Photograph Credit: iClipart

An early Easter means an early spring break this year. The air is still chilly, but there are still lots of options for a fun-filled spring break.

Whether spring break is upon you or coming very quickly, the following list contains our favorite spring break opportunities:

Inexpensive Outings

• Chuck E. Cheese: We eat before arriving and use a coupon to purchase tokens where each child gets between 15-20 tokens. We play the arcade games, and then save the remaining tokens for another day.

• Zoo: Though we have an annual zoo membership, the reciprocal program gives us a 50% discount at our local zoo. (We get free admission to the zoo where we purchased the membership.) With a less than $8 fee per adult, a day at the zoo is a reasonable family outing.

• Daily Deal Vouchers: Purchasing admittance into venues through daily deal sites offers 100% fun with at least a 50% discount. Without our annual memberships, we would seize more of these deals for spring break fun. 

Free Outings

• Park playground: Our parks and recreation department invested their resources into updating a number of playgrounds in our area. My children enjoy testing as many as possible. 😉

• Play Date: Invite a friend or more to your home or park to play and build relationships.

Free Outings for Members

• Jump Zone: To get the wiggles out, my children love to go bounce for a few hours. We gain free admission with our annual membership, and entrance for our friends cost around $7 per child.

• Science museum: Using our annual membership for free admittance, we enjoy a day browsing and learning about the world around us.

Inside Outings

• Game day: With a love for games, my children are content to remain at home playing one game after another.

• Movie: Picking up a Red Box movie (use promotional code F2AMA8TG3 for a free one-day rental – valid through May 8, 2013) and snuggling in bed with a bowl of popcorn equals perfect bonding time.

• Baking: Making an Easter surprise or whipping up chocolate chip cookies offers opportunities to learn while warming our home.

• Easter crafts: Coloring eggs, creating Resurrection eggs, making cards, painting, an egg hunt, or any other Easter activity or tradition makes memories.

With so many options, we might need a two-week spring break. Oh, won’t that be nice – although, I might not want to return to our normal school routine. Knowing that our fourth quarter starts the week we return shows us the light at the end of the tunnel. Only two more months of school until we get summer break. This year, I need that vacation more than my children. 🙂

In using time wisely with your children, nieces, nephews, cousins, and grandchildren enjoy an activity or outing with a little planning and a day of fun. Happy spring break!

Question: What are your plans for spring break?