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Inexpensive Activities to Do with Your Kids

Karen Weideman — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:18:11 +0000

It’s important to spend time with our children. They’ll only be little for a short while and it’s our job to provide learning opportunities and teaching moments. The problem is, many people associate quality time with expensive outings to the beach, eating out, and theater shows. Finances are tough for many people. There are many activities you can do that cost little to no money.

1. Go to the park.
2. Watch a dvd and eat popcorn.
3. Make pancakes.
4. Make playdough.
5. Play with playdough.
6. Build something with blocks.
7. Play school. Let your child be the teacher.
8. Paint or draw together.
9. Ride bikes.
10. Go for a walk around the neighborhood.
11. Garden together.
12. Visit a neighbor.
13. Do something special for an elderly person such as clean their house, do their errands, cook, or visit.
14. Write a card or letter to someone.
15. Sing songs.
16. Play video games together.
17. Pray for the needy.
18. Make Oobleck.
19. Go through all of the toys and organize them.
20. Visit a farm to pick fruits and vegetables.
21. Have a picnic lunch.
22. Play board games.
23. Create a photo book or scrapbook.
24. Go camping.
25. Tell jokes.

Also, check out these free winter fun ideas. What low cost fun activities can you suggest?

image (c) Karen Weideman

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Freebie Round-up for 11/11/09

Karen Weideman — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:30:10 +0000

I know how much you all like freebies. I haven’t written about freebies in a long time, so to make up for it here is a round-up of free stuff and giveaways!

Veterans and active duty can eat for free today at Applebee’s. There are six great looking meals that you can choose from.

If you’re a big Martha Stewart fan or if you’re cooking Thanksgiving dinner, you’ll want this free Martha Stewart Thanksgiving cookbook download. Thanks Money Saving Mom!

Quality Health also has a free Thanksgiving recipes ebook. The Freebie Blogger has more info about getting the ebook.

At Little Fun; Little Learning I’m giving away five copies of Tiny Baby Jesus. It’s a hardcover book that retails for $16.99 and would make a great Christmas present.

There is a free military appreciation dinner at Golden Corral restaurants on Monday, November 16 from 5-9 pm.

Download some groovy children’s music from Charity & the JamBand. There are currently nine free downloads in the song of the month archives. You can also listen to other music on their homepage. My kids favorite song is Peanut Butter and Jam.

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf store locations in CA, TX, and AZ will be hosting a Holiday Open House on Thursday, November 12 from 4-8 pm. Join them for a complimentary 12 oz holiday drink.

A special thanks to everyone who has served or is currently serving our country. Freedom is not free and we are so thankful to you and your families for your sacrifice.

image sxc.hu

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A Free Night at the Theater

Karen Weideman — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:48:15 +0000

Theatre Communications Group’s Free Night of Theater program is celebrating its 5th anniversary and returns to theatres across the country on October 15, 2009. You can get a thrilling night at the theatre absolutely free of charge.

Last fall, 650 theatre companies, in 120 cities from coast to coast, opened their doors to over 65,000 new theatergoers. This year, our participating theatre companies will offer even more tickets for free. Join thousands of audience members – from Portland to Charleston, and from Houston to Minneapolis – and explore all the wonderful entertainment your local theatre community has to offer!

The Free Night program online ticket reservation system will begin in most participating regions on or about October 1, 2009. For details on cities and theatres in your area click on “Find a Show” on the Free Night at the Theater website.

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Office Depot Sale & Coupon for Teachers

Karen Weideman — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 19:30:41 +0000

Throughout the month of August, Office Depot has been running some great penny specials each week. Now they’re offering an online printable coupon which is good for 20% off all Carson Dellosa teacher books.

Carson Dellosa offers quality books and supplements for grades preschool through eighth grade. They also have grade books, planners, decorating supplies, motivational tools, resources for parents, and more.

This Office Depot coupon is valid through August 29, 2009, however, Office Depot says that more coupons will be coming in the following weeks. To stay on top of Office Depot sales, be sure to become an Office Depot fan.

Office Depot also has some penny specials going on this week. These end tomorrow, but maybe you can still snag some of the deals.

Glue sticks – 25 cents
Book covers – 25 cents
5 1/2 “– 8” notebook – 25 cents

With $10 purchase, the following items are FREE:
Office Depot acrylic ruler
12-pack eraser caps
8-pack Scholastic crayons

Enjoy the savings!

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Free Tacos at Jack in the Box

Karen Weideman — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 16:06:35 +0000

In case you’re wondering, you’re not mistaken. Jack in the Box just had a free taco day last week. I guess it went so well that they’re having another.

Get two free tacos on Tuesday, August 11, 2009 with this printable coupon. No purchase necessary.

Sounds like another cheap summer family outing.

Thanks, Bargain Briana.

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Kids Eat Free at IKEA

Karen Weideman — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 04:25:33 +0000

Through Sunday, August 16 kids can eat for free at IKEA stores. Children can choose any three kid-sized items to create a meal, including 5 meatballs, mac and cheese, peanut butter and jelly sandwich, kids’ yogurt, 2 cookies, chocolate milk, and more. (Choices vary by location.)

This is available for kids 12 and younger. No adult purchase is required. As always, I recommend checking with your local store to see if they are participating.

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Free Milk at Food Lion

Karen Weideman — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 17:37:49 +0000

Food Lion has another milk promotion going on right now. Buy 6 gallons of milk and get the 7th gallon for free. In the past, Food Lion would print out milk tickets each time you purchased a gallon of milk (with your MVP card), but this time the gallons purchased are showing up on your receipt. This should make it a lot easier.

Normally this promotion varies by area, but when I went to the main Food Lion site without signing in, this showed up on the homepage. Still, it is a good idea to see if this sale is going on in your local area.

This promotion is going on July 22 – October 13, 2009.

image: food lion

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Two Free Tacos at Jack in the Box

Karen Weideman — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 04:32:19 +0000

On Tuesday, August 4th, Jack in the Box will be giving away two free tacos. No purchase is necessary, but you must have this printable coupon.

This coupon is available at participating locations. As always, I recommend calling before making a special trip.

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Download Children’s Music for Free

Karen Weideman — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:16:11 +0000

Right now you can download Charity Kahn’s album Peanut Butter & Jam for free. This is for the first 100 downloads only.

Charity is giving this away in support of Joel Tenenbaum’s defense against the RIAA music-sharing lawsuit. Enter the code SILLYRIAA to get your free music. Hurry, I’m sure this will go quickly!

In case you miss this freebie, you can download Charity’s Song of the Month for free. Currently, there are eight free songs available.

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Free Michael’s Knack Event

Karen Weideman — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 05:47:15 +0000

Michael’s is hosting a free family back to school Knack event. At the event, your kids will be able to use stickers and paint to decorate a metal pencil box.

The event is on August 15, 2009 from 10 am until 1 pm and is available while supplies last. For more information, visit The Knack website.

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