Going to the country fair? Oh man, you’re going to hate it.
The first several times we went to the fair with several children, it was a miserable experience: tears and accidents, stickiness and anxiety, disappointment and recriminations. But for some reason we kept trying, year after year, and what do you know? We figured it out.
Here are ten tips on how to have a good time with the kids at the fair:
1.
MONEY
Just accept that this is going to be a ridiculously expensive day. Figure in admission, parking, ride tickets or passes, food, souvenirs, and possibly special rides or shows, plus emergency cash for unexpected expenses like replacement hats or bail bond. An unlimited pass is almost always cheaper in the long run, and saves the anxiety of rationing your fun.
2.
WEATHER
Check the weather report and dress accordingly! Pouring rain might make you squander ride time (don’t expect sympathy from the carnival folks!), and punishing sun really takes the edge off your enjoyment of pigs and goats. Bring sunblock and more water than you think you’ll need.
3.
GETTING LOST
Make sure your kids know what to do if they get lost. Our strategy: yell and yell, and then find someone who looks like a nice mother and ask for her help. Make sure your kids know their parents’ actual names, besides “Mommy and Daddy.” Keep a list of what your kids are wearing, in case you’re too flustered to remember. Establish a meeting place.
4.
PACING
Variety makes everything more enjoyable. Do something thrilling, then something where you sit down, then something where you wander around, then a snack, then something for the older kids, then something for the younger kids, etc. Save something primo for last, so when it’s almost time to go, you can say, “Okay, the fair is over . . . but not before we do such-and-such!” Makes your exit much happier.
5.
WHEELS
Bring the roomiest stroller you have, and expect older kids to get worn out, even if they don’t normally ride. Also, it’s helpful to have somewhere to stash all those drinks. Did I mention you should bring plenty of drinks?
6.
FOOD
Bring a picnic meal, but buy snacks. Kids appreciate a cloud of rainbow cotton candy or a caramel apple much more than an $8 hamburger.
We arrive at lunch time, but then go on rides right away before eating. This way, they get the first excitement out of the way, and work up an appetite so they’ll actually eat.
7.
GROSSNESS
Succumb to the stickiness. Your kids will be sweaty, sugary, dusty, and, yes, possibly throw-uppy. Dress them in clothes you don’t care about. And be smart: let them ride the Neck Snapper, but not right after eating one of Doody’s Famous Fried Pickles.
Bring a change of clothes for the youngest kids. Bring plastic bags. Trust me on this. Sooner or later, you will find yourself holding something that desperately needs to be wrapped up in a plastic bag.
8.
KIDS’ EXPECTATIONS
Discuss expectations before you even enter the grounds: How many rides can they go on? Will you be playing games of chance (my vote is no: souvenirs are less exciting, but less emotionally perilous), or buying snacks, balloons, toys, riding the pony, seeing the show, etc.? Let them know ahead of time, and stick to it. Don’t just wing it, especially if you have lots of kids with various ideas of fun.
9.
ADULTS’ EXPECTATIONS
Parents should discuss expectations, too. My husband and I remind each other that our first goal is to give the kids a super fun day, and that we will both try our hardest to be patient and generous, and do our best to give the kids what they want (within reason). A day of fun is no time to teach lessons. It’s okay to be over-indulgent once in a while, as long as you’re doing a good job on most other days.
10.
CODA
Kids are tricky. You will expect them to be grateful and satisfied after such a fabulous day, but they may feel exhausted, let down, and cranky—especially if they’ve been anticipating this day for weeks, and now it’s over. Tomorrow, you can go back to the old routine, but no kid gets spoiled in a single day. So go whole hog, right up until bedtime. Plan some small surprise at home, to soften the landing—a new DVD, some coveted dessert, or new waterguns or something. And once the kiddies are in bed, you can have a nice little drink and put your feet up.
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Load up the diaper bag. Some fairs don’t want you to bring your own food or even water. Luckily, I’ve never had anyone question the diaper bag (even at sporting events) as long I’ve have at least one small child with me.
As part of number 10, don’t ask the kids when they’re tired ,hungry, cranky, etc. if they had a good time. Of course they did. Heck, they had a great time, but wait until they’re well-rested and well-fed until you ask them.
Start Young— we never let our kids ride the rides or play games, so they don’t expect it.
Meet up with friends—One of the MOST EXCITING parts of the fair for my kids is getting to see their friends’ projects! (And their own, since they’re in mini-4-H). We have a ton of fun spotting what people did and who won a ribbon, and then seeking out our friends and congratulating them!
Get the RIGHT Food— We do spring for the funnel cake, but other than that we eschew midway food. Instead, we aim for the Church suppers (7.00 for Beef and Noodles, bread, drink, sides and Pie!) or the Rabbit Restaurant (Rabbit Nuggets, Roast Rabbit, Rabbit Burgers… you get the idea, and all for under 5$ a person!) Also, if your state has a dairy council, there may be a “milk barn:” with cheap milk available!
Get the FREE Souveniers—Hit the political candidates and the commercial barns—- your kids will get laden down with pens, pads, stickers, balloons, frisbees, candy, Chick Tracts (we toss those!!) and all sorts of other goodies for free!
If you have daughters, plan to spend at least an hour watching the various forms of horse judging.
If you have toddlers, ask where the baby animals are in each barn.
Have Fun!!! I admit it, I’m a total nerd. I grew up in the suburbs and only lived somewhere with a REAL 4-H fair as an adult…. and I love it! It’s pretty much just what I fantasized about as a kid reading Charlotte’s Web! Except no scholarly spiders, of course… these hogs just get slaughtered…....mmmm…. slaughtered Hog….....
May I just suggest one thing for #3—-do not tell your kids to “look for a mom or a dad,” but to go to one of the fair employees. Somebody who actually works for the fair can quickly find a security guard, or take the child to the “lost child” place. Not everybody who “looks like a mommy” is going to be a good guy. It’s sad, but true.
This was actually extremely helpful. I thought you were going to give ten things that would be terrible ideas, but extremely funny, but actually, this is a perfect list.
This was actually extremely helpful. I thought you were going to give ten things that would be terrible ideas, but extremely funny, but actually, this is a perfect list. It will work well for small families because it’s been tested on large ones. I’ll keep these ideas tucked away for any excursions.
This was actually extremely helpful. I thought you were going to give ten things that would be terrible ideas, but extremely funny, but actually, this is a perfect list. It will work well for small families because it’s been tested on large ones. I’ll keep these ideas tucked away for any excursions.
lettersto.us
Do not underestimate #5 anytime you will be walking/standing for most of the day!! I have a very clear memory of riding in an umbrella stroller at age 8 after a looong, boring day in Chicago. And I was normally the easy going kid, so you never know who will end up in the stroller.
My clan is one of urban dwellers. We generally do parish festivals rather than county fairs. One year, however, I conceived a desire to see bull-riding. So off we went.
The absolutely best thing was this pre-ride show, which consisted of parents volunteering their young children to ride sheep. It was simply hilarious watching these kids tumble and fall and then be stomped or dragged through the dust (which, the announcers pointed out, contained a lot more nutrients than just dirt). I told my children “that looks fun, you guys wanna try,” and was answered by some of the iciest stares I could have imagined on a hot July afternoon. In fact, they never reminded me so much of their mother.
You felt it was not worthwhile taking your kids to VBS at your church but you take them to a fair, a purely secular event full of smoking, cussing, drinking non-Catholics? That seems really inconsistent to me as you gave the reason for not going to vbs as it was doctrinally suspect and fun was not a good enough reason.
Dress the kids in matching outfits/t-shirts. When one gets lost, and the parent is flustered, you simply look at another one of your kids and say to security, “He’s dressed like ‘that.’” With a large family (we have 7) people tend to get out of the way for our uniformed group, since we’re seen as a single unit, and we’ve even been mistaken for “some kind of a day camp.”
Are you kidding? It’s a great reason—
If a Catholic Church is offering something ‘Educational”, it should be Theologically sound and unapologetically Catholic. The county fair isn’t TRYING to teach faith—it’s about farming, homemaking, and bringing a community together for a festival.
And contrary to wacko-catholic-fringe-belief, ‘Secular’ is not a synonym for “Evil.”
I can be just as happy that a Lutheran or Methodist kid raised a prize bunny as I can that a Catholic kid did—- A kid worked hard, made sacrifices, and overcame adversity—- it’s worth celebrating with our friends and neighbors!
Not to mention that County Fairs are one of the few remaining wholesome expressions of Americana! Seriously—if you shun fairs just because there’s no crucifix over the gate and some (gasp) Non-Catholics are there, you’re not being theologically consistent. You’re just being NUTS.
In fact, if you are living the sort of faith where fairs are off limits, you may want to consult with your confessor to see if you’re really living as a Catholic, or as a weird distortion of your own making.
More practical advice: Shun not the toddler leash—- it gives the toddler enough freedom to be happy, but keeps him within reach.
And try to leave while the kids are tired but not yet exhausted to the point of melting down.
And honestly, if you REALLY want to enjoy the fair, get involved in 4-H. It’s not just for farm kids, and it’s a really great program! (I know, I know… it’s secular and has all those nasty uncatholic values like honesty and perseverance and helpfulness. But I’m sure your kids can survive! ;) )
Love #10. Works for grownups too. And @Deidre Mundy, you’re awesome.
@Mundy: If my children can raise a panda, I’ll let them join. If you can eat the panda afterwards, I’ll sign the family up.
No Pandas—- but you can raise reptiles!!!!! Come on, don’t you want to have the best Python in the county?
Also something that might appeal to City-dwellers—they have aerospace projects and Engine repair and restoration projects! Seriously—the whole object of the program is to help kids work hard and become competent at practical things. And there’s all the home ec type stuff too— which really appeals to me because I STINK at homemaking and would like my kids to be able to sew AND build airplanes!
@Deirdre ~ Amen Sister!
@Mundy: I’m afriad the wife would sooner allow the children ride livestock for sport than have anything to do with a snake. (If she had been Eve, human history would have been very, very different.) But for the sake of argument, how does python taste?
“if you shun fairs just because there’s no crucifix over the gate and some (gasp) Non-Catholics are there, you’re not being theologically consistent. You’re just being NUTS.”
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Oh, Deirdre Mundy, oh won’t you marry me? Also: yeah, the kid leash was a life saver for us when we had an especially bolt-y two year old. They sell one at Walmart that looks like a monkey-shaped back pack:
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http://www.walmart.com/ip/Goldbug-2-in-1-Monkey-Child-Safety-Harness/4532497
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The best part was, the kid was perfectly willing to stay still as long as she was holding the end of her own leash.
Right on with this. One little further idea: if you can swing it, give each kid some minimum amount of money to choose anything he wants to buy (within reason, of course). It’s so fun to know that you could buy your very own huge lollipop or bag of mini-donuts.
At our huge State Fair, there is the all-you-can-drink milk stand. It’s so awesome. It’s the only time my 12-year-old boy gets to drink as much milk as he wants!
You are inspiring me, sort of. We have the Balloon Festival in town this weekend. Sometimes, I really want to go, sometimes not so much. It is number 1 we have the most trouble with. I agree that if you pack up all the kids and go to something like this, you need to be prepared to spend too much money for junky things and food. unfortunately my husband does not share this opinion, I am thinking I would just rather not go than tell my kids no you can’t have a $10 ice cream cone, even though every other child within sight has one. My kids are really not spoiled, but I feel like buying these treats are part of the experience. I also don’t understand why it has to be SO HOT when they plan these fairs and festivals. Ok, enough complaining, I think I will print your list out for my dearest to read tonight and go pack a big diaper bag with plastic bags and spare clothes. (oh and may I add, bring a spare shirt for mom, muddy toddlers seem to always want to be picked up and cuddled before you get to change them).
In addition to #3, with digital pictures being so very easy to take, snap a quick shot of each child at the begining of the day. If someone wanders off or gets left, it is a quick way to get all the details exactly right.
I’ve never done this (not organized!) but the county fair where I am gives FREE ADMISSION to kids and maybe adults thatenter a project- animal, food, art, etc. They don’t even have to be in 4-H
I was in goat and sewing 4-H as a kid. We cowered in fear and respect to the FFA kids ;) if you know the acronym, you know what I mean
Love this list- great tips with your typical humor, which I love. Also nice to see so many positive thoughts about 4-H in the comments. I was a 4-H’er as a kid and no, it’s not just for farm kids, to echo what others have said. It teaches great values and skills like public speaking. Not to mention- the fairs, of course. Can’t say enough good about 4-H!
I’m totally shocked at the number of people who don’t see the cruelty involved in the ‘sheep’ riding and rodeo ‘acts’ in general.
It’s frustrating to always be defending Catholics/Christians as people who can be kind to animals instead of red neck, care nothing for other species, dominate the world people.
I do believe that if compassionate Catholic/Christian people took a look at youtube videos of the cruelty impossed on rodeo, circus, country fair animals, they would think more about the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus Christ spoke “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” and also Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God”. Compassionate people couldn’t possibly watch the cruelty involved and then walk away without being shocked and repulsed and then plan on correcting their way of thinking about other feeling beings.
At our fair the rodeo is mostly limited to things like barrel racing—which the horses seem to enjoy too, since they get to run fast! I’d imagine that a horse who didn’t like barrel racing would be a very poor barrel racer!
And, in general, the 4-H crowd seems to be VERY concerned about animal welfare, to the point where this year they canceled or modified certain popular events at the fair because the extreme heat would have been cruel to the animals.
The San Diego Fair is a always a great time and a favorite family tradition. I have not seen much smoking, drunkenness, or heard much cussing at the fair. But, we don’t usually stay very late at night and that is when the crowd may get a bit gangsta (but it really depends on who is in concert that night). Mostly it is just crowded, and often very hot, but always a great family outing with something for everyone. It is worth the effort because of the memories it creates.
Camelbaks! I love me my camelbak for fairs, and parades, and amusement parks. We have one for each kid - even the two year old - and ourselves. Fill em with tons of ice and water at the beginning of the day, and no messy dripping giant coolers of water. And amen to the toddler leash! My little girl calls her leash “my ready to go” and snaps it on herself. And our compromise on the fair food is this - we buy one thing for each child, anything else they want, they buy. It works out fairly well.
You forgot cow poop. It usually ends up on the bottom of the 2 1/2 yr old shoes who wanted to push the stroller, which now by the way has cow poop on the wheels, and then of course he wanted Mommy to hold him, so the cow poop also ended up on my pant leg.
For a family of 12, we have to plan an attack. Some more tips: We wear sports shirts and baseball caps and take a cell phone photo of all of us before we start! We have teams of three, each armed with a fully charged cell phone. (Mom, Dad, Oldest two).
The meeting place should be a very easily recognizable and discernable spot for any kid from age 4 to 18; like the tower or the Roller Coaster.
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