How to Entertain Your Family for Less

The discounted tickets are usually about half price, but we can't pick our seats. They always require a heart-pumping climb to the top of the arena, from where we always spot hundreds of empty seats in better locations. One time, we had to crane our necks to watch the action.

My husband and I take turns running the stairs for the kids' bathroom breaks. Then we haul expensive, lousy food up the same path. A barebones lunch costs at least $40. The $12 parking fee always galls me, because the arena is located in New Jersey's massive Meadowland Sports and Entertainment Complex, and I can't park anywhere else.

On Broadway

Last year, we spent an exorbitant sum -- over $400 -- for our children's first Broadway theater experience, "Tarzan on Broadway." We were lured, once again, by a discount opportunity, which made the cost somewhat more palatable than buying five full-price seats.

I expected to be wowed.

But listening to Phil Collins music that I could hear on the radio, and watching people dressed as apes swing from bungee cords, fell way below the mark, especially for that amount of change. Many others consumers agreed -- the show closed last summer.

Think Local

So, how do parents find entertainment quality and value?

Stick with regional productions and college and minor-league sports. We stretch our dollars much further in these venues than at glitzy national events, and often enjoy a more meaningful experience.

This year, we'll attend a production of "A Christmas Carol" at the historic McCarter Theater in Princeton, N.J. The moving performances rival anything I've seen on the New York stage, and orchestra seats cost a mere $37.

We can pay less to sit in the back and still have a good view. Afterward, we'll walk through the campus of one of the nation's most elite universities, mixing a bit of history and education into our outing.

Our proximity to a university also means access to college sporting events. We've watched hockey and basketball games for as little as $6 per child. A college rivalry, such as Princeton versus Harvard, can be even more exciting than watching the New Jersey Devils against the New York Rangers.

The entire family attends for about $40, and we find parking on the street. In the springtime, we can attend a Trenton, N.J., Thunder baseball game in a modern stadium that overlooks the Delaware River for about $10 per seat. A five-game "mini package" costs our family about $250 -- a fraction of the cost to see just one major league game.

On Christmas Day, we'll watch the annual re-enactment of George Washington's historic crossing of the Delaware River, en route to the Battle of Trenton, a turning point during the Revolutionary War.

Cost: Free.

Rating: Four stars.