You Pinspire Me
We really believe in letting our kids amuse themselves as much as possible, to encourage and celebrate playtime everyday. And when it comes to vacation ideas, we don’t tend to do big trips or expensive places. We find all the fun local activities that we haven’t had time to do all year long, and do them into two months in the summer. So I thought I’d share some of our favourite local activities.
Cobourg Beach (or any beach, really). We love Cobourg because it isn’t very far away, the parking is free, and the admission is free. It’s a huge sandy beach with great waves. There’s a bathroom (yay!) and a great playground and spashpad to rinse off on our way home.
And on our way home, we often make a quick stop to visit a friend of ours – Optimus Prime! Located at Primitive Designs just off the 401 on Highway #28, north of Port Hope.
Peterborough Zoo – it’s completely free to enter. There are about 5 awesome playgrounds, a great splash pad, and some animals. Not a ton of animals, but enough to keep the kids interested. There’s also a great little train ride that only costs $2 per person.
And if you don’t even want to leave your house, water activities are always fun!
If you don’t have a Slip’nSlide, try a great big tarp!
And really, all the kids want is a fun experience. Grab a tablecloth and have lunch outside! Our boys talked about our picnic lunch for weeks afterward!
We always bring fun snacks along when we plan our activities. Our favourite snack to bring is Kinder Surprise eggs – they’re not just a treat but a toy too! Something to keep them busy on the long drive home (especially if you hit traffic!), and an extra bit of energy for everyone!
What inexpensive summer activities do you do with your family? Do you go to local fairs/festivals? Libraries or free swims?
Disclosure: I’m part of theKinder® Mom program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation withthis group. The opinions on this blog are my own
Marya R
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We live in the Niagara Region, so there’s lots to do. Niagara Falls never gets old! Port Colborne has a great park with a splash pad. Port Colborne is also a great place to go and watch ships go through the canal. We live about a 10 minute walk from our local park so it’s a favourite place for us. There are some nice parks in Welland too.
We try to keep our summers low key too. We plan one big trip to my father in-law’s trailer for a long weekend.
Isn’t it nice to do things locally? Our boys would LOVE watching the ships! Enjoy your summer with your kids, Kirsten!
I’m not sure what state you’re in, but it seems like there is a lot to do around here. We hit the zoos and beach a lot in the summer.
We stay local for summer too. We have tons of things to within about an hour of our house. If we’re willing to drive a little further our options are almost endless. And yes, we prefer the free activities too.
I’m wondering what state you’re in? I like local summer fun that doesn’t break the bank. That is why I love going on local mom blogs since they’re so knowledgeable about free to low cost places to visit with kids.
We just planned a 2 day beach trip for july.. let the summer fun begin!
That tarp idea is great! Have you ever done heavy duty trashed bags?? My hubby and friends had too much time on their hands once. lol Love the Transformer!
Some much fun things to do! I’m really looking forward to my vacations! But I’m not sure yet what we should do.
Wow, these look great. Makes me want to join in the fun… and bring my kids, of course 🙂
Looks like a really fun day. I love to take advantage of all of the kid friendly events here in New York City and Brooklyn. The summer time is bursting with outdoor festivals, free zoo and botanical garden entry, free concerts and tons of other things. So much fun to go and explore!
Like you, I don’t tend to have outdoor fun super expensive for my child. Local amusement parks and splash parks are great!
My daughter would freak if she could see a Transformer!
All of your summertime activities look like a blast, and how cool is that Optimus Prime – I want a picture of myself with him. I think the beach is fun for all ages – that’s one of my favorite places to go.
That tarp makes for a great slip and slide! I had so much fun as a child on those.
These are great ideas! There are so many fun things around here that we never have time to do during the year. Time to make a summer “bucket list”!
That slide on the hill looks amazing I did something like that years ago!!