great park playgroups! Everything from power wheel playgroups to Easter egg hunts; they have all been a blast for the kids.

(3) You might also consider driving to the next big town and visiting their parks one day.



Finally, when my son was little (before my daughter was born) we lived in a small town, so I know how hard that can be when trying to entertain kids. My advice: don't give up! We would car pool with friends to the next big town (30 min. away) just to take the kids to a new park. Now that we live in a big city we often drive an hour or so to visit some really cool parks. I'm sure with a little research you can find some awesome and cheap things to do.

If you are new to a town, ask around, meet new people. If nothing else you might be able to have play dates. My friend Lisa just meet a mom at the grocery store last week because their boys (who turned out to be a week apart) would not stop talking and playing together in the check out line. They exchanged numbers and had a play date. Then, at the play date found out their next kids are due a week apart too. I bet they'll be friends for life! Oh, and did I mention Lisa's new friend is new to town and Lisa is her first Houston friend.
See, it works! Get out there, meet people, ask around about fun places to take the kids, use your internet, get creative. Go get going. Now! Go, go! Oh, and tune in next Monday for some more great ideas, I still have a few to share and hopefully you guys can add some more. Please share if you have some creative and cheap ideas.



MEL