Every year I take our four kids to the State Fair of Texas! Lisa doesn't get to go because the kids are out of school, but teachers have an in-service day. Anyone who's ever been to the fair, knows it's not a place for saving money, but I'm here to say it can be done (even with 4 kids in tow)!!
It all starts with a clear plan. I have found a great $5 parking lot right across from Gate 10 and I park there every year. Sure beats the $15 rate to park inside the gate which is just right across the street. So I get there early to nab a nice spot. Our tickets are the Free ones they get from the school.
The day before I gather the kids and we read the brochure on line and pick the FREE events that we want to check out, then I plan out a route that gets everybody where they want to go with the LEAST amount of wading through the sea of humanity. This year we saw the Dog Show, Diving Pirates, Puppet Show (way cooler than it sounds), and Birds of Prey exhibit, and of course, photo op with Big Tex. We arrive by 10 am and stay 'till 6PM, which makes for 4 tired kids. This gives us plenty of time to walk around and see the gardens, sculptures, exhibits, and whatever else we want to see that day.
Since all of that is free, we also pack our lunches in a back pack, which if we eat at 11:30 my load of 5 lunches gets a LOT lighter. They also carry their own little water bottle that they can refill as often as they want. I never have to hear, "Dad...I'm thirsty, hungry, etc." I also bring PLENTY of little snacks (cereal bars, granola bars, little chip bags, etc) and they can rummage through the backpack and get what they want. Every time they eat...my load gets lighter!
This year the neighbor across the street gave us 14 food coupons that they had left over and my dad was with us so he sprung for 6 more and we got TWO funnel cakes to split between the 7 of us who were scouting the fair together. That was a REALLY special treat. Gotta have some "Fair Food". Last year we split a Turkey Leg!
Don't get me wrong, my kids WANTED to spend more money on things. They wanted to ride rides, but I reminded them that they are wanting 6 flags season passes for Christmas and if we get those we can go and ride rides ALL summer long! Plus my route around the fair avoided the Midway as MUCH as possible.
When it came time to go, I had also packed a small cooler with one soft drink for each of us and left it in the car. So we all had a nice cold refreshing drink when we got to the car. I had some REALLY happy kids at that point (They NEVER get soda after 5, but what the heck...it's Fair day!!)
So, yes the things I packed did cost money, but that was a part of our grocery stash from the house and all I spent from my wallet was that $5 bill to park in the AM. So for a $1 per person, I'd say it was the best priced memory of a day at the Fair!
