What’s more fun than leaning into the magic of childhood and surprising the kids with a memory they’ll cherish their whole lives? We’ve shared some of our favorite ideas below, with lots of local options. Let us know your ideas to make the everyday extraordinary in the comments below.
Inner Space Cavern
— Plan a “Mystery Trip”
This can be anything. You pick the outing, tell the kids it’s a “Mystery Trip” and they won’t know what is until you arrive. Voila — it’s the most exciting day ever for them! Our Editor did this recently with her kids and went to Inner Space Cavern. Inner Space Cavern has cave tours, a zip line, a playground, and free “gold ” panning to try.
More “Mystery Trip” ideas:
- An Indoor Play Place or Arcade
- $7 Movie Night @ Alamo Draft House
-
Check out where to Stargaze Around Austin
Check out Do512 Family’s Calendar for inspo to plan your “Mystery Trip”.
Image copyright (©) Netflix Originals or related entities
— Have a “Yes Day”
Inspired by the Netflix original movie, Yes Day, the kids lead and you “have to say yes”. (Within reason, of course). Here are some parameters our Editor used when doing a Yes Day for her kids:
- Yes Day activities can’t be out of the family budget
- Yes Day can’t involve a new pet (but hey parents — that’s up to you. Here’s where to adopt if you’re open to new furry family members!)
- Yes Day can’t include anything the kids aren’t old enough for. Or anything, ahem, permanent. (Yes, her six-year-old asked for a tattoo just to see how far Yes Day could go. That was a hard no)
— Rent a Bounce House.
Go in with some neighbors on a bounce house and let the kids burn off energy for hours. Don’t tell the kids it’s coming, just let them notice when there’s a giant, colorful jumpee all setup and ready to go!
- Where to rent a bounce house locally: Austin Bounce House Rentals, Austin Moon Walks, Bounce Around Austin, The Bounce House Party, Sandi’s Moonwalks
— Write ideas on strips of paper and eenie-meenie-miney-mo it.
This is something we saw on Instagram, so let us try to explain. Everyone writes down an idea on strips of paper and you pick a few to do for that day. You can make it for part of a day or a whole day and customize it to your family budget and how long you feel like being out and about.
Starter Ideas to Choose From:
- Breakfast: Cook pancakes at home, Breakfast at Snooze, Breakfast for mom in Bed
- Activity: Playground, Target Run, Movie
- Lunch: Hat Creek, The Grove, Meanwhile Brewing
- Activity: Roller Skating, Zilker Park, Sno Cones
- Dinner: Breakfast-for-Dinner at home, RA Sushi, Hibachi
Looking for more things to do this month with the family? Check out:
