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Why I love the dollar store
Filed under: Big Kids, Activities: Babies, Places To Go
It's another lazy summer day and Ellie and her friends are bored again. Trying to keep a group of six-year-olds busy day after day is a challenge, but I have discovered an ally in my local dollar store.
With a little imagination and even less cash, you can find tons of activities for kids in the aisles of the dollar store. Of course, the craft section is a good place to start. For a total of $4, we bought a large bag of colored glass, some paints and two wooden boxes. Ellie and her friend spent hours decorating their boxes and the end results were actually quite nice.
Straying from the crafts aisle turns up lots more interesting activities. Tiny ceramic figurines become villagers in an incredibly tacky make-believe land. A set of plain white dessert plates, packaged 2 for $1, can be decorated and hung on the wall as unique works of art. The plate hangers are two aisles over, also 2 for a $1.
Paper products are much cheaper here than across the street at the crafts store. Poster board, construction paper, even scrap booking supplies can be purchased for a fraction of what you would pay in another store. I would avoid the Barbie doll knockoffs, though. They aren't made well enough to withstand much play and I will never forget the trauma of 'Broken Betty', who lost her head before we made it home.
Besides the cheap thrills to be found in the dollar store, we can burn a good hour or two just looking around. Where do you go for inexpensive summer activities?
With a little imagination and even less cash, you can find tons of activities for kids in the aisles of the dollar store. Of course, the craft section is a good place to start. For a total of $4, we bought a large bag of colored glass, some paints and two wooden boxes. Ellie and her friend spent hours decorating their boxes and the end results were actually quite nice.
Straying from the crafts aisle turns up lots more interesting activities. Tiny ceramic figurines become villagers in an incredibly tacky make-believe land. A set of plain white dessert plates, packaged 2 for $1, can be decorated and hung on the wall as unique works of art. The plate hangers are two aisles over, also 2 for a $1.
Paper products are much cheaper here than across the street at the crafts store. Poster board, construction paper, even scrap booking supplies can be purchased for a fraction of what you would pay in another store. I would avoid the Barbie doll knockoffs, though. They aren't made well enough to withstand much play and I will never forget the trauma of 'Broken Betty', who lost her head before we made it home.
Besides the cheap thrills to be found in the dollar store, we can burn a good hour or two just looking around. Where do you go for inexpensive summer activities?
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
6-28-2007 @ 3:10PM
Tom said...Ah, the Dollar Store! All the poison Chinese toothpaste ane expired Mexican candy one could ever want.
Gotta love it!
Reply
6-28-2007 @ 3:33PM
finkenwalde said...As a stay-at-home dad, I tend towards the more physical (and cheap) activities. The dollar store is awesome!!! I also like our local botanical gardens which is free during the week for kids.
Reply
6-28-2007 @ 3:56PM
anderson_michelle_lee said...I think that is a great idea. I have never tried it, but it sounds wonderful. We like to go to the park, but since I live in Las Vegas, and it is too hot to go out in the day for the most part, we just try to hang out and do things around the house. My three year old has a great imagination and we pretend a lot. You can go anywhere in your imagination. There is not much that is free here, since it is a tourists town. We do have th new springs preserve which you can get a season pass for your family for 75.00 that is pretty reasonable for the whole year. :)
Reply
6-28-2007 @ 4:07PM
Ethel said...With boys, going to watch cars go through the car wash is great fun (since its scary and makes noise). Going to any sort of construction site with big machines is awesome, as is going to the train station to watch trains come and go (not much people use of the station here). If I were where I grew up it'd be to watch the stevedores dock the floating city skyscrapers (cruise ships) and the float planes take off. Picking berries is good too, as is low tide visits to the beach with a bucket full of sea water to place limpets, star fish, and hermit crabs.
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6-28-2007 @ 4:47PM
Sadie said...Well, I suppose it all depends on where you live. Here in Southern California, I have our summer calendar almost completely packed with different "field trips" for my 5 kids (ages 3-12). I've looked up the free admission days for all of the museums, botanical gardens, aquariums, etc. Checked out www.rei.com for a list of kid-friendly local hikes. Checked out local bookstores and teacher supply stores for parties, workshops, and crafts. Grabbed the lists of summer events from several local libraries for magic shows, puppet shows, and more. Noted all the city events - movies in the park, family concerts, hikes and other events at the nature center. Made room on our calendar for places that we have family memberships to (Christmas gifts from relatives) - the zoo, the children's museum. We also have Vacation Bible School for a week in the evenings, and our church does it big with bounce houses and inflatables. We'll probably hit the city pool a few times too, but their hours weren't good enough to entice me into buying a family membership there. Hope these ideas help a bit!
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