The Birthday Outing

I ended up not having to watch my niece and nephew today, which is my youngest son's 4th birthday. When I realized this last night, I looked into taking him to Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America. They have an offer for a free wristband on your child's birthday. I was still able to sign up for it last night. So Nils and I headed down to the mall this morning. He's never gotten to go on a ride there (in fact, the only reason we ever go to the mall is to go to Legoland--not to buy, but to look and play). So this was a special treat.

When we arrived and got his wristband, we also received a special birthday coupon book. So, after riding a lot of rides (some I was allowed to go on with him if it required a "chaperon"), Nils partook of free mini golf (we had a coupon for if I purchased, but didn't need since under-five-year olds are free), ate a free cookie from Nestle Tollhouse and got a free chocolate birthday cake ice cream cone from Kemps. We had a fun, full day and our only out-of-pocket expense was $3.75 for a couple hot dogs, a slice of pizza, chips and a drink across the street at Ikea for lunch.

It was a fund day for a four-year old to spend his birthday without having to spend a lot of money to do it. If your child has an upcoming birthday and you live near the Twin Cities, check out Nickelodeon Universe.