groupon

Looking for Frugal Fun for Winter Holidays? Check out Neighborhood Light Displays!

Abby H.

This is one of our family traditions, even since Bubs was a baby. My brother and I grew up doing this, too. I’m not sure if winter holiday light displays on residential properties are big in other parts of the country, but here in Southern California, it’s serious business. Some of these houses put the Griswold’s to shame.

Here are our family’s favorite neighborhoods to visit:

East County:

  • Jingle Bell Hill (also known as Pepper Dr. Lights). Solomon Ave./Pegeen Pl. and surrounding area. Off 67 & Bradley. Dec. 8-26, Mon-Th 6-9 pm, Fri-Sun 6-10 pm.
  • 10248 Paseo Palmas Dr., Nicknamed “Tinsel Town”. Dec. 1-25, 5:30-9 pm. Most of the houses on this street are very well decorated with lights and moving displays! They have a Facebook page too!
  •  Starlight Circle, East and West Glendon Circles. Through December 26th, 7-10 pm. This is extremely popular!  Starlight Circle even has a Facebook page! Starlight Circle has gotten so popular in recent years that the neighboring high school has opened its parking lot. You can park your car and walk through.

There are some neighborhoods that we have added to our list this year. Most of them have been around for years, but we have not visited them yet.

  •  Christmas Card Lane in Rancho Penasquitos 9190 Oviedo St, San Diego, CA 92129
  • Christmas Park in Clairemont Jamar Dr & Lana Dr, San Diego, CA 92117
  • Merry-tage Court in Scripps Ranch Merritage Ct & Stonebridge Pkwy, San Diego, CA 92131

And if you are looking for some family fun beyond a car ride and light peeping, Groupon has a few deals on Holiday light events, including Jingle Jets: USS Midway Museum’s Dazzling Holiday Light Display and San Diego Bay Parade of Lights Cruise on Luxury Yacht Peregrine.

Groupon: Costco Membership Deal!

Abby H.

Costco is one of my favorite places to stock up on essentials. If you haven’t been in a while, it’s time to mask up and head over!

Groupon has a great deal on Costco Memberships. There are two options, both are pretty solid deals.

Costco Gold Star Membership + $100 off $200 on Costco.com from $65
or
Costco Executive Membership + $100 off $200 on Costco.com from $130

Costco.com has a lot of great deals and offers that aren’t available in the local warehouses. And don’t forget to check the banner at the top of the page once you get to the Groupon site for any extra coupon codes to save money!

Here are my top five Costco Bargains:

  1. Rotisserie Chicken
  2. Butter
  3. Premier Protein Shakes
  4. Kodiak Cake Flapjack Mix
  5. Krusteaz Pancake Mix
  6. Bananas
  7. (Bonus) Their Gas Stations frequently are .20-.30/gallon cheaper than the “discount” stations.

7/28/2025 is National Waterpark Day- Splash for Less!

Abby H.

July 28 is National Waterpark Day, and if your kids are anything like mine, they love swimming and splashing.

Here are some of the local splash pads that my kids love:

Hilton Head Park (wristband costs $4)

Santee Lakes (you can walk in for free, but there is a cost for the wristband $4)

Santee YMCA– This is only a good deal if you are a YMCA member or live in Santee. On certain days, Santee Residents can enjoy the pool and splashpad for free. 

Civita Park– small, but free and the playground at the top of the hill is super fun.

The city of San Diego Parks and Recreation department has info about all of the city-run splash pads and pools here.

Groupon has offers for the Southern California area here.

Legoland has a fun waterpark, and the kids and I recently went and had a blast. Here is our review. 

The Plunge at Belmont Park is a fun indoor pool and water playground.

Sesame Place– I was not a fan of this place when we went right after they opened. The water isn’t heated, so on overcast summer days, it can be pretty chilly. Sometimes they have Groupons available.

Saving on Summer fun with Tweens and Teens with Groupon!

Abby H.1 Comment

We’ve got less than 30 school days left, and the kids are already asking what we’re doing this summer.

In the past I’ve written posts about free stuff to do in San Diego over the summer, and I’ll have one up later this week, but Tweens and Tweens sometimes are “too big/too cool” for the splashpads at parks, or don’t want to go to the library for craft events.

I headed over to Groupon this morning to see what I could find that might appeal to my posse.

If you are looking for different activities, new restaurants to try, or maybe even a massage, check out Groupon. They have all sorts of cool deals available!

Fun, Free, & Frugal Events for Kids & Families in San Diego, CA

Abby H.

With better weather and Spring Break on the horizon for most of us, it’s time to get out of the house and find some fun, free stuff to do!

San Diego is full of fun outdoor adventures. If you are looking for places to take your kids for some hikes or walks, Hidden San Diego has a list of 40 kid-friendly hikes here. Hidden San Diego also has some amazing information about San Diego’s history, locations to explore, and even some creepy lore surrounding America’s Finest City.

If you’ve read my blog for a while, you know about the JCPenney Kids Zone free crafts that occur every second Saturday of the month in selected JCPenney stores.

You probably also know about the Home Depot Kids Workshop, which takes place every second Saturday of the month. However, some stores do one every single week; you just need to check your local Home Depot store to find out.

Did you also know that Lowe’s Hardware store does a similar activity on the third Saturday of each month? 

Lakeshore, the educational store, holds free kids events, including storytime with Pete the cat and sensory events.

If you are in the eastern part of San Diego County, the Water Conservation Garden at Cuyamaca College offers free admission on Fridays from 9am-4pm.

While not always free, Michaels offers in-store classes for both Kids and adults. Sometimes, the classes are free, and sometimes there is a class fee (usually $15 or less). Classes run for about an hour, and you need to take something really cool home with you.

The San Diego Craft Collective at Liberty Station has a free class on the first Friday of each month from 5 to 6 PM.

Don’t forget their resident free days at Balboa Park every single Tuesday.

If you’re looking for more fun, free events, check your local shopping center or mall. Parkway Plaza in El Cajon has a free kids event every month. It usually involves a craft and some sort of fun games where you can win prizes. 

Groupon always has discounted admissions to local attractions like Legoland, Birch Aquarium, and indoor trampoline/play places.

 When I find more, I will definitely post more. 

Earn Cash Back with Groupon+!

Abby H.

Screen Shot 2019-08-31 at 4.44.48 PM.png The other day I wrote about Mogl, which is an appt that helps you earn cash back at restaurants. Today I’m going to tell you about another Awesome way to earn cash back when you eat out: Groupon+!

It’s as easy as 1, 2,3!

  1. Sign up for free to get cash back at participating restaurants.
  2. Nothing to print our or bring in!
  3. Get automatic cash back on your credit card statement. (You can also use debit cards too, and the money will be credited to the account)

Cash back amounts vary from 5% all the way to 30%! And here in San Diego, there are some pretty awesome choices:

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And these are just two of the great deals. There are tons of choices in various cuisines and locations!

And you can load multiple cards to Groupon+! I loaded all of our debit and credit cards, so regardless of what method we may with, we’ll be covered! And I know my data is secure because it’s Groupon and I’ve used their site to buy all kinds of deals in the past.

Legoland California Turns 20!

Abby H.

We’ll be visiting Legoland California during spring break. The kids are so excited to check out all of the new shows celebrating the 20th birthday!

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If you are headed to the park soon, you will be greeted with all kinds of fun!

In honor of the special birthday, LEGOLAND California is handing out free child-size Minifigure hands to the first 1,000 kids entering the Park. The LEGO birthday cake, created out of more than 100,000 LEGO bricks, will also be on display showcasing the many attractions that have been added to the family theme park since it opened 20 years ago including a LEGO submarine, representing the Park’s newest ride, LEGO City Deep Sea Adventure submarine ride.

The birthday kicks off a year-long celebration that includes a new interactive Birthday Dance Party, LEGO Friends birthday show, exclusive birthday desserts, pop badges and more. The new shows can be seen daily now through Sept. 1 and are filled with singing, dancing and characters for all families to enjoy.

Plus, LEGOLAND California is paying the birthday fun forward to its younger guests – all children ages 12 and under get free admission on their birthday all year long! And for grown ups, there is a great deal on Groupon right now! One-Day Admission or Two-Day Resort Hopper Admission to LEGOLAND California Resort (Up to 31% Off)

And starting next month there will be a new 4-D Movie, based on the popular Lego City cartoons! You can check out a preview here.

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If you are looking to do Legoland on a budget, check out my post here.

Do you have someone in your party that has a handicap? Check out my post about the Assisted Access Pass and how we do Legoland with our kiddo with ASD.

Legoland Ticket Deals!

Abby H.

unnamed.jpgI just discovered this deal this morning, and I had to share! Ya’ll know we love going to Legoland, and with the new Ninjago 4-D Experience that just opened last month, there is even more to see and enjoy.

Groupon has ticket deals for Legoland California. 50% Off Legoland Florida & California Tickets for either 2 or 4 2 day park hopper tickets. But, the deal gets even sweeter (you know it would, right?), you can save 25% Off Groupon with New Coupon Code NOW25. Oh, and you can use the coupon code 3 times per account!

unnamed (1).jpgThe new Legoland Castle Hotel is opening on April 27, 2018! I can’t wait to check it out once it’s completed! I love that Legoland hotels are just more than a place to crash at the end of your Legoland day. The Royal Courtyard outside is designed to immerse children in a fairy tale of their own creation with a DUPLO play area for the younger kids, larger play structures for the older kids, giant movie screen for nighttime movies, a stage for live plays and shows, a gradual incline pool and hot tub. The pool bar and grill will offer smoothies, sandwiches and salads prepared fresh to order. And, for our family, we love that breakfast will be included with each guest’s stay and includes made-to-order items along with a buffet (our kids love breakfast!).

With so much to see and do at Legoland, this Groupon deal is the perfect excuse to plan a trip over Spring Break!

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Henry’s latest Lego Creation

Back to School Shopping (and Saving) with Groupon!

Abby H.

I love Groupon! They have such amazing daily deals, but, in addition they also have coupons to tons of your favorite retailers too? For example: Target! Yup, the beloved Bullseye!

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On the Groupon site there are 71 deals and coupons for Target. One of my absolute favorite deals for Target is $5.00 off $50.00 plus free shipping! This deal is not only good online but, in store as well. Perfect to get your Back-To-School shopping kicked off. Just think with Cartwheel and insert/printable coupons in addition to the Groupon Coupon, you’ll be driving a full shopping cart to your car!

I could shop Target for hours (hopefully alone and sipping a latte from the Starbucks inside the store!).

 

Screen Shot 2017-07-22 at 6.58.57 PM.pngThe other Groupon Coupons retailer I am looking forward to visiting soon is JCPenney! Ya’ll know my love of JCP! The great sales, the good, sturdy clothes (we love their store exclusive brands like St. John’s Bay!) and housewares, we do a majority of Back-To-School shopping at JCPenney! There are 43 coupons and deals for JCP, so I know there is no shortage of savings to be had!

If neither of those stores are on your Back-To-School shopping list these retailers are also on Groupon Coupons and Deals:

After you take a peek over at Groupon Coupons, which of the 82,830 free coupons at 12,082 stores are you most excited about?

 

 

Great gifts for kids that won’t break the bank (or your sanity)

Abby H.

DSCN9862It’s that time of year, when friends and relatives start asking you and your kids the dreaded question.. The Holiday gift question.

First of all, if you don’t have kids, please do your friends WITH kids a favor: Skip the toys that make noise/require batteries. Many a night I was woken by a phantom toy mysteriously going off. This Stupid Fisher Price Dog was the main culprit.

This year, we’re skipping all the “hot” toys. Why? Well, we don’t have cable, so Lil’ Man doesn’t really know about what toys everyone else has or wants. We mostly watch PBS and Netflix. I’m trying to get away from “stuff”. We have so many toys and stuffed animals. We don’t need a lot more stuff. I’m asking for more “experience” type gifts. Here are a few things that are always welcome in any household:

  • Groupon/living social/Amazon Local discounted vouchers or gift cards to places that  kids love to go, but can be a little pricey. For us, that’s Urban Jungle, Kid Ventures, Boomers, bowling. Zoo tickets, movie tickets, and museum passes are great options as well!
  • If you have a vacation planned, ask for gift cards. We have a friend who takes their family to Disney World each year, and she asks her family to buy the kids Disney gift cards to help offset the cost of their vacation (bonus- Disney GC can be used almost anywhere in the park- food, gift shop, even admission!).
  • Accessories for toys or games the kids already have. We always need more train tracks for our Thomas the Tank Engine trains. Most kids could always use more pretend food (we like these and these from Melissa and Doug).
  • Gift baskets that include experiences: I know I keep going back to experiences, but kids and families love to do stuff together. Movie baskets that contain popcorn, candy, redbox codes or GC for redbox is always a big hit here. We’ve given pizza night baskets that contain the fixins for a pizza (boboli crust, toppings, sauce) and a board game. Use your imagination!
  • IOU’s/GC for dates or time with the kids: Lil’ Man and I have a special date every week. We go out to eat and do an activity together. Maybe you have a little in your life that you’d like to spend more time with? Give them the gift a a date! Ice cream feeding the ducks, exploring nature- all of these things are inexpensive for you and mean a lot to a kid.
  • Craft supplies. The most popular gifts we’ve both give and received have been treasure boxes (usually a decorative cardboard box from Michael’s) full of craft supplies. Dollar Tree has a great selection of craft kits, glitter glue, stickers, feathers, pom poms, construction paper, water color paint, acrylic paints. Add in some wooden cut outs from Michaels (.50 or less EACH), and a few paint brushes and the kids will have fun for hours. The best part: for less than $20, they’ve got a cool box and tons of stuff to keep them busy and unplugged!
  • Monthly Subscription Boxes: Kids love to get mail. Monthly subscription boxes like Kiwi Crate, Little Passports, Green Kid Crafts are a great option for kids to get a little something fun in the mail each month- and monthly subscription boxes aren’t that expensive! Adults love them too! BirchBox (makeup), UrthBox (snacks), and Dollar Shave Club (razors and shaving accessories for men and women) are all popular options!