Chuckie Cheese

The kids didn't have school today so I told them the other day I would take them to Chuckie Cheese for a little while. We were gonna meet my best friend and her two kids but one of them got sick so it was just me and my six.

Yep, six, my four and two friends. What? Oh, you wanna know how in the world I can take care of six children at Chuckie Cheese by myself.



It's really not that bad at all. The best tip is to go first thing in the morning, right when they open. Oh, maybe I shouldn't share that tip. I don't want everyone to realize it's the best time to go because then it won't be the best time to go any more. Well I guess I will any way. If you get there early the place is empty and you have the run of it as well as being able to easily see and keep track of all the children that came in with you.

Only give the kids one token at a time. This helps in a couple of ways. One, you will see your children constantly as they come over to get tokens from you. Two, they will spend the tokens much slower then if you give them to them up front.

It really is much easier if you bring along friends. Each of the kids had a buddy that they had to stay with. Not only did this help assure even more safety for the kids but it also teaches them patience and cooperation.
They have to be patient and wait for their buddy to be done and they have to cooperate with each other as to where and what games they will be playing.

Make sure there is a table, home base, that the kids know and report to whenever they need anything. I happen to make sure it is in the area that the younger kids play.

Bring coupons to make it affordable! I payed for 100 tokens and got 140 free.

And don't just spend the tokens just to get rid of them. Tuck them into the van and save the rest for another day. I think we have at least 75 tokens left. These left-over tokens will be enough to go another day and not even spend a cent. Food and drinks are not cheap but with coupons they are about the same you would spend on 6 happy meals from McDonald's. Most of the time we don't even eat there but today we did.

Be patient when the kids are standing at the counter trying to figure out how to use the tickets they won. They take FOREVER to pick out junk that usually doesn't even make it out of the van when we get home. That's part of the fun, for them at least, so just make sure you leave ample time for that.

Mostly though, it's just so fun to watch your children full of great excitement and having such a great time! That makes it all worth it for sure!