WFMW: How I Plan My Family Fun Activities

One of the reasons I started this blog was that everyone was always commenting on how much fun stuff my family does and asking how I find out about all of it.


I decided that if I had a blog, I could just pass all the info along to everyone, and then we could all be doing fun stuff :)


It turned out that was a lot of work...so I started slacking a little on that part of it.


But I do want to share some of my fun-seeking secrets with you.


{Guess they won't be secrets for long}


{Not sure they ever were...it just sounded good to write it that way...}


So here we go:

My #1 Tip is to plan ahead!  I am already planning/searching out things to do with the girls for The Holidays.  Lots of activities require tickets etc., so I want to be prepared and not wait until the last minute.  Plus, it usually saves me money to plan ahead. 

Another tip is to make a budget.  Decide how much you want to spend on family activities and then find the stuff that fits into that.  Otherwise, you can end up spending A LOT of money on stuff that wasn't really worth it in the end.  One thing you might try is one "paid" activity per week, and one free one, (example, go to the Children's Museum on Saturday, and do a picnic at the park on Sunday). 

One more tip is to be flexible!  I find out about a lot of stuff at the last minute.  For me, that's fine because I am always ready for fun.  But also, you need to realize that plans change.  Sometimes the weather doesn't cooperate, someone gets sick, or the place is closed.  The key is to readjust and make the most of the things you CAN do.

Now, if you want to know how I find out about all the great stuff we do, here are some suggestions:


First, I check our local online newspaper.  I go to the Entertainment section and search Things To Do for the date I want to plan an activity.  They are always listing fun things to do, and it gives me lots of ideas too.


One trick is that I always search ahead.  For example, this week, I went on and searched all the weekends in October to see what was coming up. 


Another resource I use is a local blog, Deals For Dayton.  She is always listing local activities and deals for families.  She even has a Kids Eat Free section and that is SUPER helpful for when we want to eat out for cheap.  If you're local, you will for sure want to follow her blog.


Another good idea is that when you go someplace you like, make sure and either follow them on Facebook or sign up for their email club.  Often I find out about great events right from the source. If you are worried about getting too much "junk" email, you can do what I id and create an email just for that kind of stuff.  I always use that address when I sign up and I don't check it everyday, but only when I want a coupon, (I get multiple ones per day), or to see if something fun is happening.

I also go to the surrounding city websites to see what they have going on.  We live in a suburban area and if there isn't something going on in my city, then I am probably likely to find something in a surrounding city.

Some other good ideas to search for fun activities are:

-Your Library Website for Story Times and Events
-Searching for Fall and Winter Festivals in your area
-Asking other moms/families around you what fun things they do
-Get an Entertainment Book.  They have great coupons and list dates for things like The Circus, Shows, etc.
-Check The Parks and Rec websites
-Local Museums for special events
-Look at last years calender and see what you did...then see if those same events are available around the same time.
-Spend some time on Google.  Start searching for things that are family friendly within driving distance that you would want to do.

I hope this helps as you plan for all of your local family fun! 

Next week, I will be posting on how I plan and find Vacation Family Fun, so be sure to check back for that.  Lots of inside tips on how to get good deals and travel on the cheap!

I am linking up with We Are THAT Family for Works For Me Wednesday!