Fun and Affordable Activities to Do With Your Kids

Summer is almost upon us and even though we may be planning a couple week vacation of exciting activity for the family what do we do for the rest of the summer? For stay at home moms or dads looking for fun things to do with kids or just for the occasional jaunt on the weekends here are some ideas. Depending on where you live there are a lot of things to do and places to go for family fun without costing a lot of money.

Parks – There are parks practically everywhere all across the country. They vary from parks right in your neighborhood to city parks and state parks, most have playground equipment, jogging tracks, and picnic tables. Many include lakes for fishing or swimming and most of the bigger parks like the state parks have hiking trails to check out nature and local wildlife. The state parks do charge a small fee for entrance but it is minimal and charged per car no matter how many individuals you bring. When you take along a picnic lunch you can make a day of it or if you are at a state park bring along a tent and spend a night or two. Camping is really a great way to spend time with your family and enjoy each others company in a laid back environment.

Many state parks are located near beautiful sights and natural wonders. There are beautiful hills or mountains to climb and cooling waters from natural water falls or ice cold springs to cool your toes on a hot summer’s day. One of our family’s favorite activities is fishing and the state parks in our area are all surrounded by lakes and in some areas they are even next to the ocean. There are many great hotels near Natural Bridges State Beach in California that you can stay at. For families who find themselves on a tight budget these state parks are perfect and have so much to offer.

Festivals – In many parts of the country festivals are an annual event for one reason or another. Whether it is a local fruit or vegetable harvest or a holiday celebration or even a collection of artwork from local artists festivals can be a lot of fun. There you can walk through booth after booth to look at new and interesting things. There are usually all kinds of yummy treats and local specialties to snack on while you are walking around and tons of people to meet and greet.

 

image:en.wikipedia.org

Zoos – The zoo in our city has one free day a week for families. Most zoos offer more activities than just walking through and looking at the animals. They have exhibits that children and adults can actually interact with some of the animals. For instance most zoos now have petting zoos for the younger children with farm animals or some of the more domesticated wild animals. They also have experts who answer questions about the different animals and sometimes even let the children handle some of the more unique creatures. At our local zoo they have a water park and a lake with paddle boats which offers children and adults a place to cool off in the hot summer heat. They even have a small train that runs around the lake and zoo which the children really enjoy.

Museums – If you happen to live in or close to a large city you can make a day of visiting the museums. Most of the museums offer family days and are free one day a week or perhaps have a minimal entrance fee. The science museums offer many hands on or interactive exhibits for kids and adults alike. Many cities now have children’s museums which allow the kids to take part in all kinds of scenarios. Our local children’s museum has an exhibit that allows the children to see what it is like to be a weatherperson or broadcaster. It also has a pretend grocery store where the children can shop and check themselves out at cash registers. There are tons of things to do at children’s museums and because almost everything is interactive parents do not have to worry about the kids touching things. They also offer one day a week that is free to the public. Museums and planetariums are a great way to spend the day with the family and the bonus is that they are educational as well!

Outdoor Theaters and Concerts – This is an activity that also depends on where you live. Most of the large cities have these theaters but some small town do as well. This is a laid back way to spend an evening with your family. If you can not afford the seats you can bring along a blanket or two and a picnic dinner or even some lawn chairs. The concerts are beautiful and the kids can either sit and listen or play nearby. These theaters cater to families and offer good family entertainment. It is a wonderful way to spend a summer evening or afternoon.

Sporting Events – If you live in a small town no doubt there are still football, baseball, and basketball games you can attend at least on the high school level. If you live in a big city or close to one that has major league games many times they offer a free day for families or at least some really discounted seats. Even if you are not particularly a sports fan if you have never been to a big league game you will most likely enjoy the atmosphere and the immensity of the experience. The sights and sounds of the big league are unique and children and adults as well will be fascinated by the experience.

Amusement Parks –If you look online sometimes you can get discounts or package deals to some of the larger amusement parks. Amusement parks are a lot of fun for kids and usually have rides that range from the very young to adult in intensity. Very often they have indoor activities as well and water rides to keep everyone from overheating in the summers but do not forget your sun screen because you will be spending a lot of time outside.

Swimming Parks – Here is another place you will not want to forget the sunscreen! The water parks near us always have special offers either in the form of coupons or certain days where they discount. This is a great way to spend a summer’s day with the kids and some parks even let you bring in your own ice chests and food. Most do require you to rent their inner tubes but it really depends on the park. Check out the parks near you and see what their policies are and pick the one that best meets the needs of your family. We enjoy the park that lets us bring in our own food and beverages because that can get really pricey.

Historical Monuments or Battleships – Get on the internet and check out the local historical sights or some that may be within an hour or two of your home. The battleships are really fun for the kids to see; many times they offer tours of the ships as well. There are submarines as well sometimes that you can walk through. Our family did and we were overcome with the small spaces that our military live in on these submarines! There are all kinds of historical places of interest across the country including some old forts and early settlements that have the original schools and homes. They show us how the early American settlers lived and it can make a big impression on the children to see how hard it was before all of our modern technologies and innovations.

Arboretums, Nature Centers, Botanical Gardens –We live not too far away from an arboretum that was once privately owned but donated to the city. These gardens are expansive and beautiful and wonderful places to take a nature walk with the family. Now depending on where you live this can be really exciting for a child. If they have grown up in the city and have not seen many expansive gardens then it will be a big treat. Nature centers are another place that city children can see and sometimes interact with the local wildlife. Even if you live in the country there are larger wildlife ranches or parks where you can see even larger animals. Most of them require you to drive through.

Bird Sanctuaries – Wild bird sanctuaries are a great place to go to check out the birds in your area of the country. Most of these places have caretakers and experts that take you on tours. They even have classes for children such as interesting facts about owls and they let you experience an owl up close and personal. Many offer nature walks and point out the different species and allow you to take photos as well.

I hope there are some ideas here to help you plan your next family day out. So many times we go on our two or three week vacations and then we end up spending the rest of the summer around the house. There are ways to have fun that do not take a lot of money or a lot of travel time. Do a little checking and see what you can find nearby to do with your family.

Always curious, Ashley Hardway is constantly learning and passionate about sharing what she learns with others. Based in the Houston, Texas office of Morningside Nannies, she loves to help families grow stronger, help their environments and communities, and keep moving forward! Check out @NannyLady on Twitter to connect and find out more.

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5 Mistakes to Avoid with Trade Show Promotional Products

Expos and trade fairs offer companies in all industries a great chance to promote themselves to potential customer, whether they are targeting other businesses or consumers. There are many different strategies that can be employed to maximise the promotional opportunities that these events have to offer, one of the most popular of which is the distribution of marketing giveaways. To get the biggest bang for your buck when giving away branded gifts at trade shows, you need to avoid making the same mistakes that many other companies make.

1.  Using irrelevant products – whilst generic items such as t-shirts and baseball caps can work well for a wide variety of firms, it is not a good idea to hand out products related to a specific area of interest that has nothing to do with the goods or services that your organisation provides. For example, if your company manufactures garden furniture, it would be inappropriate to give away car floor mats at an industry exhibition. Whilst passengers in the recipients’ cars may well see your company name and logo, they are more likely to assume that you produce motoring accessories rather than garden furnishings.

2.   Failure to mention free gifts in advertising literature – if you are going to the expense of sourcing good quality gifts to present to the people that visit your exhibition stand, make sure that everybody involved is aware of this fact beforehand. Assuming that you have chosen products that are desirable, letting attendees know what you are going to give them and where they can find your stand at the show is crucial to the success of your strategy. The more people that know, the more visitors you will attract on the day, which is half the battle at large industry events.

3.   Giving everybody the same gifts – in order to get a good return on your investment in promotional goodies, you need to evaluate the likely amount of business that you will get from the customers to whom you are presenting the gifts. This means that you should choose one type of product for visitors that are unknown to your company and better quality trade show giveaways for valued clients that always make the effort to support your stand when you exhibit at events across the country.

4.   Failure to budget properly – using products that are of an inferior quality simply because they are cheap is a very common mistake but it can be equally disastrous for your firm if you choose products that are so expensive they eat up your entire marketing budget for the year. You need to find a middle ground that enables you to give away items that reflect well on your company without spending too much. Finding a good supplier is often the key to solving this budgeting conundrum.

5.  Using logos and lettering that are a little bit too discreet – whilst there is no need to make your marketing merchandise too garish, there comes a point when discreetly printed messages and logos are simply too small to make any impression at all. Branding professionals take university courses in graphic design for a very good reason: it is a difficult and complicated subject that is sometimes hard to get right. Make sure you follow the advice of an experienced pro when creating images and lettering for corporate gifts.

The above 5 mistakes are among the most common that I have spotted at trade shows; I am sure that you will spot many more if you take the time to study what the competition is doing the next time you attend an industry event.

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Monday Post

Happy Monday to all! Not like my previous weekend, yesterday was my lazy one since my husband was out of town. My SIL was out of town too, so I spent times with my brother, niece and nephew. My brother was cleaning his collection –mini figures, planes, hot wheels and bikes.

He also collects a range of Indonesia’s stamps and paper money. He prefers to collect stamps by purchasing the first envelope edition. Every edition has specific theme such as traditional transportation, Indonesian folktales, traditional games and many others. For me, each stamp is a piece of artwork.

The series of Indonesian Folktales

Wonderful stamps!

Blue Monday

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A Bug?

It seemed that my friend’s orchid plants attracted interesting critters. Last week I shared tiny butterfly with symmetric patterns on each wing. But this time I’m still not sure it’s a critter or not.

Sorry for blurry shots

 My husband took both shots. When my husband touched it with a tooth pick, this bug showed movement. I wanted to take another shots but the bug had already left the spot. I had no time to search for it carefully as we had to go at that time.

My entry for Camera Critters  and Saturday's Critters

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Open Space at Your Home

There are a range of ways can be used so that the house doesn’t feel hot and stifling including creating more openings, choosing building materials that give light impression, and using light-colored paint. In addition to these options, there is a building structure that is very helpful to avoid the heat inside the house, while giving the impression of relief, which is named void.

What is void exactly?

image:decodir.com

 

As expressed by an author of the book about interior design, void is a space or an open area in the house that doesn’t have impediment; in this case is the building elements (such as structural columns, floors, etc.). But not all open areas in the house can be called with the void. Open area above the garden area or a clothesline is not referred to as void. Which can be connected to void structure is an open area inside the house, not outside the house.

Void has two main functions. The first is to facilitate the flow of air inside the house, although not using the air conditioning, the property still feels cool and not hot. The air continues to change with new air, so that the respiratory health can be maintained. The second function is to create the effect of a more spacious and roomy space. It's good to be applied at small houses that feel cramped.

Besides those two functions, void can also be used for the communication media between the downstairs and upstairs. With the void, residents who are on the second floor can communicate and see the occupant who is on the first floor, and vice versa.

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