Cheap Outing for Single or low cost families.

My mom used to do this with us guys. I've taken mine too. my mom used to do mini field trips and pack a lunch we'd go downtown on a bus. (which was neat to) and look at all of the tall buildings. I did this with mine too but i took them in and we road the elevator to the top floor of the tallest one and looked out the window!

Yes that is awesome idea....I live close to Pensacola and they have the Blue Angel show there alot ...we can go to the beach and watch them its so cool ..the kids just love it ..thanks for giving us those ideas ...always looking for great ideas to entertain as well as educate out kids..and this was a very ggod way to do both ... :D

Such a nice idea you have there. Children are really fascinated with airplanes and its a good thing to try that. However, we haven't done it coz the airport is quite far from our place. When i was still in my country, we usually bring the kids (my nephews & nieces) to the beach and we'll have some barbeque. They enjoyed collecting various seashells & colored stones and building sand castles. There's no fee for the place and we'll just bring along with us beach umbrellas and set-up tent. So, it's an economical way also for family enjoyment.

Weather permitting we enjoy going mimi golfing it is very cheap and takes about an hour and we have a blast not once have we gone and not laughed...

you always do got nice ideas my friend... and im thankful you did... nice one frined.. and thank you for the best marked response miz yah

good idea. for all u know your children might get so fascinated that they might grow up to become pilots! another good outing can be to a park where u even get a chance to feed some birds and observe plants and get close to nature.this would give a chance to children to connect with nature. i have even read that kids naturally relate to plants and animals and as they grow this connection becomes weak because of lesser exposure. so it is important to keep them connected with nature:)

When we used to got to the airports we used to make up stories about who people were and where they were going , shifty looking guys we would say he has robbed a bank and the money is hidden in his dirty sock lol . Or a woman robbed a jewellers and there are watches in her bra , and what if they stat ticking lol great fun xx

We lived in the country when our son was younger Kathy (still do in fact - just a different place) and used to go to Melbourne a couple of times a year for business. We would always take food with us and depending on what time our appointment was, would either spend some time looking at the planes either to or from it. We would park outside the airport as the cost of parking was a bit horrendous, although once every couple of years we would actually park in the airport itself. Children love to see planes taking off and landing, and it also encourages their imagination to work. The fact that they now have the observation decks are brilliant and allows the children to see the planes close up. One other thing we have been doing in recent years with the younger children of some of our friends is taking them to either a park or Botanic Gardens. We take something for them to eat and drink, so we can make a real day out of it. It is often easy to get some bread rolls, roast chicken (or whatever), and a few salad items plus some mayonnaise and they are in heaven. It always tastes better when they are out than when they are eating the same thing at home. Also the children can run around, play on the swings etc while the parents can relax a little, although keeping an eye on the children.

The planes are fun, but we can no longer go where we can observe them from inside. It is past the security check posts, and believe me, if you do not have a ticket, you do not go up. It used to be so cool to look out the big windows and watch the luggage being loaded then see the plane taxi down the runway and lift off. 9/11 took that away from us.

This is a good idea. Other cheap or free entertainment for families, are going to a park, if it has a playgropund that's good. If not, take a ball, bread for ducks and walk around. We have a lot of nature parks in Adelaide, and it's very enjoyable and educational for our children to view our environment. Also, the beach is free, ours still like building sand castles.

I've done this with my kids when they were young. Another thing we would do (back when gas wasn't so expensive) was "Road Trips". We'd pack picnic lunches get in the car and just drive. The kids would get a map out and pick a "possible" destination but the rule was we took back roads, not the highway, we've seen some great sights this way. If we'd see a sign that looked interesting we'd just turn off, a park we liked the looks of we'd just stop. Many times we never made it to the destination but we had great fun.

i have a few ideas of things to do that don't involve a lot of money. my daughter and i go to the skating rink, outdoor one and sometimes to the public rink. check to see if your area has free public skating. here we have it every couple of weeks if not it only costs us 4 dollars for a couple of hours. some museums also have free days so call all the museums in your area. galleries are sometimes free as well. hiking is a no cost activity where you can bring a picnic.

Taking your children to places you mentioned is a bright idea. For me what is most important is you spend quality time with your children where ever you and the children are. I would like to suggest some more places you can take your children like the train station, fire station and some places where the children will get some educational values. Enjoy every minute with them as you will miss them when they reach their adolescent age.

That's a nice topic, could work for dates too! Look in the magazine in the morning, sometimes there are free concerts in parks, at least in the summer. Otherwise you can take a walk in town on a time when you know that stores are closed! Does a neighbour of friend have a dog, maybe you can borrow it and play with it for a few hours? Take the kids to the library and read with them for a couple of hours, sometimes they have arrangements for kids too!

Yes the idea is really a good one, it helps children and parents who can afford little, they ccan avail this oppurtunity to not only view and make them see and feel what things are.

Thats something I used to do years ago when my daughter was smaller, although she didn't like it that much because of all the noise! I've been a few times with friends and it's fascinating to watch them take off and land! Good idea!!

i'm 38 but i remember doing this as a field trip in elementry school. we all gave the huge aircraft bug eyes as we were taken to the windows close to the gate. some of those airbuses were big.

We used to do that with parties of children in Bradford many years ago as we had the Leeds bradford Airport near to hand! So we just took the primary kids up there and gave them all a sketch pad and pencils on arrival and got them to sit near the window and told them to draw what they saw! You know! It kept all those kids quiet for a couple of hours! And they loved going there too for a lesson! I wasnt a teacher, but someone that volunteered on times they needed extra hands to help on outings. Must admit I loved it as much as the kids too lol

another idea could be to take them to an orphanage where they would get a chance to interact with others of their own age group and u will get a chance for some social work. also it will help your kids become more sensitive towards lesser previleged children...

hey thats agreat idea! i generally take my kids to the near by park or the zoo we carry some snacks and have fun time.