by James Baker

Created on: October 09, 2009

In these trying economic times, we are all looking for ways to cut back on our spending. The area of life which is the easiest to drastically reduce spending without reducing enjoyment is family entertainment spending. During the economic boom, my family would go out to dinner on a regular basis (sometimes three times per week), would go to the movies, take trips, and purchase tickets to every museum in town. Now, due in large part to my pay being reduced by almost 50%, we have had to find other ways to enjoy that family time that is so crucial for happy, healthy, families. Here are a few ideas that have worked for my family of four (myself, my wife, and our two boys: ages 4 and 18 months). I only have boys, so these ideas definitely have a little boy perspective to them.

1. Free Zoo: Every kid loves to look at animals, and the zoo has long been a part of our regular entertainment schedule. If you still want to go to the zoo, research your local zoo to see if they have a free day. Many municipal zoos offer free admission one day per month (like the first Wednesday of the month). If you cannot go to the zoo on these days, or if your zoo does not offer free days, a little bit more creativity is needed. If your kids are like mine, they do not really appreciate seeing a rare tree frog that is nearly extinct. They just want to see some animals, and enjoy the experience with their parents. A great place to take kids is the Humane Society. They will be able to see many different dogs, cats, birds, rabbits. Some locations even have reptiles. You can also use this experience as a teaching moment to help your kids understand the importance of responsible pet ownership. I also take my boys to pet stores to look at the fish. To little kids, this is the same as visiting a major aquarium.

2. Go on a train adventure: Kids are usually fascinated (or at least my boys are) with trains. You can usually go to a train museum or find some refurbished train experience, and pay a hefty fee in admissions. I take my boys on the local commuter train on Saturdays. We travel 3 or 4 stops and then get out and go find a park somewhere. Younger kids can usually ride for free, so this is a nice cheap way to travel. After accounting for the cost of gas, as well as the wear and tear on your vehicle (not to mention the environment) the $5.00 that I pay for a train ticket ends up being a better deal on its own.

3. Go to a small airport: My 18 month old loves to point out the small planes that often fly overhead. Previously, we would often go to air museums to see the planes, but I found that significance of the transition from propellers to jet engines is lost on him (and also on his big brother and mother). Now I take him to the small airport near our house. He can watch the planes take off and land, and we can walk around and look at all the different planes. This is more fun for the kids anyway because I am not so afraid of them destroying museum pieces.

4. Build a fort: Some of my best childhood memories included the building of forts. We built couch forts, bunk bed forts, and even a grass fort. The best part about these forts for kids is that it is something that they built, and can take pride in. It does not matter if the fort is any good, as long as they like it. Sometimes the best forts are simply a blanket thrown over a couch. It is amazing to watch the creative mind of a child explode once they get inside the fort. These are just a few of the things that I have found can be done for little to no cost. The most important thing is to remember to look at the world through your kids eyes, and create special times and memories for them.

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