This post has been sponsored by Asmodee Digital. All opinions are mine.
One of the things I love most about living near a big city, is that there is ALWAYS something new to explore. I grew up in Houston, but my family never really went out and explored everything the city had to offer. Now that I’m raising my family here, we’ve made it a point to really get out there and explore together.
Even if you don’t live outside a massive city like Houston, I’m sure there are new things to explore where you live too.
To start exploring your city, make yourself an adventure list. When we made ours I spent some time searching different terms for fun things in our city. Things like:
- Best things to do with kids in (city)
- Out of the box things to do in (city)
- Best parks in (city)
- Best coffee shops in (city)
- Best places to get ice cream in (city)
- Historical markers in (city)
- Best day trips from (city)
- Street art in (city)
After searching these terms, make yourself a list of all the best places you’ve found. We have a huge list of over 75 places to visit, and our list keeps on growing!
Making yourself an adventure list helps SO MUCH because it’s already planned for you. The next time you have a free day or weekend, you don’t have to search around in that moment. Instead, scan your list for something that looks fun and check it out!
When you’re taking kids out to explore, you need to make sure you’re prepared. Some parks and locations are more fun than they seem online while others might be…underwhelming.
A few tips to make exploring extra-epic.
Always have a backup plan
There’s nothing like telling your kids you are going to discover a new super-fun place and then having it fall completely flat. Have a fun backup activity so there’s not disappointment.
Take entertainment with you
You know our family LOVES games, so we have learned to take them with us. Recently, we discovered that one of our favorite family games from home (Spot It! Duel) now has a mobile app. This comes in handy when you are traveling far places or just exploring the city. The kids love playing with the little dobble character and seeing how many pictures they can match!
Today, we pulled it out to play awhile while we were waiting in a coffee shop. The place we wanted to go wasn’t quite open yet so we had about 90 minutes to kill.
Games come right out and the kids had so much fun playing they hardly noticed the wait time! You can download the game on itunes or get it on google play! Spot It! Duel is super fast-paced and it’s really fun for all ages! If you have multiple devices you can even play against one another right there at the table. It gets harder and harder as the game goes on so it’s challenging for adults AND kids alike.
Best of all, the Spot It! Duel app is free, so you can bring it along with you on your travels and adventures easy-peasy!
Plan ahead for snacks
Last tip for exploring your city, is to bring snacks and plenty of water with you. Even if you plan to eat a meal out, make sure you are stocked with food and drink in the car too. You never know when you might get lost or end up out in the heat longer than you expected. With good snacks, water and of course a fun game of Spot it Duel on your device, you are sure to have an awesome day wherever your adventures might take you!
Mama C says
All of these are great advice. We use lots of them already but thanks for mentioning a few we didn’t know about. I didn’t know spot it had an app. We love the regular card game though and carry it with us for the reasons you mentioned