There are some things that make you want to be a kid again, and a romp at the COOP in Studio City may well be one. This indoor-outdoor play area has a garden, reading area, and dance floor for kids ages 2-8, plus coffee WiFi for you. A monthly membership is $45, but take advantage of today’s Daily D and get it for just $20.
Not bad for unlimited visits during the month. The COOP’s hours are Monday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The voucher expires September 30, 2010.
Caveats: you cannot drop off your child and leave. Not valid with any other offer. New customers only. You can buy vouchers for others as gifts but aren’t supposed to resell them.
This is not paid content, however I earn a commission on every purchase made through Daily D.
Live in Los Angeles? There are some great deals for free family activities, books, dresses, groceries, and more on my do-it-yourself Los Angeles deals site, BargainBabeLA.com.
There is a free childrens/family art festival in the San Fernando Valley this Sunday with live performances from local school children. Thanks for sharing this deal, Meital!
A reader who calls himself The Unethical Man spotted a deal to get $100 when you open a new account at Bank of the West.
The Unethical Man also spotted a great deal on toilet paper. Just $.125 a roll at Superior Grocers!
A&M books in Canoga Park is bringing back their amazing half-off book sale because the last one was partially rained out. Thanks for sharing, honeygram!
Nothing at the Lucy Love dress sale today through monday in Corona del Mar is more than $15. Nice!
If you are near downtown, check out A Grocery Warehouse on Sunset for amazing grocery prices.
Here are the best Los Angeles deals this week from BargainBabeLA.com.
Disneyland tickets are discounted for SoCal residents who take advantage of the 2fer ticket on sale for a limited time.
If you can’t wait for the baseball season to open, get $11 Dodgers tickets to their spring training.
In Encino, reader Franki recommends the newly opened One Dollar Bookstore.
The Long Beach Aquarium is free for teachers in the month of March. Wahoo!
Sign up to sell your kids gently used clothes, toys, and gear and make some serious cash.
This week’s winner of the $10 Starbucks card is EvieK, who won by sharing great Los Angeles deals on BargainBabeLA.com. Congrats!
Kids eat free every Wednesday at El Torrito. Luuuv their chips and salsa. (Bargain Babe shared this deal.)
Still hungry? All you can eat BBQ is just $12 Monday and Tuesday at Willy’s Smokehouse. I am so there! (Shared by EvieK)
Dodgers tickets are half off for many of their early season games. Great prices for the Anaheim Angels, too!
Put this one on your calender for next weekend. The United Methodist Church in Northridge is holding a massive yard sale going on March 6.
The DLM clothing warehouse is opening its doors again to the public for a massive sale with prices at 80-90 percent below retail. Last time I blogged about DLM there was a huge response.
I don’t have kids and I’m excited about a new site I just learned about called ConsignmentMommies.com, which lists kids consignment sales across the country. The site capitalizes on a newish trend – people buying and selling gently used kids clothing, toys, and gear at massive sales that resemble garage sales on steriods. There are 544 sales listed already.
You can search for sales within 5-100 miles of a particular zip code. A search in my hood resulted in two sales I already knew about and four new ones. Now if only I had kids!
You can post a sale on the site and review sales you’ve been to – all for free. Business listings are for a fee, however. A mother-daughter team launched the site in 2009 and they are still adding features, like a page listing all sales by state.
ConsignmentMommies.com also has a blog with helpful tips. One recent post shared pricing guidelines for maternity and kids clothing:
• Tee shirt $1-2
• Casual Top $3-4
• Dress Top $5
• Jeans $5
• Jean Shorts $2-5
• Shorts $1-4
• Pants $1-4
• Dress pants $3-6
• Casual Dress $3-5
• Dress $5-8
• Suit $10-$15
• Swim Suit $5-10
These sound like great prices to me! One parent I interviewed years ago said she made enough money selling her kid’s old gear, clothing, and toys, to buy what they needed for the next growth spurt. I hope this site helps you find a sale with great prices near you.
Get 15 percent off your next purchase at the Children’s Place when you click on the image on the left. Good online and in stores through Nov. 16, 2009.
The store is currently promoting clothes for school pictures but the coupon can be used on pretty much anything.
Caveats: good in the U.S. only, one time use, one per customer, not valid on gift cards or previous purchases.
Using this coupon helps support BargainBabe.com!
Readers have already shared a ton of great ideas for the frugal Halloween costume contest.
Lisa has a costume that makes money:
Get a large trash bag, cut holes in for legs and arms, then fill out around you with assorted bottles, cans, etc. and go as a Recyclable. Then you can cash in the costume for $$ – very bargain babish!
Lynda has a veggie suggestion:
I went to a party one year where a woman wore a long orange dress, and tied several piece of fern to her head…said she was a carrot!
A friend who was pregnant wore an old girl scouts uniform with a sign: It’s the Boy Scouts who are supposed to be prepared. Got a lot of laughs. Whatever you choose, have fun!
Georgie is super resourceful:
Put a pair of green tights and top on and blow up green balloons and go as a bunch of grapes, we did it for the whole family last year, cheap as chips. I will email you a photo. (above)
Hilary says go incognito:
I had an old fake christmas tree, and I reworked the branches to hang from my body I was inside the tree. Battery-powered lights, ornaments, the whole bit, and they couldn’t figure out who it was.
Debra’s costumes are especially clever:
My mother was the original cheapskate for Halloween. My brother and I had 2 choices – ghost or “hobo.” We either had to wear the sheet with eye holes or dad’s old clothes with fireplace ash on our face. Good times.
Now my husband and I usually dress up with topical themes. A few years ago, when I was 7 months pregnant, we went as pregnant Britney and K-Fed. All we needed was a wife-beater for him and some bare feet, Cheetos and a Red Bull for me.
Although if you really want to be cheap, once I forgot to wear a costume to a costume party, so I told everyone I was dressed as apathy.
Meital has a sweet idea:
Everyone’s name in my family start with an M. One year, the 6 of us in my family dressed up as the M&M’s. The 4 kids were different colored M&M’s and my parents were the M&M package. It was very cute!
Missed the rules? You describe a low-budget Halloween costume in a comment. On Halloween I dress up as the cheapest, most bizarre costume you’ve suggested. With pictures of the winning costume, of course!
So what frugal costume do you want me to dress up as?
UPDATE: I am SO incredibly embarrassed. This was yesterday! I apologize for the error.
Get a free 3-ounce treat at Coldstone today from 5-8 p.m. only when you make a donation to the Make A Wish Foundation. The freebie is not any flavor – beggars can’t be choosy – but a treat called “Jack’s Creation” that mixes ice cream with brownies and rainbow sprinkles and topped with caramel.
Coldstone says 95 percent of the donations will go to the Make A Wish Foundation. One per customer, while supplies last. Details here.
Is it back to school season already? I’m hearing rumblings that retailers are gearing up for the annual spending spree so I called Mary, who writes The Recessionista fashion blog. She just outfitted her neice and nephew for fall. We talked about what is worth splurging for, where to go low-budget, and what everybody is going to be wearing when the first bell rings.
What back to school purchases are worth spending a little extra on?
The school stuff is definitely going to see some wear and tear. Khakis that have the better weave don’t rip as easily, they don’t catch or snag. But I’m certainly not going to spend $100 on a pair of khakis. Have you seen the new GAP khaki collection? That’s a great look for a high school girl. Those are under $100. I would go out and buy the more upscale khakis that just came out at the GAP or buy Dickies. I spend more than $20 on those.
I get the kids good backpacks. I cannot believe how much stuff these kids are carrying now. From age 6 through high school they seem to have more gear than I have. I’ll even go for an LL Bean backpack. Things that look cute don’t last. Avoid vinyl and backpacks made of mostly plastic.
Sturdy shoes. That’s an area where I spend a lot because the kids are still developing. They’ve got a long way to go before they reach the final growth spurt. They need a good heel, a good Reebok or PJ Clark shoe. I don’t want them to be getting into bad posture, especially if they are carrying books. Don’t go for flip flops or jelly shoes. When they run really fast they fall down on them, their feet sweat and they get blisters. You do want to get them a nice shoe.
What items do you spend less on?
Shirts. I’ll buy them cheap shirts, t-shirts, tank tops, and pull overs. They tear them and they stain them at an incredible rate. Tank tops and shirts at Walmart are two for $15. Also Old Navy has really has cute stuff for boys, girls and teenagers. You can find cheaper stuff that looks good.
What about accessories?
I bought butterfly hairpins for $1 each at H&M. They have cheap ponytail holders and headbands. I also like Forever 21 and Express for cheap earrings. For accessories I also see that Loehmann’s has some stuff in that area – little pearl headbands for girls to pull their hair back. It looks for upscale than it is.
How much do you spend on back to school shopping?
It varies. Honestly, there were times when I was a good Auntie and did my nephew’s total package, about $800. That’s for shoes, several pairs of pants, a backpack. It does add up. Some years I’ve had to buy him supplies, like an art box, paints and crayons. If I weren’t going to get the high end items I could probably do it for $200.
What’s in style?
The girls want the maxi dress (above). This is like a trend from the 60s that is making a huge comeback. It’s a floor-length dress. It’s loose and flowy, kind of a nice thing for summer and early fall.
Tie-dye dresses where the top is one color and the bottom is another color. Vavartos converse dresses. Target sells them. I think they are $35.
Everybody wants the good jeans. Out here in LA everybody wants the skinny jeans and the distressed jeans. The Fred Astaire hats and white plastic rimmed sunglasses. The preppy look – I don’t see so much of the preppy look. I’m seeing crisp white pants and colored tops for girls, a lot of turquoise or fuschia shirts and the smocked hippy dippy shirt.
Resources from The Recessionista:
Kohls ack-to-School Essentials Under $50
Kohls Back-to-School Trends
Under $40
Kohls Back-to-School Accessories Under $25
