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Children are a beautiful gift, but bored children are a force to be reckoned with. Here are some great activities to do with your little people on the cheap in the Charlotte/University area.
1. The Greenway – Cost Free
Charlotte has a wonderful greenway system that is loaded with natural beauty and laced with pocket parks. When I moved from California I was utterly devastated at how difficult it was to walk places here. Discovering the greenway system was an absolute game changer. The Charlotte greenway system connects neighborhoods to parks and other destinations and continues to grow. We love to walk on Mallard Creek Greenway. We park at Mallard Creek Elementary and walk to one of the “secret parks”.
2. Feed the Ducks- $0 to $10
If it’s a nice day we like to head to The Shoppes at University Place and feed the ducks. You can get a handful of duck food for twenty five cents. If your kiddos need to burn some energy there is a path around the lake. We walk the path fist before stopping to some playtime at the awesome castle park in front of the Hilton or grabbing some ice cream at Nineties. If you are feeling more adventurous you can rent a paddle boat and paddle around the lake.
3. Ride the Light Rail
Kids love trains! Charlotte has a brand new light rail system that runs all the way to south end. Sometimes just hoping on the light rail and riding a few stops is enough but if you are looking for more…
4. Take the Light Rail to Imaginon
You don’t have to take the train if you don’t want to regardless of how you get there Imaginon is an awesome place to take children. It is the largest children’s library in the country. They have a variety of exhibits and activities that change and best of all it’s FREE. The light rail stops right in front.
5. IKEA- Free
There are two ways to enjoy IKEA with your children (yes really) . My kids get a kick out of going upstairs and playing in the children’s area. There are tunnels and trains and play kitchens all set up for children to explore. If you want to have a more relaxed Ikea experience you can drop the littles off in Small Land and quietly explore IKEA on your own for an hour while the children have the time of their lives playing in IKEA’s Small Land. My son had so much fun he wanted to host his birthday party there. They can only play for one hour and must be fully potty trained and meet the height requirement.
6. Movies at the GEM
The Gem theatre is single screen historic movie theatre in downtown Kannapolis. The theatre is family friendly and super affordable with Tickets running $4 each. We like to sit on the mezzanine so we can easily sneak to the restroom 28 times.
