Having Big-time Family Fun on a Small-time Budget

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My kids are only 6 and 9 years old, and already the flight from our nest has begun. It seems like every week I'm fielding invitations from their friends to spend some time at their house for playdates, or sleepovers, shopping trips and excursions to museums and beaches. I'm happy that they're well-liked and well-behaved enough to get all these invitations, and many times I'm happy to send them off with $20 in their pockets and a promise to reciprocate -- but there are times when I have to tell their friends, "Sorry but we're planning to have a family outing that day". I can't stop my children from growing up, experiencing new things and giving them their independence, but I can and do make sure they have a happy, solid family to return to. I firmly believe that The Family That Plays Together, Stays Together, so I like to schedule family outings two or three times a month. I'm always on the lookout for fun, memorable experiences we can enjoy together, as a family. We are lucky to live in an area that has such a wide variety of things to do, all within a short drive of each other, many of which are extremely kid-friendly -- but they can also be expensive. Going to amusement parks or state fairs or shows can cost over hundreds for the whole family! We just don't have that kind of budget, so I try to look for free or low-cost events. Here are five things I always do to stretch our family entertainment budget: 1) Look for free events There are free family events in practically every city in the US -- the key is knowing where and how to find them. Always check out your local library or civic center; just a few examples of fun, free family activities your city might offer are children's parades, 4th of July parades, or puppet shows. Civic organizations also sponsor international cultural days (like the Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival, Brazilian Samba or Cinco de Mayo celebrations) and other events. Check out your local paper or entertainment magazine, or go online to find out what's happening in your area. Trust me -- I've been writing about local kid-friendly attractions and events for two years, and there hasn't been a weekend where I haven't found at least one fun, free, family-friendly event. 2) Check out your local parents club I joined our local mother's club to meet new parents, find playgroups our kids could join -- and to enjoy their awesome parties! For just a $40 annual fee, members get all kinds of amazing perks: Our mothers club holds amazing Halloween parties, Valentine's parties, Easter parties and winter holiday parties with goody bags, kids entertainers, pizza and crafts, all for free! We always look forward to our Twins Club's annual Ice Cream Party -- we gather at a local park for pizza, soda and make-your-own ice cream sundaes, complete with candy toppings, waffle cups and cones and four kinds of ice cream! They also hold special classes at science museums and outings at jumpy house places or zoos for smaller groups, again for free -- you just need to make sure you sign up before space runs out. There's probably a local parents club near you that offers similar, low-cost or free activities the whole family can enjoy.

Every October we visit a pumpkin patch in Half Moon Bay. Because we go with our twins club, we save 50% off admission and unlimited rides bracelet. And because it's a package deal, the kids even get a cookie and a small pumpkin to take home.

3) Buy museum family memberships. If you have a favorite museum or zoo that you find yourself returning to time and again, consider purchasing a family membership. In many cases, you can recoup the cost of your membership in as little as one or two visits. Many of these memberships also offer discounts on other museums, food purchased in their cafeterias and on souvenirs at their gift shops (actually, another way to save is to warn your kids beforehand that you won't be splashing out for souvenirs!). To stretch out the number of visits we can enjoy, I usually buy membership in July -- that way, it runs until July of the following year, and we get two summers worth of visits to the museum!

A couple of years ago we splurged on a family membership to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We recovered the cost in just two visits, and we visited the aquarium so many times that we didn't even feel the urge to go back for quite a while. I think it's time to splurge on that family membership again.....

4) Take advantage of Free Admission Days. Many museums hold free or $1 admission days once a month. Yes, they tend to be more crowded than on other days, but you can work around that by arriving at the museum exactly when it opens. We've discovered quite a few family favorites that way -- the Exploratorium in San Francisco, Happy Hollow Zoo in San Jose and Coyote Point Museum, for instance. The kids adore these places! 5) Look for coupons and discounts. Why pay full price for admission to a museum or event if you can get a couple of bucks off just by clipping a coupon? When you multiply that by five, it adds up! You can check out the coupon section of your local newspaper or entertainment magazine, ask your local parents group or auto club if they offer any discounts -- or better yet, join Tropicana's Juicy Rewards program. The program offers discounts at over 20,000 establishments nationwide. You can save on food, drink, equipment, lodging, admissions and family entertainment just by buying Tropicana products, collecting the Juicy Rewards points on the cartons and redeeming them for discounts. Check out my first Juicy Rewards post for details on how the program works, and check out my second Juicy Rewards post to see some of the fun ways you can save with the Juicy Rewards program. It's a great way to stretch out your family entertainment budget! Register with and Tropicana Juicy Rewards and get one additional Juicy Rewards Point for free! To get you started, BlogHer and Tropicana have teamed up to offer new Juicy Rewards members a bonus Juicy Rewards point! How great is that: you get one step closer to redeeming a Juicy Reward, at no cost to you. To get your bonus point: 1. Go to http://www.tropicana.com/ 2. Set-up your Tropicana Juicy Rewards account (just take a minute!) 3. Visit the "Enter Codes" page within the site and get started with BLOGG-HER11 * *Note* This one-time use code is valid for new accounts ONLY. Must be entered within 6 hours of creating your account. Win It! One lucky Bonggamom Finds reader will win a $50 Visa gift card courtesy of BlogHer. To enter, visit the Tropicana Juicy Rewards page, then come back here and share a tip on how to have big family fun on a small budget. Extra Entries For extra entries, you can do any or all of the following, (you can only do each extra entry once; please leave a separate comment for each extra entry): 1) Write this on the Bonggamom Finds Facebook Fan Page (leave a comment on this post with your FB id): I joined the $50 Visa giveaway on Bonggamom Finds! 2) Write this on the Tropicana OJ Facebook Fan Page (leave a comment on this post with your FB id): I went to Bonggamom's latest Juicy Rewards post and entered to win a $50 Visa giftcard! Anyone can enter at http://ow.ly/1Gl2Z, ends 5/16. 3) Tweet this (leave a comment on this post with a link to your tweet): Share your money-saving tip on family fun w/ @bonggafinds & enter to Win a $50 Visa giftcard fr @blogherdeals ! http://ow.ly/1Gl2Z #giveaway Maximum of 4 entries per person. This giveaway ends at midnight PST on May 16, 2010; I will draw a winner at random on May17 and post the winner's name in the comments section after the winner confirms acceptance. Click here for complete giveaway rules. For more information, check out the Juicy Rewards official site. And don't forget to visit the rest of the BlogHer Juicy Insiders' posts (links are on the BlogHer.com special offers page )-- you'll have 7 more chances to win! Disclosure: I am being compensated for my participation in the BlogHer Juicy Insiders program. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.