Knotts Merry Farm

The girls (and so did I) wanted to go to Knotts Merry Farm during vacation.  The girls love the rides, Snoopy on Ice and the dancing lights in the evening.  I love it for Snoopy on Ice and to watch the Christmas Carol play they have every year.  All the light in Camp Snoopy are fun to look at too! I found a good deal for tickets on ebay, where we got 4 of them for $70!  It was a lot less crowded this year than last which was really nice.  I think the longest we waited in line for a ride was about 20 min.  We happened to be at the right places at the right times to see all the Peanuts characters and get pictures with them.  Because of the crowds being light, we squeezed in a Peanuts character show and saw the holiday parade.  The parade is pretty sad compared to Disneyland.  The music is played from one float that is in the middle of the parade and a speaker that was really far away.  The parade members were full of smiles and all the characters came out or by floats and got the job done.  The girls and I enjoyed the parade.  I much rather see Peanuts characters than Disney characters any day.  We got on all the rides we wanted to do and saw all the shows we wanted.  We closed our day by looking at the lights in Camp Snoopy and the girls danced around the dancing ground lights of snowmen, bells, and snowflakes as we headed for the exit.

Pretend City

The girls had to come here during their vacation.  We having been coming here once a year for the past 3 years and they still love it.  I'm a little bored of it; but it's for the kids to have fun and not me.  I tried to lure them with other suggestions to go instead; but they wouldn't budge.  So off to Pretend City where the drive is about 1hr. 30 min. to Irvine.  We arrived at lunch time; so we were hoping there would be a little less people playing and more people eating lunch.  There were many people who were leaving when we got there, so that was a good sign.  We got in at $11/person and the girls just kind of stood there pondering at which place they were going to tackle first.  I took them so long to pick a place, I thought we would only be there for 2 hrs. max.  The 1st time we stayed here for 8 hrs!  Their first pick was the grocery store, then moved to the farm and the water table area.  Last time, the water area was their favorite and spent sooo much time there.  This time, they probably spent about 15 min. there the whole day.  Their favorite this time was the pretend greek restaurant. They liked taking turns serving each other meals.  They also loved the library this time.  It was not opened the last time we were here and they enjoyed sitting down in the lounge area to read a book and pretend to be librarians scanning books to check them out.  After visiting areas more than 2 times and making a couple art projects, hubby and I were getting tired of walking around.  We made it to the 4 hour mark and called it quits around 4:00.  We headed back home and made it for enough time to cook some spaghetti dinner.

Looking at Christmas Lights

The girls ended their day at noon after their Christmas party at school and are now officially on Christmas break!  As a small kick off, we went to look at Christmas light around town after dinner.  It is a must to get some hot chocolate to sip while looking.  There are many houses that go all out that we visit every year.  We have them all programed into the GPS, so its very helpful when driving around.

Beverly Hills Holiday Trolley and CityWalk

I read that Beverly Hills was having a holiday trolley ride with Mrs. Clause telling stories and singing and thought it might be fun.  The cost for the trolley is $5/person and $1/child. It runs on the hour and we got there about 45 min. before the next trolley was scheduled to arrive. During our wait we walked around Rodeo Dr. and Doheny where the stores were decorated and had a large Christmas tree with carolers around.  The girls had never been to Beverly Hills and were excited to check out all the expensive shops where we would never step foot in.  The trolley arrived and we were greeted by a Mrs. Clause.  She handed out candy canes and sang one song, stayed on the trolley for about 15 min. then left at a nearby stop.  Not what I was expecting.  The tour continues around Beverly Hills showing us houses of celebrities that once lived in them.  The information during the tour was interesting and the girls enjoyed looking at all the big houses.  We noticed that out of all those houses, we only saw one with Christmas lights on it.  Humbugs! The tour lasted about 45 min.

We left Beverly Hills, and got some dinner at Burger King.  Buy one get the second whopper for 55 cents was the deal for today.  After dinner we went to CityWalk.  We have not been there in a very long time, so we decided to check out their holiday light show and snow fall.  It cost $10 to park.  Good grief!  The holiday light show was nothing great and lasted about 5 min.  The snow fall was bubbles blowing down in a certain area.  My oldest thought it was real snow and started catching it on her tongue.  Regardless, the girls enjoyed all the bubbles coming down on them.  We walked around the stores; but the favorite was the candy store.  We spent a while in there and also watching the indoor sky divers at iFly Hollywood.

Too Many Santa Clause's/Holiday Boat Parade

Today was a busy yet fun day trying to cram in all those free fun holiday activities.  Our 1st stop was the Richard Rioux park where they were having their free holiday celebration.  We never expect much from this small event; but the kids are entertained for a little while.  They have hot chocolate and chocolate chip cookies, a gingerbread photo frame craft to make, a few games, a bounce house and a visit from Santa.  The girls were not interested in seeing Santa who was even handing out stocking with goodies in it.  They were way more interested in playing in the bounce house which was all to themselves while the other kids waited in line to see Santa.  We were there for about an hour before our next stop to the local library where another Santa would be there reading stories.

We got to the library and waited for Santa to come and read stories as well as sing songs.  As kids and parents sat around Santa's chair, he came, read a story, then sang some songs.  He was a good story teller and even got some kids on his lap to read with him and help turn the pages.  About 30 min later, he gave opportunity for each child to sit on his lap and tell what they wanted as parents got out their camera for a snapshot.   The girls really enjoyed seeing this Santa.

After storytime with Santa, we went to get our Christmas tree and headed back home for lunch.  We had just enough time to get the tree unloaded into the living room, leaving it bare for a few more days when we have more time to decorate.

We are now off to Marina Del Rey to watch the holiday boat parade.  It's a 45 min. drive and thought by leaving at 4:30 we would have plenty of time to make it to see the firework show that started at 5:55.  After driving for about 5 min., we realized the girls had forgotten their jackets. We turn around, and get the jackets which cost us about 15 min.  We get back on the road and ran into some traffic about half way there.  At this point we didn't have any hope to see a firework show.  We finally got to the parking lot at 5:55 just as the fireworks were starting.  Yeah, we made it on time for the show!  But what does hubby do?  He drives around looking for a parking spot in the other direction of where this short firework show is.  We then stopped in the parking lot to watch them in the car.  Then we left to get something to eat.  I was looking for a Carls Jr cuz I had a coupon for it; but the GPS led us to some apartment buildings, so we ended up at a McDonald's to carry out and eat at the boat parade.
We got back to the parking lot where some lady couldn't read the huge free parking sign and was sitting there for 5 min. with a huge line behind her as she was trying to figure out how to get in.  We finally got in and then walked  what felt like a mile to the parade.  We got there around 6:30, so it was really crowded; but managed to find a spot to view.  It was in front of a very large decorated boat.  What a great spot!  Wrong!  This boat was docked and was not going to move.  We still had a decent size opening to view the boats as we ate our cheeseburgers. 

The boats were festive looking at it was fun to watch what must have been about 70 decorated boats go by.  There were several boats that had Santa's riding on them.  My oldest said, look there's Santa, excitedly.  Then again, look another Santa and another Santa.  Why are there so many Santa's, she asked?  I thought there was just one.  Quickly we had to come up with something before she stopped believing.  The answer was, because he can very quickly go from one place to another.  That answer was good enough for her.  But we must have seen about 15 Santa's throughout the day and are Santa'd out.

Holiday Gift Card Bonuses

Arby's
Purchase a $10 gift card, get a free Peppermint Stick Swirl Shake. Participating locations only. Participating locations only

Barnes and Noble
Buy $75 in gift cards, receive a $10 eGift Card free

BedandBreakfast.com
Get a $25 gift card when you spend $100 to $199. Get a $50 gift card when you spend $200 or more.Use promo code GCBONUS50.

Benihana
Receive a $10 Promotional Card when you buy $50 worth of gift cards

Biaggi's
Earn a $15 Holiday Bonus Award Card with every $100 in gift cards purchased

Black Angus
Get $5 in Bonus Bucks for every $50 in gift cards that your purchase

Bonefish Grill
Buy $100 worth of gift cards, get a $20 bonus card

Boston Market
Receive a $5 gift card, when you buy a $25 gift card

Bravo
Get a $20 bonus, when you buy $100 in gift cards

Brixx
Get a free dinner for two (a $25 value) for every $100 that you spend on gift cards. Ends Dec 31

Buca di Beppo
Receive a $10 Reward Card for every $50 in gift cards that you buy

California Pizza Kitchen
Purchase $100 in gift card, and receive a $20 Rewards Card

Carl's Jr.
Get a free chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich coupon when you purchase a $5 gift card

Carrabba's
Purchase $100 in gift cards, get an $20 bonus card

Charlie Brown's
Get a $5 voucher with every $25 gift card purchase or a $15 voucher with every $50 gift card purchase

Cheeseburger in Paradise
Receive a $10 bonus card for every $50 in gift cards purchased

Cheesecake Factory
Get a free slice of cheesecake for every $25 in gifts that you buy

Chevys Fresh Mex
Buy a $50 gift card, get a $10 certificate to use towards your next meal

Children's Place
Get a $10 ecard for every $40 ecard that you buy

Chipotle
Spend $30 on gift cards get a free burrito, bowl or, salad or order of tacos

Chop House
Get a free bottle of steak seasoning with a $100 gift card purchase. Get a $50 dinner voucher with every $500 gift card purchase

Claim Jumper
Receive a $10 Reward Card for every $50 in gift cards that you buy

Culver's
Get a free Value Basket for every $25 in gift cards purchased

CVS
Get a $5 e-gift card for every $25 in e-gift cards that you buy. Can be used online or in store

Del Taco
Buy gift cards and get free food. The more you spend, the more free food you receive

Dell
Get a $75 eCard for every $400 in eCards that you buy

Denny's
Spent $25 or more on gift cards, get a $5 bonus card

Don Pablo's
Buy a $25 gift card, get an extra $5 added to your Habaneros Card

Fleming's Steak House
Get a free $20 gift card for every $100 gift card that you buy

Godiva
Get a free $10 gift card for every $50 that you spend. Four card limit.

Half Price Books
Get a $5 bonus card when you buy a $25 gift card

Hardee's
Get a coupon for a free chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich with a gift card purchase of $5 or more

Jamba Juice
Buy a $25 gift card, get a free 16 oz. smoothie

Jason's Deli
Earn a $5 gift card, when you buy $50 in gift cards

Joe's Crab Shack
Get a winning scratch off ticket for every $25 that you spend on gift cards

Lettuce
Get a $25 bonus certificate for every $100 in gift cards that you buy. Good at 40 restaurant brands

Kona Grill
Receive a $20 bonus card for every $100 in gift cards

Krystal
Buy a $10 gift card, get a $20 coupon book

Landry's
Purchase a $50 gift card, and receive a $10 Reward Card

Longhorn Steakhouse
Score a $5 bonus coupon, when you buy a $25 gift card

Macaroni Grill
Earn a $5 Bonus card for every $25 gift card purchased

Maggiano's Little Italy
Spent $100 on gift cards, get a $20 Bonus card, plus a subscription to Food & Wine Magazine

Max and Erma's
Get a $5 Bonus Holiday Card for every $25 in gift cards

Morton's Steakhouse
Buy $250 in gift cards, get $50

Olive Garden
Get a $5 bonus coupon for every $25 gift card that you buy

Outback Steakhouse
Get a $20 bonus card for every $100 in gift cards purchased. Limit 10

P.F. Chang's
Purchase $100 in gift cards, get a $20 Bonus Card

Qdoba Mexican Grill
Get a $5 voucher for every $25 that you load on a single Q-Cash Card

Redbox
Buy Redbox promo codes to give (starting at $6 for five rentals), and get a free promo codewith each purchase

Red Lobster
Purchase a $25 gift card, get a $5 bonus coupon

Red Robin
Get a $5 Bonus Buck for every $25 in gift cards purchased

Rita's
Score a free treat when you buy a $10 gift card

Ruby Tuesday
Buy $50 in gift cards, get a $15 bonus coupon. Includes free shipping too

Smokey Bones
Give $50 in gift cards, get $10 in Bonus Bucks

Sonny's Real Pit BBQ
Receive $10 in Bonus Cards when you buy a $50 gift card

Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes
Earn a free meal pass for every $50 in gift cards purchased

Steak and Shake
Buy $20 in gift cards, get a $5 certificate

Subway
Purchase a $25 gift card, and get a free six-inch sub

Taco Bell
Buy $20 worth of gift cards, and get any menu item free

Texas Roadhouse
Spend $30 or more on gift cards, get a $5 Bonus Card

T.G.I. Friday's
Get a $5 Bonus Bites card for every $25 that you spend on gift cards

Tony Roma's
Score $15 in RomaBucks for every $50 in gift cards purchased

White Castle
Buy a $25 gift card, receive a $5 promo card

Tip: See one of your favorite stores or restaurants on the list? Buy gift cards for yourself, and tuck them away to use later in the year. It's an easy way to save.

Halloween Events

Halloween Carnival at Northridge Rec. Center.

Today we went to the Northridge Rec. Center for their Halloween carnival.  The kids were entertained with about 15 different carnival type games.  They also got to decorate Halloween shaped cookies of pumpkins or ghosts, make giant hands out of popcorn and plastic gloves, make a Halloween sticker scene and collect candy along the way.  The tick or treat village was neat where kids could go onstage to different houses to trick or treat.  The girls did not want to participate in that though.  They also had a costume contest but we didn't stay long enough for that.

Richard Rioux Park Halloween Event

We grabbed some lunch and went to the next free Halloween event at the Richard Rioux Park.  This is very small, low key, low budget event.  They had a few carnival type games outside, a bouncer to play in and a costume contest.  The girls were here for a short amount of time, then wanted to play at the playground.