I’ve learned, over five years of parenting, that the
cheapest forms of entertainment are often the best. Not just at home, where
craft with household bits and pieces are a bigger hit than huge expensive toys,
but on holidays too.
Bozo has a grandmother who insists on taking him to all the
big, expensive things. Movies, Agricultural Shows, Luna Park, the circus and
more. If there’s a cost of admission she’ll do it. It seems like she’s trying
to buy his love. Husbeast gets frustrated at this, because he feels like it
leaves us with very few things to do when we have him, but I disagree. I know
that with kids, even older ones, the novelty value is key. Yes, Luna Park is
pretty awesome fun, and the Show is full of rides, but so what? Let her spend
all her money on things he won’t remember and hardly appreciates!
Kids get joy out of new experiences, they don’t care how
much adults spend on them! Last year, we took Boo and Bozo to Melbourne for a
family event. The day after the event we had a whole day ahead of us with
nothing to do, so we created a game plan. We packed lunch in backpacks, caught
the train into the city from where we were staying in Ringwood, and gave the
kids my Polaroid camera to play with. Each child had $10 pocket money to last
them the day. Total cost so far? $28 (including the train fare off our Myki
accounts).
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| When is a treat more than a treat? When it includes a train ride! |
From Flinders St station, we hopped a train to Spotswood and
walked to Scienceworks, where we spent at least 2 hours exploring, learning and
playing. We ate our lunches outside in their amphitheatre and hit the
playground, then spent more time in the section for smaller kids, giving Boo
her fun. Total cost so far? $38 – Scienceworks cost next to nothing.
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| Unlocking the secrets of the universe. |
Another train back into the city and we walked through the
Royal Arcade off Bourke St to visit Suga. Suga is a traditional hard candy
store that actually makes their candy out on display for people to see. The
kids were allowed a sample each and used their pocket money to buy a sample bag
to share. No cost there, they already had their money!
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| When you're 4, a playground is all the excitement you need. |
We wandered around the city, taking in the atmosphere – the
kids and I are mad for finding alleys with graffiti, and this time we even
found graffiti artists at work! The kids had a blast in Federation Square
taking photos of birds, passers-by and trams on Flinders St. Tired now, especially with me being 5 months pregnant, and
knowing we had to drive home after reaching Ringwood, we jumped back on the
train. By the time we reached Ringwood Station, the kids had only spent $2 each
of their pocket money and had spare to save and the whole day all-up cost
Husbeast and I around $50 total.
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| I'm a sucker for this kind of thing - Photographer's paradise! |
We do trips like that anytime we’re in Melbourne, finding
cheap or free things to do either just as a family or with friends. My kids
always take a film camera of some sort, and I take my digital one. They always
remember these excursions and talk about them for months – the trip I’ve talked
about was a year ago and Bozo still talks about it everytime we see him!
Why bother spending money on showbags full of junk? It’s fun
to spoil the kids occasionally, but so often it’s true what they say – ‘The
Best Things in Life Are Free’!
I’m linking up with Ann at Help!! I’m Stuck for Things I
Know, and Flogging my Blog at With Some Grace today. Happy Friday!
