12 tips to make your trip to the zoo even better and stress free

I love watching my girl’s faces light up when they see all the animals at the zoo. But to tell you the truth, I haven’t always loved actually going. I know all moms everywhere can relate. It can be so much work and STRESS to take your kids places like this by yourself. But it can be fun for you too you just have to change a few things up. For more fun stress free adventures with the kids check out my backyard camping tips.

Here are my top 12 tips to make your zoo trip even better.

1. Go to the zoo when it’s not crazy hot. When I’m hot I get grumpy, which really just means that I’m not enjoyable to be around lol! So we always go on days when this crazy Midwest weather isn’t scorching.

2. If you’re taking multiples have them wear the same color. I have four girls so I bought larger pink shirts from Walmart, so they could grow in to them each year, and those were our zoo shirts. This way it’s super easy to pick them out in the crowd.

3. Take a backpack. this is a must! Anytime we are going to be out walking around for extended periods I ALWAYS wear my backpack. I’m not a fashion forward kind of girl so this does not intrude on my style one bit. Comfort over fashion, that’s how I roll lol!

4. Don’t over pack. I know you’ll want to take everything but the kitchen sink but the truth is you don’t need everything. I used to be that mom and I learned that I don’t need to be prepared for EVERYTHING. The zoo is equipped with Band-Aids if one of my precious girls falls and skins her knee. So keep the load light and if you absolutely need something you didn’t pack it’s not the end of the world, the zoo will likely have what you need.

5. Pack the essentials. I’m talking wet wipes, ibuprofen for both you and the kids, Benadryl for the kids {this is a must with us because we’ve been in situations where we needed it asap for a yellow jacket sting and now I don’t go on trips like this without it}. These items are small and will fit easily and weightlessly in your backpack. Trust me, these are items you don’t want to buy once you get there. Talk about a convenience fee.

6. Pack a lunch. I don’t think we’ve ever bought lunch at the zoo. The prices there are crazy high so we pack one. If you choose to pack a lunch keep it simple. We usually take a sandwich, cut up veggies, chips, and something sweet for everyone. I’ve found if I keep my kids busy they don’t want to snack all day. So keep pointing out those animals and talking about them, they’ll likely not ask for a snack.

7. Take refillable water bottles. We usually take two and I keep them in the side pockets of my backpack. Our zoo has water refill stations everywhere there is a bathroom so we usually refill every time we stop to use the facilities. And with four kids we stop often.

8. Everyone NEEDS to wear comfortable walking shoes. We don’t ever wear sandals or flipflops, always tennis shoes because again, comfort over fashion ;)! Not having your kiddos complain that their feet are hurting from wearing uncomfortable shoes is a glorious thing! You might have to stand your ground before you leave the house but you’ll be SO thankful at the end of the day bc the jelly shoes little Susie wanted to wear won’t be giving her blisters today 🙌!

9. Pack sunscreen. Our family is full of fair skinned faces so we apply this a lot throughout the day. If your sunscreen bottle is a little too big to carry around all day get a small travel sized shampoo bottle from the Dollar Tree and fill that with your sunscreen.

10. Bug spray. If you live in an area with little flying evil blood suckers, in other words mosquitos, you will probably need this. Even on days when it’s not typical prime mosquito weather we’ve still encountered them at the zoo. I always take this just to be on the safe side. For some reason they REALLY love us.

11. Take quarters, enough for all your kiddos, to feed the animals. Our zoo has several areas that kids can feed the animals and sure enough the times when I forget quarters the change machine is down. So take enough for each of your children to get their own to feed for the animals.

12. Don’t feel like you have to see everything. The times when my girls and I have had the most fun at the zoo is when we go in without a plan. These are the days when I’m not stressing over making it in time for them to watch the birds get fed, or rushing through the animals so fast so we can see them all and we end up not really SEEING them because we rushed. Take your time and enjoy it. And if your kids want to stop and play let them play. Granted you’re there to see the animals but you’re also there to enjoy the day with your kids and if stopping for 20 minutes will make them happy, let them play.

As a mom of four this list has helped me tremendously enjoy our trips to the zoo. The important thing to remember is tip #12. It’s all about enjoying the day with those precious little souls.

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How to plan the PERFECT no stress art party for your crafty kiddo for less than $40

Has your kiddo been dreaming of that PERFECT art birthday party? Maybe they are like my older girls and have all of their out of budget party dreams pinned to Pinterest {yes, they really do this!}. After having 4 girls and LOTS of birthday parties I’ve learned a thing or two on how to pull off that perfect art party on a budget!

Disclosure: some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Here’s the a little truth, kids just want to let loose and be kids. They don’t care about fancy decorations, perfectly spaced plates and napkins, banners hung at just the right height. Let’s be honest, that’s for the adults. The kids are there to hang with their friends, eat cake, and have loads of fun, but that’s a whole different blog post.

So how to you plan a kids painting birthday party under $40? Yes, you read that right…. just $40!

First you need to decided how many kids will be coming to your party. Usually I will have a few extra supplies in case a kiddo RSVP’s at the last minute or if one shows up and doesn’t RSVP at all. A typical party we host at our craft studio has about 6-8 kids. Our kids, they usually have about 20…gulp! I know that seems a little ridiculous but they have lots of cousins and I always invite the party goers siblings to stay because I’m a sucker for feelings and don’t want any kids to feel left out. Honestly this is easier for the parents that want to stay for the party anyway.

Snag your FREE checklist below

If you don’t have anything at home here’s everything you will need

Most of these supplies are disposable to make this EXTRA easy and stress free for you!

-8”x10” canvas these come in a pk of 12

- acrylic paint set of 12 2oz paints
- paint brushes these you can toss when the kiddos are done

-paper cups used for holding water to rinse paint brushes

-paper plates used to hold the paint, one for each kiddo

-plastic table covering this you can toss when you’re done

All of these items can be shipped right to your door with amazon prime*, I told you this would be stress free. No going to 5 different stores to track down all the supplies you need only to get home and realize you totally forgot something {I do this all the time!}. Then the day of the party you kick yourself because I never made it back to the store to get that forgotten item. All of this will cost you less than $40, not including taxes or any applicable shipping*

*based off of when this post was published

So how do you host an art party? First, I always tell the parents to put their kiddos in clothes they can get messy. There’s nothing scarier than a pissed off momma because her child got their new clothes ruined by non washable paint. So try to avoid that at all costs. Next, you want to have everything set up before the kids get there. This is so much easier than trying to pass out all the materials with 10 little helpers gathered around. That means, plastic table cloth down, water cups filled half way, canvases, paper plates, and a couple of brushes at each table setting. Let’s talk about paint…paint goes a LONG way, you’d be surprised at how much paint gets wasted at parties like these. Before the party I always squeeze a small amount of each color of paint that’s available onto each child’s paint plate. Trust me, you’ll thank me for this stress saving tip!

I try not to let the kids sit at the table where they will be painting until we are ready to paint. Unless you have some kiddos that are great at following directions I would have the kids avoid the paint table till you’re absolutely ready.

Now for the fun! Once all the party guests are ready let em loose on their canvases. In my experience kids have WAY more fun when they can paint their own thing using the colors they pick out. Usually that’s what we do. You can see the joy it brings them and their creativity coming to life the second that paint brush hits their canvas. And they all make something totally different and it makes my heart so happy! That individuality is so beautiful!

I promise your kiddo will be so happy creating beside all their friends they won’t even notice the fancy decorations aren’t there.