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Beating Cabin Fever Blues: How Dancing Hotdogs Does it!

March 5, 2012 by 15 Comments
 

By Divina

There are 16 days until the official day of Spring but we live in CT so anything can happen.  Phew! Beating cabin fever blues is my daily challenge.  Every day when Rock crawls into bed with me he whispers, “Mami what are we going to do today?”  Twice a week I get to say preschool but three long days of the week it’s nothing unless I plan something.

As a parent on a budget I have searched the web and parenting magazines for ideas on activities to entertain kids during the winter months and I have found a lot of arts and crafts and DIY activities but I have two active little boys (I mean just look at them) and there is just so much sitting down and sitting still activities we can do each day.

So let me share with you some of my recession a.k.a. free or minimal cost activities we partake in.

Power of a Membership

I am very fortunate I have two children’s museums, a zoo and an aquarium within 25 minutes of me. We have a family membership to a museum and another to a zoo.  It cost us $100 dollars for one year to each.  I know it sounds like a lot for those memberships but it gives me unlimited admission to the places and discounts in food and shopping.  They are ONLY closed four days of the year! At a minimum if I go twice with the family we already made money back.  Plus you are helping a great organization! I have hosted X birthday party (with a member discount) there. Both organizations have changing exhibits and different members’ only events.  What is extra nice both have big indoor areas to play or attractions so we can get out of the house but not be in the cold.

Power of Town Hall

We live in a small town in Connecticut and since I have become a stay at home Mami I have been in awe of just how many town run activities are available to us.

Just to name a few:

  • Huge library with large selection of books, DVDs and kids programs. Cost:$0
  • Town parks and playgrounds. We have over 10! Cost:$0
  • Classes and kids programs. Cost: up to $45 for 8 weeks!

So once a week we go to the library.  We LOVE the library not only does it offer huge selection to borrow they even have Museum pass that you can borrow for 3 days that gives you one day family memberships to local museums (that we don’t have memberships too)!

We have mapped out the local parks and playgrounds and go somewhere different every expedition out.  Each place has a different appeal.  Our favorite parks have a pond and a two pirate ship themed play grounds.

Lastly, the kid class programs give my little men the social interactions they crave for a mere $5 a class!

Now I want to hear from you! No matter if you work from home or outside how do you keep your kids  or YOURSELF entertained during the winter months?

About Divina Rodriguez

Divina is a wife, a Mami of 2 boys under the age of four and a full fledged social media butterfly with a Masters in Communications. She writes along with her husband, Eddy, about entertainment, technology, family products as well as their life in CT. In addition to DancingHotdogs.com, Divina unlocks the magic on www.TheDisneyFiles.com and is a founding mother & partner at Trumpeting Media, a social media consulting company that is dedicated to using social media for social good.

Filed Under: The Blog, The New Tagged With: Beating Cabin Fever Blues: How Dancing Hotdogs Does it!, Kid friendly activities
  • Becca

    Wow, it sounds like your town offers a ton of stuff to do! :)

  • Rachel

    I usually take my little one to.a new restaurant in the vicinity or the museum offering a donation at the entrance. Some days we just go and pay a visit abuela or titi a visit at home. :-) reat ideas divina! And what a lovely photo!

  • http://lovesujeiry.com Sujeiry

    I don’t have children but my niece is here often. Unfortunately, I live NYC. Yes, there is lots to do but it can also be expensive and exhausting. Trucking around Manhattan with my niece, a carriage, diaper bag and all her baby food and products can wear a Tia out!

  • Comiendo en LA

    Libraries are always a good solution! Also the little kids area at the malls!

  • http://www.unknownmami.com/ unknownmami

    I am impressed. I live in SF and it gets no where near as cold as where you are and I still find it challenging to get the kids out on cold or inclement days. I love our parks and recs department for activities. 

  • http://www.MommyMaestra.com/ Monica

    Great tips! Thankfully we are past all the snow dumps. But we do a lot of classes during the winter, too: library story times, piano, swimming, 4-H.  Thanks for the ideas!

  • http://www.bsochic.blogspot.com/ B @ B So Chic!™

    No kids here but I do know how fabulous memberships can be especially if you’re constantly looking for engaging them! $100 for each isn’t bad at all. 

  • http://twitter.com/NibblesNFeasts Ericka Sanchez

    I can’t even imagine!  I live in LA and I still get cabin fever!  Although you sometimes get snowed-in, those suggestions are great in any city!  Thank you!

  • Anonymous

    How hard it most be, over here the winter is almost no winter at all and its hard for us to enjoy the outdoors sometimes! I love the Library too, lately we’ve been going there a lot!

  • http://www.powerfullatinas.com/ Aurelia

    Great ideas!  I’m a big reader, so while that might not work for little boys (but sounds like you’ve got that figured out), works for me!

  • http://bechicmag.com Mercedes S.

    You have all those activities withinin 25 minutes?  That’s awesome! Great tips, Divina!

  • http://allofmenow.com/ Carla

    Zoo & museum memberships are lifesavers! We have them gifted to us every year by my mother-in-law and I don’t know what we’d do without them. Be sure to check what kind of reciprocal benefits you might have so you can get into other area attractions free or at a discount.

  • http://twitter.com/DancingHotdogs Divina and Eddy

    Thank you for all the great tips and sharing if you are a Mami or not.  Let’s all do the Spring dance so Spring arrives right on time.

  • http://pinkguayoyo.com/ Helenabeatriz

    Hola! I live in Miami – our winter is not comparable to yours. However – there’s nothing like running into the lovely air conditioned world of the Children’s Museum during the very hot and humid Summer months. Memberships are amazing! 

  • Presleyspantry

    I’m always looking for new things to introduce to my son. I am going to try the library next.