october

Family Friendly Fun for FREE!

It’s October! Unfortunately that means dodging creepy-bloody-death decorations everywhere, but it is also one of my favorite times of year because I LOVE fall and I love costumes. I almost can’t even handle all the imaginative creativity and cuteness every year when I see kids dressed up.

There are also so many activities going on that you can wear your costumes to. Here are three of the free family friendly dress up activities we’ll be participating in again this year.

Chucktober

If your child wears a costume to Chuck E. Cheese ANY day in October you get 50 free tickets. That’s 150 free tickets between my three kiddos. We went over and over again last year. The kids wore different costumes every time (we’ve accumulated a collection which I’ll talk about tomorrow). I bought a handful of tokens ONE time that they used very sparingly throughout the month. The fun of Chuck E. Cheese is only amplified when you get to make believe!

Ikea

Our local Ikea is hosting their trick or treat event on a Tuesday October 27th (the day kids eat free in the cafe!) You can get more use out of your costume while going from station to station collecting candy and doing crafts and having a free meal. Check your local Ikea, mall, and retailers for events like this that could be happening throughout the month.

Church

Our church does a trunk-or-treat fall festival every Halloween. It’s always a lot of fun. I’ve lived a lot of places and no matter where we are there are always tons of free church, school, library, and community organized activities available at no cost. So I’m sure that there is something near you. Some of these options are also great if the weather is bad, which seems to happen a lot here in Ohio!

So even though you may not have the same exact events available in your area, check online (or click the links above for more details on the three I’ve mentioned here). Between that and all the farms and pumpkin patches there is sure to be something going on all month long that lets you have some super frugal family time.

Why not get more than just one use out of those costumes?

Taking a Break From the 31 Day Challenge

In 2013 I joined up with a large group of bloggers who committed to write on one topic everyday for 31 days in October. It was an amazing experience. I did again last year. So much good has come out of both of these series.

The first was Lots of Hope in a Little Home which was about our family of 5 living in less than 800 square feet.

This series has encouraged and impacted more people than I could have ever possibly imagined! I give glory to God for using what could have been a very rotten time in our life and turning it into something to help so many.

The next series was Teachable Parenting.

Thanks to this series I have been able to connect with many other women for networking, prayer, and encouragement. I still hear wonderful feedback about Teachable Parenting and I plan to make a book based off of it one day.

I know I sound like I am being overly dramatic, but if it were not for the 31 day challenge my blog and therefor my life would be different than what it is today. That’s the truth.

This year I had a topic. I had written down many ideas and started drafting and outlining. I signed up and was ready to go. Then I started to pray and consider whether or not that is what I was supposed to be doing right now. It’s a lot of work you guys! In response I felt like the Lord started leading me in another direction and focus for October and since then I have just had a peace about not participating in 31 Days. So as much as I love everything about 31 Days, I called it quits for this year.

That doesn’t mean that it’s going to be totally quiet around here though . I will be sharing my Bella Gravida maternity outfits for What I Wore Wednesday and I have another really awesome guest post opportunity. I also still plan to share a couple posts about Taming the Sugar Monster (which is what my series would have been) along with a mini series (probably a week long) called Things I Want to Teach My Children Sooner. I am super pumped about that series and I think you’ll be inspired too.

There are still over a thousand women (and maybe a few men) writing for 31 days on some really cool topics. You can see all the categories and bloggers HERE. I encourage you to look around. There really is something for everybody.

Even though I am bowing out this year I am still excited about October and looking forward to these next 31 days!