Apply to host a free Hershey's Cookie Exchange Party in December

If you like chocolate and hosting parties, you'll definitely want to sign up here to be a host for a Hershey's Cookie Exchange Party in December. There will be 1,000 hosts selected from everyone who signs up. You'll receive notice by email if you're selected.

If you're selected, you'll receive an official event party pack completely with the necessary ingredients to host the ultimate cookie exchange.

I usually don't sign up for things like this, but I couldn't resist this one! You all are invited if they select me, okay? :)

Thanks, Couponers Unite!

Free Night of Theater--tickets available tomorrow!

On October 15, 2009, theaters from coast to coast will be offering a completely free night of theater. Online ticket reservations begin tomorrow (October 1, 2009) and tickets are limited so you'll want to sign up right away.

Go here to see if theaters in your area are participating.

Thanks, Queen Mother Blog!

Frugal Fun at Cold Stone Creamery

Did you enjoy some delicious frugal fun at Cold Stone Creamery tonight? We sure did!

(Excuse the photo quality. My camera stopped working a few days ago so I'm relegated to snapping pictures on my phone until we can figure out what the issue is.)

Lowe's: Free Kid's Workshop (Saturday, September 26, 2009)

Lowe's is having another free Kid's Workshop on Saturday at 10 a.m. The first 50 children to register and be present at each store will receive a free kit, apron, and goggles to make the above-pictured fire truck. Go here to register.

Thanks, Coupon Geek!

Toys "R" Us: Free event on Saturday (September 26, 2009)

Saturday, September 26, 2009 from noon until 3 p.m. Toys "R" Us stores around the nation are celebrating Geoffrey's Birthday Party. There will be fun activities, freebies, and more!

As always with these kinds of events, I recommend that you call your store ahead of time to verify that they are participating.

Thanks, Tomorrow's Plight!

Reminder: Free Museum Day is Saturday (September 26, 2009)

Don't forget that Saturday is Free Museum Day! Check out what local museums are participating here and then print your card to get up to two free museum admissions.

Thanks, Frugal Living and Having Fun!

U.S. National Parks: Fee-Free Weekend

Don't forget! This weekend is a fee-free weekend at U.S. National Parks around the country. Check out which parks in your area you can visit for free here.

Thanks, Danielle from Denver Metro Moms!

Frugal Fun: Grocery Ad Playtime Menu (Guest Post)

Marie from Make and Takes shared this fun (and frugal!) idea for a way to recycle your old grocery ads into playtime menus for your children:

Supplies for Grocery Ad Menus:

• grocery ads - the kind that come in the mail
• scissors, glue, color pencils, art paper

First, gather all your grocery ads. Let the kids look through and see what items might be good to have in their menu, then cut them out. If your child is ready to use scissors, go for it but with supervision if they're small. Or you can have them point to the items they want and you can cut them out.

Next, fold a piece of art paper in half vertically. Glue the cut out food items onto the paper in a line. Now write in each price.

My son loved making up how much everything cost. He wanted to make the steak "1 Free" and the ice cream is $20 because it's sooo good. We even named our restaurant, LeBaron's Family Restaurant, with "Todays Special" as Shrimp, my son's favorite food. Have fun playing Restaurant!

Marie is a crafter, foodie, and mother of 3. She loves running, reading, and eating candy. Check out her blog Make and Takes for more Ideas and Crafty Tidbits for Home, Family, and Fun.

Frugal Fun at Our House: Pudding Finger Paint

Remember all those Kraft coupons which were available not too long ago? I used the $1/3 Jell-O pudding coupons at the Double Dollar coupon sale at our local grocery store to buy a number of boxes of pudding for pennies per box.

In addition to making some yummy trifles, I used the pudding last week for a creative homeschool project. We mixed up some of it, donned some of Daddy's old t-shirts, and used it as finger paint.

In addition to just letting them play and draw and have fun with the finger paint, we also practiced writing the letters we're currently working on.

And then, since the finger paint was edible, the girls got to make pudding mustaches, too!

It was a fun activity--and it only cost a few pennies! Who says fun can't be frugal?

*****More Ideas******

::If you don't have extra pudding on hand, you can also make finger paint with Kool-Aid (see instructions here) or corn syrup and food coloring (see instructions here) or corn starch, sugar, and food coloring (see instructions here).

::I'm hoping to try Homemade Peanut Butter Playdough and Letter Pancakes soon. Do you have any other links to frugal, fun, and educational activities for toddlers?

***********

Many of you have asked for more specifics about what we're using for homeschool curriculum. We're doing the My Father's World Kindergarten program this year for our homeschool lessons and we're thoroughly enjoying it. It combines the best of Charlotte Mason's philosophies of education and Classical education and teaches it all from a Biblical Worldview.

Not only have I found this curriculum to be academically strong, it's fun--as learning should be, especially when you are 2 and 4 years old. The girls are loving it and they often beg if we can please "start doing school" as soon as they get up in the morning. I hope they never lose their excitement!

In addition to My Father's World, we also add in lots of extra reading from twaddle-free picture books and great classic read-alouds (we're reading through the Little House on the Prairie series right now) throughout our day because we just can't get enough of good books around here! We've found PaperBackSwap along with our local library to be excellent sources for very inexpensive or free books.

Romance on a Budget: Is it possible?

photo by Mulsanne

Danelle Ice from Homemaker Barbi emailed me with a few thoughts on romance on a budget:

One of the most common topics in arguments between couples is money. Worrying about having enough money to care for your family’s needs can put a huge burden on your shoulders, and that financial burden leads to enormous stress.

Focusing on the stress of finances can oftentimes knock relationship priorities off the top of the list. We have to remember that our marriages are the cornerstone of our frugal families. If we fail to take care of our relationships, then all the frugalness in the world won’t matter anymore.

It makes sense then that frugal couples need to be mindful of the state of their marriages and the quality of their time together. Always make sure that time for romance and your relationship are a top priority, no matter what is going on in your budget!

You have the power to foster love and rekindle the romance in your marriage right now, and it doesn’t take a lot of money to make that happen. I believe that husband and wife date nights are a great way to stay connected. You can keep romance alive on a small budget, or even no budget, when you focus on the things that really make your spouse feel loved, valued, and appreciated.

Plan fun things to do together such as an indoor picnic or an at-home romantic dinner for two. Or what about taking an evening stroll holding hands and talking about your day?

If you have little ones and you can't seem to find the time to really talk but you also can't afford a babysitter, you might consider going on a romantic nighttime drive. This is a date even the kids will like (before they fall asleep, that is)! Have the kids get dressed in their jammies and bring their pillows and blankies into the car. Go for a nighttime drive (the kids will fall asleep) together to talk about non-kid topics. Load up your favorite romantic music or even “your song”, and drive to a scenic lookout point where you can see the city and stare out at the stars together.

You don’t need to have a special occasion to make plans for a romantic date with your husband or wife. Keeping regular free and cheap dates on your weekly schedule serves to strengthen your relationship and keep your intimacy strong in a fun way. Spending time together doesn't have to cost a lot, just use your imagination and you can keep your romance alive on a budget!

--Problogger Danelle Barbi Ice is the editor of Homemaker Barbi an online Home and How-To magazine specializing in homemaking, frugal living, printable checklists, and more.

What are your ideas for keeping romance alive on a limited budget? I'd love to hear!

Swagbucks: Get 6 free bonus points for signing up this week! (fixed code)

I posted this earlier this morning but the code was not working correctly so many of you weren't getting your bonus points. It should now be working correctly. My apologies on that!

Have you signed up for Swagbucks yet? If not, you are definitely missing out on one of the easiest ways to earn free gift cards I've ever discovered.

I don't mean to sound like a broken record or anything, but it's been a few months since I've recommended Swagbucks and I thought it was high time I mention it again. There are lots of scam programs out there promising all sorts of things, but Swagbucks is one of the few programs I've found that really works.

If you're unfamiliar with Swagbucks, basically it's a search engine that randomly rewards you with points just for doing online searches. Seriously, that's all there is to it.

You'll likely earn between 1-3 points per day for searches and when you have 45 points, you can cash in for a $5 Amazon gift card. And there are dozens of other great prizes to choose from as well. I just received a $10 Starbucks gift card in the mail yesterday--which I got for cashing in 130 points.

For those of you with blogs or who have lots of friends who use the internet, you'll also want to check out their referral program. For every person who signs up with your referral code, you can earn up to 100 matching Swagbucks! I have had so much fun introducing many of my friends to this fun program and seeing them earn prizes for doing what most all of us do on a regular basis every day--searching online!

The brains behind Swagbucks are rolling out a bunch of great new features for this search engine this week and because they are doing so, they asked if they could give out six free bonus points to any one who signs up through my blog.

To use this code and earn 6 free bonus points just for signing up, all you have to do is be a new registrant to Swagbucks and use the code MSMCODE when you sign up here.

You'll get 3 points for signing up and 3 points for using the above code, giving you 6 free points just for signing up. And you'll be well on your way toward your first gift card!

This code is only good through June 16, 2009, so be sure you take advantage of it right away!

MyPoints: Earn free gift cards for reading emails and taking surveys

Back when my husband was in law school and we were living on our bare-bones beans-and-rice budget, we rarely ever had any extra cash to use for dates. However, I didn't let that deter me from coming up with creative ideas for fun dates. We'd take a picnic to the park, we'd go to the library and browse books, we'd take walks. If we could scrounge up a few dollars, we get a meal or two at a fast food restaurant with coupons or hit the $0.99 bowling night.

One of our favorite things to do was to head to a bookstore and get an iced coffee and just spend a few hours looking at books. We'd browse the shelves and then take a stack of books to a cozy corner and read for a while. We usually paid for our drinks with a gift card I'd earned from MyPoints so the whole evening ended up costing us nothing out of pocket and would be a very relaxing and refreshing time for us to spend together away from the pressures and deadlines of law school life.

If you are strapped for cash but would love to also get to have a bookstore date on occasion, I'd definitely recommend MyPoints. It's free to sign up for and you can earn points to cash in for gift cards by reading emails and taking surveys. It takes a bit of time to accumulate enough points to cash in for a gift card, but if you have more time than money right now, it's a great way to be able to enjoy a few free dates every year.

Go here to sign up.

REI's Passport to Adventure: Earn a prize for outdoor activity

Do your children need some incentive for outdoor recreation this Summer? Children ages 5-12 can earn a fun prize for logging outdoor activity with REI's Passport to Adventure Program. Check out more details here.

Thanks, Julie!

Free access to over 100 National Parks

The National Park Service is offering three fee-free weekends to over 100 National Parks this Summer. Check out more details and the parks which are participating here.

Thanks, Utah Deal Diva!

Free admission days at over 40 museums nationwide

Target has teamed up with over 40 museums nationwide to provide free admission days for families across America. Check out the list of museums participating here to see if there is one in your area.

As always, I'd recommend calling ahead of time to verify that the museum is participating in the free admission days.

Thanks, Free Sample Freak!

Guest Post: Summer Family Fun for Free

Guest Post by Christi Bovee from Blessings From Our Home to Yours

In our house, we are all getting antsy to get out and feel some sun on our faces and get our bodies moving in the summer breezes. Here are just a few of our family's favorite ideas for enjoying the Summer months without spending a lot of money. In fact, most of these ideas are free!

1) Try letterboxing. Our family discovered this fun activity a few years ago and our children have loved the thrill of this "treasure hunt". If you've never heard of this before, this article on "Start Finding Letterboxes" explains:

Letterboxing is an intriguing “treasure hunt” style outdoor activity. Letterboxers hide small, weatherproof boxes in publicly-accessible places (like parks) and post clues to finding the box online on one of several Web sites. However, clues to finding some of the most highly-sought boxes are passed around by word of mouth. There are about 20,000 letterboxes hidden in North America alone. Individual letterboxes usually contain a log book, an often hand-carved rubber stamp and may contain an ink pad. Finders make an imprint of the letterbox's stamp on their personal log book, and leave an imprint of their personal stamp on the letterbox's logbook .

To read more about letterboxing and the supplies you will need to get started, visit Letterboxing.org.

2) Visit your local library. The summer reading program at our library is always a big hit with our children during the Summer. Our library gives great prizes like Frosty coupons, Little Caesar Pizzas, Donuts, and Chocolate-Dipped Oreo Cookies from the local coffee shop. Those prizes are definitely great motivators for our children to read! Most libraries offer similar Summer Reading Programs and I'd encourage you to check yours out.

3) Participate in nature programs. Many local parks offer nature free programs. If you check out the website(s) for the parks department in your area, you might be surprised at what things you can learn and do for free!

We often visit Maple Wood Nature Center in LaGrange, Indiana one Wednesday a month for an educational program. Their programs range from learning about maple syrup to patterns in nature to learning about instruments. Last summer we attended a park in Elkhart, Indiana which had a program on old fashioned sodas. We learned the history, tried samples of various old fashioned drinks, and then made root beer and bottled our own to take home.

4) Go to museums. Some of the best educational places are museums, but it seems--especially for families with even a few children--it is nearly impossible to visit these without spending at least the amount that would be spent on groceries for the week. However, don't let the admissions costs deter you because we've found many museums have free or discounted days a few times each Summer.

For instance, in the Chicago area, the Chicago Children's Museum offers free family nights on Thursday evenings and free admission on some Sundays and Mondays. The Chicago Museum of Science and Industry has six free days in June and The Art Institute of Chicago offers free admission on Thursday evenings. 

Bank of America has their Museums on Us promotion which provides free admission to over 100 museums nationwide on the first Saturday of every month. More details here.

I'd recommend contacting the museums in your city to see if they have any free admission days or times during the Summer. You might be pleasantly surprised!

There are so many options for parents who can’t afford to take an elaborate or expensive vacation but still want to create special memories with their children. It doesn’t have to cost you a months worth of wages, either. Time spent together as a family will likely be some of the best memories your children have all Summer!

Christi Bovee is a homeschooling mom who looks for every opportunity to build and create special memories with her husband and children every day and season of the year. She loves reading, singing along with her children and husband while he plays guitar, hiking, and enjoying the fellowship of her church family. She and her husband have three children with another one due in May. You can read about the blessings in her family at her blog.

Worth Reading: Pocket-Change Date Night Ideas

I loved this post from Small Notebook on 20 Pocket-Change Date Night Ideas. Maybe not every one would work for you, but I'm sure that many of them could serve as an inspiration for your own unique ideas.

Do you have other Pocket Change Date Night Ideas to add to this list? I'd love to hear them!

Our $0.31 night of fun!

Did you get your $0.31 ice cream from Baskin Robbins tonight? We certainly did!

We've missed a lot of the other recent great food freebies and deals since I was too sick to make it out of the house. But the antibiotics are finally kicking into gear and I'm feeling much more energetic (I didn't know that was possible at 40 weeks pregnant, but compared to how sick I was last week, I feel great this week!) so we ventured out tonight to enjoy some very inexpensive and delicious ice cream.

Of course, apparently we weren't the only ones to have decided to hit up Baskin Robbins tonight. In fact, we had a hard time even finding a place to park--there were scores of people everywhere when we pulled up! The line was stretched quite far out the door but that didn't deter us. After all, patience is a virtue, right?

Waiting on the bench outside for Daddy to bring our ice cream. Kaitlynn wasn't too thrilled at having her picture taken!

And still waiting for Daddy to get to the front of the line! The girls were very patient and had a blast watching through the window as the long line of people gradually made it up to the ice cream counter.

 

Ice cream at last! Yum!

Yours truly (aka The Very Pregnant and Swollen Mama!) with my two little precious girlies.

It was a fun and memorable evening--all for only $0.31 per person!

Free Family Fun--Saturday, April 4, 2009

There are some fun free events going on tomorrow (Saturday, April 4, 2009):

Between 9 a.m. and noon, The Home Depot is sponsoring a free clinic on "How to Make a Birdhouse" for children ages 5-12. Check out more details here.

Michael's is hosting a free event for children ages 5-12 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Children will have the opportunity to make their own 3D mini poster, finger puppets, and join in a treasure hunt. More details here.

And it's also the first Saturday of the month so that means you can get free admission at over 70 museums nationwide if you are a Bank of America cardholder. More details here.

Thanks for letting us know about these, Coupon Cravings!

Free bowling for children--all Summer long!

The popular Kids Bowl Free program which I shared about last Summer is back again for this Summer. If there is a bowling alley participating in your area (see participating bowling centers here), you can sign up to get two free games of bowling for every child in your family every day--all Summer long! More details are here.

Thanks, Jaycie!

Frugal Friday: Birthday freebies

photo by plindberg

My Frugal Friday post is up--a bit early this week for once! I'm talking about some of my favorite birthday freebies. Go check it out here and leave your frugal tips and links, too!

Guest Post: Frugal Fall Family Fun

photo by Brian Hathcock

Guest Post by Kate from Cincinnati Cents

Fall is such a magical time of year for children. Trees seem to change right before their eyes, bursting into brilliant hues of red, yellow, and orange. The warm air of summer has subtly been replaced with cooler, crisper mornings. Children are amazed by their power to create a frosty cloud when breathing into the cool fall air. It is a season of change, and with that change, comes a limitless supply of family fun that will last until the first snows of winter.

Pumpkins are wonderfully symbolic of harvest time, and most children have an amazing fascination with them. For young children who are not quite ready for the carving experience, paint is a creative option.  Don an old t-shirt, lay out newspapers on the table (I’m sure we all have plenty lying around), and pour paint into old yogurt cups. Voila! You have the perfect recipe for creativity. Cheerful faces can be painted on to adorn your child’s pumpkin, and their creations will last right through the Thanksgiving season.

For older children, carving a pumpkin is always a memorable experience. From the first cut into a pumpkin, the kitchen is filled with the fresh smell of autumn. The seeds that are scooped out can be washed and set aside for later roasting. They make a yummy treat after the hard work of creating a perfect pumpkin.

The designs for pumpkin carvings are limitless. There are several online sites that offer free downloadable templates, with everything from very traditional pumpkin faces, to popular characters, and intricate scenes. Once the pumpkin is carved to satisfaction, a candle can be placed inside, and you have a one-of-a-kind autumn decoration.

Autumn leaves offer a great potential for creativity as well. Placed under paper, children can create rubbings of the leaves they find. Unpeel the paper from your child’s crayon, and rub the side of the crayon against the paper. Children are often amazed that the texture and shape of the leaf magically appears on their paper. As an added learning experience, older children can then identify their leaves, and label them accordingly.

Colorful leaves can also be torn and arranged on a sheet of waxed paper in the shape of animals or other objects of your child’s liking. Once your child is satisfied with his or her creation, place another sheet of waxed paper on top of the leaf design. Carefully iron the creation on low heat. The leaf project will need to cool for a few minutes; afterwards, punch a hole in the top of the waxed paper, slip a string through, and your child will have a unique fall creation to hang up.

Fall projects can also be created through the use of “puffy paint”. Mix equal parts of white shaving cream and white school glue. Add in various colors to create a multitude of options for projects. I often use Kool Aid to color our puffy paint, as it is inexpensive, and forms bright hues. Children can then use this “paint” to make puffy pumpkins or fall leaves (be sure to use heavy paper, as this paint is very thick).  When finished, glitter can be sprinkled on top to give the project a shimmery effect. These should be laid flat to dry for 24-48 hours, depending on how thick the paint is applied.

Of course, if you do not feel creative this Fall, that’s perfectly alright, too. Grab a rake, pile up a mound of leaves, and turn the clock back a few years. Jump with your children and let the leaves fly. It’s amazing how much fun it is to be a child again!  Enjoy your Fall!

Katie is a homeschooling mother of four. She blogs at Cincinnati Cents, where she shares money-saving ideas, deals, and frugal activities to enjoy as a family.

Ask the Readers: Food ideas for a road trip?

Cherilyn emailed and asked:

We are planning a 16+ hour road trip in December with three adults, two kids, and two dogs - yikes! The decreasing gas prices are a blessing but we would like to save even more by taking most of our own food. We don't want to have to stop for every meal. Can you give me some ideas for inexpensive ideas for eating on the road? Ideas beyond bottled water, beef jerky, and muffins are appreciated since that is all I can come up with. Thank you! -Cherilyn

I know many of you will probably be doing some traveling to visit family and friends over the next two months so I'd love to hear any and all ideas for road-tripping on the cheap--especially when it comes to food. What are some of your favorite frugal foods to pack and eat on the road? What ideas do you have for keeping food fresh and tasty while traveling? I'm anxious to hear!

Guest Post: Family Fun Night

photo by Ella's Dad

Guest Post by Katie from Cincinnati Cents

After a busy week of school, work, and extra-curricular activities, it’s sometimes difficult to imagine cramming another activity into an already-packed schedule. However, taking the time to purposefully plan a block of family time together is worth more than every quiet moment we could ever possess.

Picking one evening every week (or every other week, as your life may dictate at the time) as a “family fun night” allows families the ability to reconnect on a weekly basis, ensuring no one is lost in the shuffle of the daily routines of our lives. The night chosen is immaterial, as is the exact amount of time allotted to the event. It is crucial, however, that the activity chosen is enjoyable for all, and that every member of the family feels included. The focus should be on the family unit as a whole, and not on one particular individual.   

There are always a few more popular choices around our house for a family evening together. In the winter, and during inclement weather, our children love having a picnic in the living room. We spread blankets out over the entire floor (which not only creates a “picnic” atmosphere, but protects the carpet as well!), and enjoy our picnic dinner together. We often put on our family movies, recapturing the kids’ younger moments together. They laugh together at each others’ antics and marvel at how small they once were.

Cooking together is another fun choice for families. One of our favorites is making homemade pizza. The smell of warm yeast quickly gathers everyone around the kitchen counter, and eager hands rapidly knead the dough. Once the dough has risen, and is rolled out to the desired shape, children enjoy choosing their own toppings, and “decorating” their pizza. It is simple to make personal sized pizzas, allowing each child to become a master chef for the evening.

A family game night is an inclusive choice for families with children of varying ages. Older children can pair up with younger siblings for more challenging games, thus allowing co-sibling teams to be formed. On the flip side, younger children delight in playing their favorites with older family members. If every family member chooses one game, no one feels excluded. But, of course, who chooses first? Put numbers in a bowl and allow everyone to choose. This not only ensures a fair order, but also assists younger children in easy number recognition (as a homeschooling mom, I can’t resist those “teachable moments”!).

As odd as it sounds, we have also made family cleaning into a fun evening on more than one occasion. We have a master list of weekly chores that we highlight as we go along. When we choose this “divide and conquer” method, every child picks a few jobs out of each category. We then divvy up washcloths and cleaners (or spray bottles of water for our younger ones), put on some loud music that we all enjoy, and dive in. Afterwards, the kids tend to find a treat that has mysteriously appeared on the counter-- usually ice cream!

The possibilities for a planned day or evening together are endless. The end result however, is priceless. Everyone goes away with such a feeling of connectedness--a sense of belonging that cannot be recreated outside this integral family unit. These moments are worth more than any number a price tag could bear.

Katie is a homeschooling mother of four. She blogs at Cincinnati Cents, where she shares money-saving ideas, deals, and frugal activities to enjoy as a family.

From Money Saving Mom: What are some of your family's favorite ways to celebrate a night of fun together without spending a lot of money? I'd love to hear!

Free Night of Theater

Have you gotten your free theater tickets yet? Theatre Communications Group, the national organization for not-for-profit American theatre, is sponsoring a free night of theater in cities around the nation. Shows are available from October 16 through October 30, 2008.

Go here to see if your city is participating and if there are any tickets still available.

Thanks, Journey to Frugal!