Have you heard about the great deal sites that are popping up?  We’re fortunate enough to have some right here in Cincinnati! I love getting my daily e-mail notifications about new deals around town.  These are great sites that put a great deal of effort into providing us some wonderful offers.

Below you’ll see the list of sites offering deals for our area.  Be sure to check them all out and start saving and having fun at the same time! The nice thing about all of these sites is that none of them require you to pay to belong – anyone can get in on the savings!

You can find some amazing deals and  have some great fun by checking out the following  sites:

eReach.com and the Big Deal are providing deals on area businesses at 40-80% off the regular price. The deals come into your email each day and with a few clicks – the deal is yours! There are a minimum number of deals that need to be sold each day – so if you like a deal – share it with your friends to make sure it happens!

Heather  Willard with the Big Deal told me “We really want to reach the same folks that know us from Reach Magazine. We provide family-friendly deals that are a great savings – which is definitely appreciated in today’s economy!”

There’s three ways to find out about the daily deal – sign up for their daily e-mail;  ”like” them on Facebook (Dayton folks have a separate Facebook to go to);   or follow them on twitter in Cincinnati or Dayton.

I purchased a deal from here in the Spring for Monster Mini Golf in West Chester. Buying the deal was simple. All I had to do was print out my voucher and hand it to the friendly staff at Monster Mini-Golf.  It was great! My kids as well as my husband and I had a great time inside on a super hot day this month.

The Big Deal also offers a unique fundraising opportunity.  The basic idea is that if  you get people signed up for the Big Deal email using a unique referral code – the first purchase they make for a Big Deal gets your group $5. Sounds like a great idea!

Half Price Cincy is part of the cincysavers.com site (which has weekly ads for local stores and  printable coupons). They boast to reaching nearly 70,000 unique visitors per month according to Omniture analytics.  Their team of bloggers includes Becky Grizovic from Nickels-n-Dimes as well as Heather Tenney, Cincinnati’s savings expert better known as Little Miss Know it All.

Melissa Huelman says, “We offer an online local coupon section filled with hundreds of free printable coupons. Site users can click and print their way to big savings on everything from local restaurants to services, automotive and home and garden needs, entertainment and attraction spots, and even health and beauty savings.

HalfPriceCincy offers ways to save at least half at more than 100 local businesses. At 9 am every Friday, they release a new selection of half-price deals for area restaurants, salons, attractions and businesses. At 9 am every Tuesday, they start Super Tuesday, where for 24 hours, our typically half-price deals are clearance priced at least 70 percent off.”

Because you print your deals once you buy them there are no shipping, handling or processing fees.

You can hear about their hot deals weekly on Q102, B105, The New Rewind 94.9; and, every Tuesday, they’re on Local 12’s Good Morning Cincinnati.

Melissa also shared with me that “the deals change each week, but we have nearly 200 half-price deals available every day. We also have contests each week just for signing up to receive our eblast, filled with info on new deals and ways to save.  Between that and our Facebook page, we give away as much as $4,000 in prizes each week.”

I just found out about this site a few weeks ago and when I visited it, I was really impressed with all of the various offers that are out there.  I saw some of our favorite places, so I’m sure I’ll be making my first purchase soon!

Groupon Cincinnati is part of a national deal site with deals specific for Cincinnati.  I had the pleasure to speak with Matt Faloon with Groupon.  He told me that Groupon wants to give you “ways to explore your city” to “find new ideas or to do things you might have known about but might not have otherwise done without a discounted deal”.  Isn’t that great?

I purchased a Groupon deal last month for the Florence Freedom.  It was the first time I’d purchased from them and I was a little concerned about the details of the deal and how it would work.  So, I hopped onto the discussions section and asked my questions.  I got quick and helpful answers almost immediately from someone who worked at Florence Freedom and was monitoring the sale on Groupon.  When I mentioned this to Matt, he was not surprised, he  stressed that they’re focus on customer service is what sets Groupon apart – there is normally a Groupon representative as well as someone from the daily deal on the site monitoring the discussions section ready to answer any questions or concerns while a deal is available.

I felt comfortable with the quick response I got and made my purchase.  Needless to say, we got a phenomenal deal and had an absolute blast at our first, but certainly not our last, visit to see the Florence Freedom. And Matt was right, my husband and I had talked for two Summers about going to see them, but never got around to it due to one thing or the other. Having a great deal right in front of our eyes gave us the added incentive to grab the deal and explore something new.

In order to get a deal, you say you want the deal and then you wait to see if enough deals sell. If they do, you get the deal.   Be sure to sign up to receive the daily deal e-mails.  If you know you have a trip to another city coming up, you might want to consider monitoring that cities Groupon deals for a month or two before you go to see if anything tempts you.  I recently went to Chicago for the weekend and I wish I’d thought of doing this before we went.  Oh well, a great excuse to have to go back!

Restaurant.com is a national company that gives you local deals on, you guessed it, restaurants.  Restaurant Gift Certificates are always on sale for a great price and sometimes you can get amazing discounts  (during a special offer you might see them as inexpensive as $2 for a $25 certificate!).  Make sure you read the fine print when purchasing certificates – most will only let you use one certificate per visit. All in all, my experience with restaurant.com has been positive.  I’ve purchased certificates for myself and I’ve given them as gifts.  They’re easy to use and the amount you can save can quickly add up to big savings for restaurants you frequent.

Would you Rather is another local deal site.  Caitlin Wilkinson with WoulduRather let me know that they’re currently working on updating the site, but I didn’t want to leave them out.

The basic idea is that you get two choices of deals  - in my experience I noticed one deal was more on an individual scale while the other deal was on a larger scale.  For example, I purchased a photo session from Red Door Photography in Bellevue, KY.  The day I purchased this, the other deal was for photos for a wedding.

Purchasing and using my deal was a cinch! I purchased my deal, scheduled my session with Red Door and then went in and handed over my certificate.  I was super pleased! I used my deal to get photos taken of my two children. In the past, I’ve always gone to a big store in a mall. This was a new experience for me and my children and it couldn’t have been better. Shad at Red Door made all of us feel comfortable and the photos are truly the best we’ve ever had taken of our kids. His thoughtful photos and adorable photo book he gave me as a thank you gift  means  I can’t wait to go back next Summer!

So get out there and try some new things or go to places you already love more often with deals offered by the above sites.  Do you know of any other sites offering great deals and discounts in the Cincinnati area?  If you do, please add them to our comments section.  I know I’d love to hear from you!

If you’d like to read more of my posts, visit me on my personal blog.

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This Saturday, August 7, Miami Whitewater Forest will be hosting the Appalachian Heritage Festival from 1pm – 10pm. The Festival takes place at the Harbor.  We took our family to this Festival about five Summer’s ago and it was such a nice, laid back event.  We really enjoyed listening to the music and watching the craft demonstrations.

There will also be food (including a chicken dinner that sounds down right yummy!). If you plan on listening to the music, be sure to bring your lawn chair or blankets to sit on.  Entrance to the Festival is free, but you will need a Hamilton County Park District Permit for your vehicle ($2 daily or $5 annual – if you purchase the annual permit you can mail in a rebate for $5 to spend at any of the HC Parks including the Festival of Lights).

While you’re there, plan to make it a day. Miami Whitewater Forest has some absolutely great bike and walking paths; there’s Parky’s Pirate Cove Wet playground; a big lake for fishing or rent a boat and get out on the water; and tons of other things you can do.

But getting back to the Appalachian Heritage Festival, read below to see what the Great Parks website has to say about this fun Festival:

“At 3:00 p.m. “Emily Hogeback and Wayne Luessen” will delight the audience with bluegrass music and country music. Emily has been blind since birth. She began playing the violin when she was seven years old. Emily has developed a love for bluegrass and country music and has become a very fine fiddler. She also plays a slide guitar called the dobro, studying with local bluegrass musicians and has spend countless hours learning the styles of bluegrass greats like Josh Graves and Jerry Douglas. Emily is a creative improviser, always ready to throw in a few  “hot licks” which make her performances personal and soulful. It’s quite amazing to hear her perform a ballad like the country classic “When You Say Nothing At All” and belt out the vocals like Allison Drauss while playing the dobro at the same time!

The next group to perform is “The Sloes” at 4:30 p.m. The Sloes are a progressive acoustic duo who has been performing their own music and a number of eclectic covers since 2000. In 2006 they released our debut CD, “Desperate Train”, which Cincinnati’s Citybeat Magazine declared to be one of the “Best of 2006″. The positive response to their music has allowed them to play a number of wonderful events, including the 2007 and 2008 Midwest Mandolin Festival in Indianapolis, 2008 Midsummer at the Meadow opening for Josh Gracin, three consecutive years at the Midpoint Music Festival, the Hyde Park Art Show, Wild About Wine and the Green Garden Party at the Cincinnati Zoo, the 2007 Modern Folk Festival, and dozens of wonderful Greater Cincinnati establishments, including Arnold’s, Barleycorn’s, and their “home base” of Mama Vita’s in Loveland.

At 6:00 p.m., it will be “Retread Bluegrass Band” on stage. The Retread Bluegrass Band is an energetic group of talented pickers and singers from the Cincinnati area. Active in the tri-state area since 2002, Retread has played numerous prominent venues including The Kentucky Wool Festival, Blue Ash Heritage Days, The Ohio Sauerkraut Festival, Red Barn and WAIF radio shows, The Cincinnati Nature Center, The Famous Old Time Music Company, Coney Island, The Historic Southgate House, symphonic collaborations with the Blue Ash Montgomery Symphony Orchestra and The Clermont Philharmonic Orchestra and featured artists at The Renfro Valley KY Music Center. Retread also plays numerous private parties, weddings and school education programs.

The last group called “Vern McIntyre’s Appalachian Grass” will take the stage at 8:00 p.m. Vernon McIntyre’s Appalachian Grass is a bluegrass band with style.  The band delivers an entertaining stage show with driving instrumentals, close knit harmonies, amusing novelty songs, and a show stopping trick fiddling act.  The combination of music, energy, showmanship, and humor just can’t be beat. Each band member contributes a unique element to the Appalachian Grass. The band is unified by Vernon’s matchless rhythm guitar picking, while Robert Campbell’s hard driving banjo is the backbone of the bluegrass sound. Kitty and her fiddle add a spark of excitement.  Lead vocals rest mostly in Vernon’s capable hands with an occasional solo from Emily, Kitty, or Tammy.

Visitors won’t want to miss the craft demonstrations that have been passed down through generations. There will be tatting (the process of making knotted lace), wood carving, basket making, spinning and needlepoint. Visitors will also enjoy delicious chicken dinners with all the fixin’s and refreshing beverages. “

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The dog days of Summer are upon us for sure.  One of the best things to do when it’s hot outside is to cool off in a pool. Don’t have your own pool? Here’s a list of places around town where you can take the kids for a splashing good time:

• Cincinnati Recreation Commission – the City of Cincinnati has quite a few pools around town.  Most require a nominal annual membership fee. The nice thing is, once you pay the fee, you can then visit any pool on the list (except Dunham – see site for complete details).  There’s also a few free “spraygrounds”. We’ve been to a few of the  pools and spraygrounds in the past and they’ve been nice facilities (some in neat spots around the city).
• Florence, KY Family Aquatic Center – This premier facility contains a lazy river, competition pool, zero depth area, two spray grounds, a spiral and a speed slides, sunbathing areas, shelters, funbrellas, bathhouse (including family restrooms) and concessions area. A paved path surrounds the outside of the facility. It is located at the south end of the Florence Government Center complex. There is additional parking at the north end of the Government Center. Membership is available for Florence residents and non-residents.  Daily admission for non-residents of Florence is $9 for adults or $6 for children 3 and up.
• Coney Island – Sunlite Pool – This is one BIG pool with lots of slides , diving boards  and over an acre of shallow water for the little kids. Buy your tickets on-line and save some money! When purchased on-line, daily admission(to the pool only) is $9.95 for 5 and up or $3.50 for 2-4 year olds.
• Hamilton County Parks Wet Playlands – There are three wet paylands around town – Parky’s Pirate Cove in Miami Whitewater Forest Harbor, Parky’s Ark at Winton Woods Harbor, and Wetland Adventure at Woodland Mound.  Admission is $2 per child between the ages of 2-12.  Sharon Woods also has a very small water feature as part of their main playground area and it’s FREE.
• The Beach Waterpark in Mason, OH – lots of different slides, pools (including a big wave pool). Prices are cheaper if you buy your ticket on-line and there is normally a deal to be had if you dig around.
• Kings Island’s Boomerang Bay is also in Mason, OH. The water park is included with your price of admission to Kings Island. This has tons of water slides, pools, kids areas and even a surfable wave.

Have a great time this Summer getting your splash on!

You can see more of me over on my personal blog at http://princesspoodlepuss.blogspot.com/.

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Back in June (wow can you believe it’s July?), Kristin did a great post about free summer movies around town. Since then, we’ve discovered even more free movies happening out and about town.  Add this to the past list, and you’ll be set for the balance of the Summer…..

The Great Escape – Kids Shows 2010

Movies are in Wilder, KY at the Great Escape Wilder 14 location and are on Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s and start at 9:30 am. All seats are first come first filled so be early!

Here’s what’s playing:

July 6 and 7 – Planet 51 (PG)
July 13 and 14 – Mall Cop (PG)
July 20 and 21 – Night at the Museum 2 (PG)
July 27 and 28 – Hotel for Dogs (G)

Book Worm Wednesday’s

Held at the Showcase Cinema in Springdale, OH

This is cool –  every Wednesday at 10 am beginning July7th and going for six weeks.  In order to encourage kids to read during the summer, Bookworm Wednesday’s entitles kids to a free admission to select children’s films when they present a book report at a participating Showcase Cinemas. Accompanying parents or guardians and children under six receive free admission and do not need to submit a book report.

July 7 – Kung Fu Panda (PG)
July 14 – Charlotte’s Web (G)
July 21 – Hotel for Dogs (G)
July 28 – Bee Movie (PG)
August 4 – Monsters vs. Aliens (PG)
August 11 – Over the Hedge (G)

Rave Motion Picture – Free Family Film Festival

Free shows are on Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s at 10 am.  The Free Family Film Festival is held at the numerous Rave theater’s around town. Each one can determine which movies will be shown. Call before you go to see if the Rave near you is playing something you and your kids would like to see. Here’s a list of theater’s:

Cincinnati, RC Western Hills 14
5870 Harrison Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45248
Movie Listings: 513-574-4315

Mason, RC Kings Island 12
5937 Kings Island Drive
Mason, OH 45040
Movie Listings: 513-336-9420

Milford, RC Milford 16
500 Rivers Edge Drive
Milford, OH 45150
Movie Listings: 513-576-9126

West Chester, RDM West Chester 18
9415 Civic Center Blvd
West Chester, OH 45069
Movie Listings: 513-463-2324

Florence, RC Florence 14
7860 Mall Road
Florence, KY 41042
Movie Listings: 859-282-6619

AMC Summer Movie Camp

This one isn’t free, but admission is just $1.00. Movies are held at AMC Newport on the Levy. Shows are at 10 am on Tuesday’s and run through August 10. This is the only program that permits advance ticket purchases. Summer Movie Camp movies shown are:

July 6 – Madagascar (PG)
July 13 – Madagascar Escape 2 Africa (PG)
July 20 – Hotel for Dogs (PG)
July 27 – Kung Fu Panda (PG)
August 3 – The Spiderwick Chronicles (PG)
August 10 – Surprise Mystery Title

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Summer vacation is here and the battle is on to see how long we can go without hearing these words, “Mom! I’m bored. There’s nothing to do.” You know it’s just a matter of time. Here’s some ideas to help get summer back on track when you do hear them.

• Have an outdoor game day – chalk drawing contests on the driveway; see who can blow the biggest bubbles; have the kids design and then use their own obstacle course in the backyard; turn on the hose and let them get wet while wearing their clothes (kids LOVE to get wet in their clothes instead of swimsuits); search your yard for bugs and then try to figure out what kind of bugs were caught.
• If you have girls, do some pampering – do manicures and pedicures; think of new and different hair designs; kill two things at one time – have your kids try on all of their clothes in the closet thinking of new combinations and weeding out things that no longer fit or are worn out;
• Keep old magazines and catalogs and pull them out when “I’m bored” is spoken.  Let the kids go to town with a pair of scissors – they can make collages or put together story boards based on the pictures they cut out.
• Do your kids like to do experiments? check out these two sites:  Science Bob and The Science Explorer.
• Remember our libraries have lots of things planned throughout the summer including story times and events.  Look here for Cincinnati and Hamilton County or here for Kenton County and Boone County in Kentucky.
• You can also purchase some fun Never Bored Activities Books from Evan-Moor. I bought two of these for my kids for this Summer and after glancing through them, I think they’ll big a big hit with both of my 7 and 5 year old.
• Get the most out of our parks. Spend a few hours letting the kids run around – before you go, sit down with the kids and come up with ideas for a scavenger hunt. Pack a picnic lunch and have a blast!
• Enter the land of make believe – let the kids pick out a favorite book or nursery rhyme. Have them write a play with costumes and a cast of characters (themselves, of course!) all made from things found in their rooms and all about the book or rhyme they chose.
• And if all else fails, look at this amazing list compiled by Love and Logic. ( I didn’t read through it before I made up my list, so if there are duplicates, it was not intentional on my part.)

Here’s your chance to help other readers out. What bag of tricks do you use when your kids tell you they’re bored?  Post your ideas in our comments section.  Here’s to a content and fun-filled Summer!

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If you have kids who love to read or even kids who like you read to them, be sure to sign up for the Summer Reading Program with the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County (PLCH).  This is a fantastic and fun program for the entire family. That’s right, the Summer Reading Program and the prizes are for the entire family – there’s a level that’s right for each member of your family: preschool, kids, teens and adults.

My family has participated in this for the past four summers and it’s always so much fun. The basic idea is that you sign up for the program; you read some books; you keep track of how many you read; you get a prize for reading the books. How cool is that?  I believe this is the first year you can sign up on-line and keep track of you or your child’s progress on-line.  How quickly you can earn prizes all depends on your level.  To keep the kids motivated to keep reading, there’s a Grand Prize drawing at the end of the Summer.

You can sign up now. The official start date is June 1st and the end date is July 31. The kick off date is Saturday, May29.  Kids and their families are invited to stop by the Main Library’s Children’s Learning Center or any of  the branches throughout Cincinnati between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. on the May 29 to decorate a canvas covered book during the official Summer Reading kickoff celebration.  The Library will supply everything you need to personalize your journal and you do the rest!

In addition to the Summer Reading Program, the PLCH has tons of cool special events happening all over town throughout the summer.  There’s magic shows, a portable circus, learn about bugs (and eat some!), juggling, music (by Zak Morgan), and a pirate show just to name a few.  In the past, we’ve been to the magic show and the pirate show and both were excellent and tons of fun! I’ve just touched on all that there is to see, be sure to go here to see a complete list of events, locations and times.

I’m full of good intentions, but too many times in the past I remember we wanted to go to something only after it’s taken place. Here’s a quick tip to make sure you can take in everything you want to throughout the summer. Start making a calendar of things that are a must see for you and your family throughout the Summer months and put it on your refrigerator.  I know for my family this summer, our calendar will include tons of things from the Library, sporting events,  summer concerts (stay tuned for an upcoming post on these), summer camps and events at parks around town.

You definitely will want to be sure to sign your entire family up for the PLCH Summer Reading program.  It’s sure to be a huge part of your family fun this Summer.

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Are you familiar with the site eReach? If not, you’ll want to check it out today!  There’s a special deal on April 30th for Totter’s Otterville.

Each day, eReach sends subscribers an e-mail offering  a great deal just for that day. I’ve purchased things through the Big Deal and it’s been a great positive experience.

Here’s the complete details for tomorrow’s Big Deal:

Who knew otters could be so much fun!  Party for 8 with food, drinks and fun for only $49 ($104 value)!

Birthdays are opportunities to create incredible, lifetime memories for your children and their friends and Totter’s Otterville is the place in Greater Cincinnati to create those memories.

Totter’s Otterville, conveniently located near Highway 16 in Covington, Kentucky, is a spectacular, sprawling play land filled with train tables, puppet shows, fire trucks, and dress-up villages which give children the opportunity to be incredibly active and learn through play.  Today’s eReach.com Big Deal offers you, your family and your children’s friends the opportunity to have a party in this fun-filled village at a 50% discount; it’s an opportunity to have a party for 8 children, with food, drinks and fun, for only $49.  That is a $55 savings!

Today’s Totter’s Otterville Big Deal can help you celebrate your special day in an extensive indoor/outdoor play land at less than a ¼ of the cost of other local children’s gyms!

Totter’s birthday party packages include an hour of play facilitated by one of Totter’s friends, a pizza party, open access to Totter’s Otterville for the rest of the afternoon, and a special free day pass for the birthday girl or boy’s future visit.  If you have a little fireman or woman at home, consider reserving the fire truck birthday room.  Your little firefighter will thank you as they, and their friends, run around in fireman suits and play on the two, REAL fire trucks in this private room!

Totter and his staff believe that children learn through play and learn best when educational opportunities are presented in the midst of physical activity.  This is why each of Totter’s Otterville’s unique play areas focuses on specific development and learning opportunities which let children’s imaginations, and their bodies, run wild!  Some of the many play and learning stations you’ll encounter at Otterville include a ballerina dance area, a life-size Lego play land, a walking maze, a dino-digging archeology area, and outdoor train rides through the grounds.  In Totter’s pretend village play rooms, children can dress up and have fun imagining they run grocery stores, diners, and post offices and in the newly-remodeled Ball Pit and Climber, children can run, jump and climb to their hearts’ content.

It’s a memory your little birthday boy or girl will talk about for years at a cost you won’t be paying off for months.  Reserve your Totter’s Otterville Birthday Big Deal today and celebrate this year Otter style with fun, play and imagination.

For a full map of Otterville and a calendar of events visit them at www.tottersotterville.com.

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