FREE admission for Grandparents & Grandkids at Rueben H Fleet

Celebrate Grandparent's day at the Rueben H Fleet for free! Grandparents and their grandchildren can get in for FREE on Saturday September 12th - nice!

From what I understand - parents will still be charged so I HIGHLY suggest dropping the kids with the grandparents & enjoying some child free time....but maybe that is just me.

Thank you very much to San Diego East Macaroni Kid for letting me know about this fun Grandparents day freebie!

Enjoy ~
Kate

Military families still have time to take advantage of FREE Museums!

I mentioned this deal a while back but I wanted to remind everyone - make sure to take advantage!

Click here to see the HUGE list of CA museums that active Military and their families can enjoy for free through September 6th - lots right here in San Diego! There are TONS in California and hundreds throughout the United States!

Enjoy ~
Kate

California Surf Museum in Oceanside is FREE Thursdays!

Beat the heat in the air conditioned museum for FREE!

The California Surf Museum in Oceanside is a fun free outing every Thursday.  Admission is normally $3, but it is free for the whole family every Thursday!

The California Surf Museum
312 Pier View Wy Oside CA
760-721-6876

Enjoy ~
Kate

Save money on a trip (or staycation) in San Diego NEW STUFF ADDED

I thought I should put together a list of some great money saving options for anyone who is planning on vacationing or staycationing in San Diego!  I will attempt to make this brief...

* Start off with an Entertainment book - but wait! FIRST go through Ebates to get an additional 25% off!  These books are so deeply discounted by the time summer comes around - you could use it one time and it will more than pay for itself! everything from amusement parks to dinner to dry cleaning to mail in rebates for your hotel! too late! SD edition is sold out! hopefully you already purchased yours!

* Go San Diego Card from Smart Destinations can save you LOTS if you plan on going to several different locations in San Diego - check them out first!

*So Cal City Pass - if you want to hit all the major themeparks in So Cal - this is a great way to do it *side note* see my previous blog post on city pass - if you live here you may want to upgrade some of those already  one day admissions to year passes for little or NO cost!

*FREE museum days! Check and see if the museums you are interested have FREE days - the following do...Active Military? - you are in luck - you and your family can attend several museums all over the US (TONS here in San Diego) for free until Labor day!
       SD Botanical Gardens is free every 1st Tuesday
       California Surf Museum is free every Thursday
       Balboa Park has several free museums EVERY Tuesday!
       The Escondido Performing Arts Center hosts a free concert every 1st Wednesday
       The New Children's Museum is FREE every second Sunday
       *special note* check your local library to see if they have added free museum passes - ours in San Marcos just did - yay! if you are a SD resident you can take advantage of 'borrowing' a ticket to see several museums and aquariums for free!

* SD Movies in the Park lists TONS of free outdoor movies you can enjoy - our weather is one of our greatest attractions - who says you have to spend a bunch of money to enjoy SD??

*check back here at http://www.sandiegodealsandsteals.blogspot.com/ for TONS of outdoor concert series - most are completely free! just add your own picnic!

*check back here at http://www.sandiegodealsandsteals.blogspot.com/ for awesome free Street fairs & festivals - there seems to be at least one every weekend! These are great for locals and tourists alike!
*Sea World is offering a great summer promo - great discounted tickets and $2 of every sale goes to help Ronald McDonald House Charities.

*San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park Annual passes are tax deductible! If you are going to get the City Pass - I highly suggest you upgrade your pass - for just a few dollars more you can then see BOTH parks (the pass makes you choose just one) AND you will then get a write off as well as several other benefits to your membership (for example at the WAP you can ride the tram for FREE!)

*Summer Pops 2010 is an awesome evening of music on San Diego's Big Bay! Purchase tix online via link & enter the PROMOTIONAL CODE RSVP for $10 off each ticket (up to four discounted!)

* San Diego Padres games can be lots of fun - we have such a beautiful stadium! Purchase tix online via the link & enter the PROMOTIONAL CODE RSVP for 25% off! - nice deal!
*Planning a trip to Legoland? Make sure to swing by Carls Jr. first - you can get a 'buy an adult admission, get a child's admission free' voucher with any meal purchase!

*Who doesn't love surf brands?? I know we have friends that are SO excited to shop at surf shops when they are in Southern California - but here is my hot tip - DON'T go to the surf shops! Go to Marshalls, TJ Maxx, and Ross first! We often buy Hurley, Quicksilver, Roxy, Oneill, Billabong, and other great surf brands for nearly the same price as something from Target! 

*this might be a 'no brainer' - but remember our beaches are (for the most part) free! People fly thousands of miles to sit on our beautiful La Jolla shores (and other beautiful beaches too!) - so make sure to take a walk on the beach & build a sand castle! You could spend all day at the beach without spending a dime!

Enjoy ~
Kate

Sunday July 18th ~ Deals & Steals

Always remember to check out the Deals & Steals Calendar! So much stuff I can't possibly post it all - this blog would just be too cluttered.  But I post tons in the Calendar (sometimes months in advance!) so make sure to check it out regularly!

Sunday July 18th there are quite a few fun things going on...

Art in the Park ~ Coronado - every 1st & 3rd Sunday

La Mesa FREE CONCERT ~ every Sunday

Target's Art & Wonders ~ Free Admission to ALL the following! (FYI - it is an art & music event - I HIGHLY suggest dressing the kids in playclothes!)

10am - 4pm ~ The New Children's Museum - downtown SD

11am - 5pm ~ San Diego Museum of Art - Balboa Park

5:30 - 7pm ~ Spreckles Organ Pavillion

Enjoy ~
Kate

Summer Reading Program is awesome...I think I already mentioned that!

So I have to mention this again - summer reading program at the San Diego County Libraries is awesome!

You can sign up online here - then you simply log your hours that you read to your kids or (if they are older) that they read to themselves.  Add up hours & you get prizes - yay!  We do LOTS of reading in our house anyway - so it almost seemed silly to get prizes for doing what we do anyway - but we went into the San Marcos Library today to show off our reading certificates and each of my kids got a bag with the following...

Bath toy
FREE Child's Admission w/ Paid Adult Admission Legoland ticket
FREE Aunti Anne's Pretzel coupon - no purchase necessary!
FREE Child's admission to the Natural History Museum (must have a pd adult)
FREE kid's meal at Daphne's when an adult meal is purchased
FREE kid's meal at The Old Spaghetti Factory when an adult meal is purchased
FREE Personal Pizza when any other pizza is purchased at Round Table
FREE ticket to the San Diego Zoo (nowhere does it say the adult ticket needs to be purchased - remember there is a deal running at the Premium Outlets right now where you can get free zoo tix w/ the purchase of a gift card - side note - i would combo these deals)
FREE yogurt at 'FRO YO LOVE' - no purchase necessary!
FREE kids admission to the SD Air & Space Museum (not admitted without an adult)
bookmark

that is a LOT of fun freebies for something many of you are probably doing anyway!  So those of you dragging your feet - sign up now! And remember to check your local library for awesome summer entertainment!

Enjoy ~
Kate

1st Tuesday = lots of freebies!

1. the first Tuesday of the month is always free at San Diego Botanical Gardens (formally Quail Botanical Gardens), you will still have to pay for parking! Have four or more people in your car and your parking is FREE too!

2. 1st Tuesday is (in my opinion) the best FREE Balboa Park day ~ if you are a SD resident you get free admission to the Rueben H Fleet Science Center, The Railroad Museum (which is hard to find if you have never been, it is actually underground), and the Natural History Museum ~ these are all great museums for families including those with young kids.

San Marcos Library has museum passes for you to borrow!

I have mentioned this before - but with summer in full swing and new readers joining every day I thought it was time to mention again.

You can borrow an FREE museum pass from the San Marcos Library - it is only a 1 day pass, so make sure to return on time so others can borrow too!

Participating Museums

Birch Aquarium
The California Surf Museum (remember this one is free every Thursday)
Museum of Making Music
Oceanside Museum of Art

Anybody else 'staycationing' this summer?  You can save so much exploring your own city - no airfare, no hotel, no rental car - but that is NO EXCUSE to pay full price at your cities attractions - stick with me & I will show you some great ways to save on your entertainment too!

This is really a great opportunity! Does anyone know if there are other libraries (County or City) that offer similar programs?? I would LOVE to post that information.

Enjoy ~
Kate

Dads get in FREE At Reuben H Fleet Science Center - Father's Day Weekend

Reuben H. Fleet Science Center is offering free admission to Dads JUne 19th & 20th with the purchase of one full priced admission - nice!

Happy Father's Day!

Enjoy ~
Kate

Sunday Deals and Steals ~ June 14th

The New Children's Museum is FREE for all on the 2nd Sunday of the month - thanks to the good people at Target

San Luis Rey Pow Wow 10am - 6pm - Oceanside San Luis Rey Mission

Old Globe Open House - 930am - 2pm - The Old Globe Theatre - Balboa Park - TONS of events - face painting, sword fights, dancing, free popcorn and more!

Coronado Summer Concert Series - Coronado - Spreckles Park 6-7pm

Timken Museum Of Art is always FREE!

Click here for more information about the Timken Museum of Art in Balboa Park. 

This is a beautiful museum that is ALWAYS FREE - no admission of anyone any day - nice!

Keep it in mind when you (or you child) needs to visit a museum for a class project or when you have out of towners visiting. 

Enjoy ~
Kate

Date Night? Free Admission Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego

Admission is free on the 3rd Thursday of every month from 5-7pm at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego.   - I think this sounds like a great start for a 'date night' that doesn't have to break the bank (unless of course you find a painting you can't live without!)

1001 AND 1100 Kettner Blvd

http://www.mcasd.org/

Oceanside Museum of Art ~ Free admission 1st Sunday of the Month

YAY! just found another 'free day' for a local museum!  The Oceanside Museum of Art has free admission EVERY FIRST SUNDAY! Admission is generally $5 - $8 for adults (kids are always free) - but it is free for all on the first Sunday - including this Sunday March 7th.

click here for more information

OMA

704 Pier View Way
Oceanside CA 92054
(760) 435-3720

Museum Month is here but time is running out! Make sure to take advantage!

This is a repost, but I don't want anyone to miss it!

Museum Month, presented by Macy's is here! Enjoy half-price admission at 39 museums throughout the month of February. Pick up a FREE Museum Month Pass at any Macy's in San Diego, El Centro, or Temecula. One Pass is good for half-price admission for up to 4 visitors to each museum. Check out the participating museums and find your nearest Macy's on this website at the Museum Month Page.

- get your Pass at Macy's!
 
Enjoy ~
Kate

Remember to check out previous posts about free museum days - of course Balboa park has free museums ever Tuesday, but there are several other museums that offer free admission every month or every week - do you know more? please email me with info or post a comment!

Free / Inexpensive stuff ~ Sunday February 7, 2010

Museums on Us - for Bank Of America Customers only! Show your Bank Of America card & get free admission this weekend - click the link to see Museums in Southern California - museums are great on rainy days!

Oceanside Museum of Art is offering a FREE family art day - 1pm - 4pm - this month they are making Chinese lanterns and learning how to do Chinese Caligraphy - fun!

The Disney Store in Plaza Camino Real will have a 20 minute "Mickey Mouse Sing Along Storytime' at 1pm & again at 4pm - if you are going to the mall anyway it sounds like lots of fun.

Tomorrow is shaping up to be a VERY frugal friendly day!

As always, I suggest you check out the calendar here on sandiegodealsandsteals.blogspot.com in the right hand column, but when a day comes along with so many awesome freebies I like to list them in a post too.

You have TONS of choices tomorrow for free or close to free!

1. Participating San Diego County Subway's are offering FREE breakfast & coffee (call your local subway to make sure they are participating) 7am - 11am

2. FREE San Diego Botanical Gardens day (formally 'Quail Botanical Gardens') remember to carpool as there is a charge for parking.

3. FREE select Balboa Park Museums for all SD residents & active Military

4.  FREE birthday party at IKEA if your kids under 10 have a FEB birthday - MUST REGISTER BY TODAY! see previous post!

5. Remember to go to Macy's sometime this month for your Museum Month pass! TONS of 1/2 price museums all month.

6. Craft & shows at several libraries - check the calendar.

That should keep you busy!

Enjoy ~
Kate

California Surf Museum is FREE every Thursday!

I LOVE FREE MUSEUM DAYS!!  I just found a new one to share!  Normally the CA Surf Museum is $8 for adults, kids under 12 are always free.  FREE ADMISSION FOR ALL ON THURSDAYS! Yay!

The California Surf Museum
312 Pier View Wy Oside CA
760-721-6876

Enjoy ~
Kate

New Children's Museum ~ FREE SUNDAY

If you haven't taken the kids to the New Children's Museum downtown yet Sunday October 11 would be a great day to go!  Thanks to Target it is FREE all day!  It will be busy, but it is so worth it!  You will have to pay for parking (bring quarters for street parking).  Check out the link for directions and more info
http://www.thinkplaycreate.org/visit/index.html

enjoy!
Kate