Creative Ways To Have Family Time
It’s a time where all the distractions are quieted, so we can have the quality time we need as a family. We take turns picking out the event of the evening which always proves to be an adventure with all of our different personality types!
Sometimes Family Night involves breakfast for dinner, at home, followed by a Wii bowling match up, but sometimes it calls for a night out. I realize that can get increasingly difficult taking your whole family out, especially where finances are involved. But there’s actually ways you can go out and have a great time without the added stress of draining your money in the bank. Here’s some ways we find family outings affordable.
Movies
Going to the movies is expensive! If we opt for a family movie, we usually choose a matinee. A lot of places offer a greatly reduced rate for the first showing of the day. If you do a little digging, you might even find nearby theaters that are reasonably priced. One of our local favorites is the Cinemark in McKinney, TX. Adult matinees are $3.25 and evening prices are only $5.25! Kids are $3.25 all day. Definitely a bargain.
Eating Out
Eating out can also be costly when you are feeding more than 2 people. There’s so many places that offer kids eat free programs. We take advantage of these as much as possible. I encourage you to research your area to see where those deals are. Most of the deals I know about are on Tuesdays, because that’s our Family Night! We’ve found them at the following places…
Quizno’s ~ We ate at Quizno’s on Tuesday night. Not only did the kids eat free but I had a $2 off coupon so we all ate for $10.80!
Dickey’s BBQ ~ Their website says kids eat free on Sundays but our local Dickey’s does kids eat free every day.
Applebee’s ~ Not sure if all Applebee’s offer this, but we’ve enjoyed a Kids Eat Free night on a Tuesday at the Frisco location.
Chick-Fil-A ~ I haven’t personally experienced this one but I’ve heard that Chick-Fil-A also offers kids eat free on Tuesdays.
IHOP ~ I also haven’t personally tried this one but I’ve heard that IHOP also has a kids eat free offer.
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Baskin Robbins ~ Tuesdays are Family Nights at Baskin Robbins! Kids scoops are $1 and adult scoops are $1.50!
Side note…I’m one of those crazy people who brings her camera along on family outings and takes pictures of food!
Activities
Lego ~ My son is a lego fanatic. When I discovered Lego had a FREE Make and Take the first Tuesday of the month, both he and I were ecstatic. He was because it was lego. I was because it was free! You can check online to find a store nearest you. In the Dallas area, there’s one at NorthPark Center in Dallas and one at Stonebriar Centre in Frisco. It starts at 5 PM until supplies last. June’s Make and Take is June 1st and it’s a BBQ stand!
Internet Deals
The internet often proves as a wealth of information for local deals and steals. My favorite local spot to find the biggest bang for my buck is My Dallas Mommy. Another great spot is the Tropicana Juicy Rewards Program. You have to sign up and then you enter points from codes found on Tropicana OJ cartons. There’s lots of great coupons on there for family outings.
Creative Alternatives
When we’re just looking for something different, we opt for our nearest outdoor mall, Firewheel Town Center in Garland. The kids love it because of the big fountain, the path by the little creek, and the playground area. It’s a perfect place to grab your ice cream and settle down for a family game or just enjoy the beautiful weather.
We’ve also tried to get creative and make up silly games for endless laughs. Our favorite is window shopping. Price family window shopping is where you walk by various stores and make up a story about what you see. Example: When walking by Old Navy, I spotted a boy and girl mannequin and exclaimed, “They made those mannequins to resemble daddy and I!” Laughter erupted, because never in a million years, will my body look like that of a mannequin!
I’m sure you’ve also had great family times together. I would love to hear about them in the comments section! It’s always wonderful to get ideas from others! No matter how you decide to spend time together as a family, I believe it’s more important to make sure you are regularly doing something together. Life gets busy way too fast, and before you know it, your kids are all grown up. If we don’t take the time to savor the moments, we’ll look back with regret.
