. . . and I think that I can pull together a celebration meal and cake with foods that we have on hand. I am thinking of doing a Mexican-inspired dinner, followed by a scratch vanilla "funfetti" cake (using some of the rainbow sprinkles that I bought in January in the cake batter as well as on top of the frosting). We have a container of ice cream in the freezer, and soda pop in the pantry, if anyone in our group is interested. My daughters have chosen to go to the movies instead of a meal in a restaurant. So we will eat at home, and divert the money which would have been spent in a restaurant to cover the cost of movie tickets.
As you likely know, when you want to see a specific movie, on a specific day, tickets can be expensive. To bring the expense of the movie tickets into the price-range of what I had budgeted for a restaurant meal, I used the internet to carry out some research. I checked a variety of locations and times for the specific movie my daughters want to see. My research turned up 3 theaters within a 20-minute drive from our house, with cheaper tickets in the mid-afternoon at 2 of those theaters. The theater closest to us had the most expensive seats, with no afternoon discounts. (This one is in a mall and they likely have no trouble filling seats on a Saturday afternoon.)
For a 15-minute drive each way, (which will cost under $2 for additional gas compared to driving to the nearest theater), we can save $18 on the cost of tickets for our group. The mid-afternoon showing will finish in time to have us home for our simple birthday dinner and cake. Saves money and fits our schedule. I can't believe my little girls are now women -- they'll be 23 on Saturday! Where has the time gone?!
Anyway, those are our plans for this weekend. Anything going on in your area? Have a wonderful weekend!
Thursday, March 15, 2018
15 comments:
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Happy Birthday to the person having the birthday!
ReplyDeleteMy weekend is empty for now. I might bring things to the recycling center but that's about it. Maybe a little laundry and making meals as always. We did a huge house cleaning last week so this week will be a lighter cleaning.
I purchased groceries Wed. night but there a few things I'll need to get for lunches that I hadn't realized were gone.
Alice
Hi Alice,
DeleteSounds like a nice weekend around your house -- a little work but not overwhelming.
It's my twin daughters' birthday this weekend. I'll pass on the happy wishes.
Enjoy your weekend, Alice!
Hi Lili,
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to your girls! Wow, 23. That is amazing...
Enjoy the movie and your dinner sounds really nice. My daughter (33!) loves that funfetti cake.
I am hoping for a non-rainy, non-super-windy window of time this weekend to get out to the yard and garden. Will try to do something festive-ish for St. Patrick's Day on Saturday : ) Thinking maybe shepherd's pie for dinner. Maybe some kiwi and/or avocado shamrocks?(not together, of course!) Who knows what else!
Jo Ann
Hi Jo Ann,
DeleteThanks. Hmm, your daughter and the funfetti, too! I think there's something that just says "party" about the rainbow sprinkles.
Your St. Patrick's dinner sounds festive. Wishing you a weekend of clear skies, Jo Ann!
Happy Birthday to your daughters! Sounds like you have a fun outing and good food planned for them. Smart thinking to check ahead of time about the tickets.
ReplyDeleteThis is the first day of Spring Break for our school district, so my husband and all five kids left this morning for a road trip to Kentucky to visit his mom. Tomorrow, I'm headed out with a friend for a week of hiking and camping, with 3 days of it being backpacking. I'm mostly packed, other than a few items in the laundry, and plan to do some cleaning today so we come home to a pleasant house.
Hi Cat,
Deletethank you for the happy wishes!
It sounds like you have a very fun week planned. Have a wonderful time!
What movie are you seeing? Movies in theaters are expensive, aren't they? Good job on your savings with comparing costs.
ReplyDeleteWe do the same thing--either a meal out or a fun activity, but rarely both at the same time unless we are someplace where there are no other options.
The kids don't have school today and wanted a quiet day, but we did go out to lunch--my son has a gift card to Arby's so I only had to pay for my daughter and myself. We just got done watching Karate Kid which I checked out of the library--it's definitely a retro movie, but I think they enjoyed it.
I remember when you were getting ready for your daughters to go to college--are they really 23? How long have you been blogging? Time flies!
Hi Kris,
DeleteIt's Black Panther. Oh my goodness, at one theater it would have been $13 per person. I have never paid that much on a movie before.
What a fun lunch you three had! Is Karate Kid the movie from the 80s? I remember a movie by that title from that era. most of the time we borrow movies from the library or some friends, and we all seem to enjoy that a lot.
I've been blogging 6 years this spring. Time sure has flown past in a hurry.
Have a wonderful weekend, Kris!
Karate Kid is definitely from the 80s. Funny to see the hairstyles and fashion. It's the movie about the teen boy from New Jersey moving to California and being bullied--he learns karate from a Japanese man. If you remember the phrase "wax on, wax off", that's where it comes from. :)
DeleteYes, I had sticker shock over Christmas break--I think our movies are $12.75 in the evenings. They are still over $8 for the matinee. We had movie gift cards, plus my workplace gives us 2 free movie passes plus a $2 toward concessions as our Christmas gift every year. Nice to be able to take my kids to first-run movies for a change! We do have a discount theater in town, but rarely is there a movie I want to see showing at it at a convenient time. Good thing we aren't movie buffs.
6 years! Wow!
Happy Birthday to the young women at your house. Yes, time does fly! I also remember when they were getting ready for college.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been to a movie after 6 pm in years and years. I don't know how anyone can afford it. Have fun. Sounds like you have a good plan.
Hi live and learn,
DeleteThanks for the happy wishes. We'll have a fun time, I'm sure.
I know what you mean. This is the first pre-6 PM movie that I have been to in at least 1 decade, maybe 2. Young people who don't have to support themselves, or support only themselves are the ones buying full-price movie tickets, is my guess. As soon as you add in kids, or housing, or student loan debt, the full-price movie tickets just don't look so appealing anymore.
Have a great weekend, live and learn!
Happy Birthday to the girls! I hope you all enjoy your trip to the movies. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Belinda,
DeleteThank you for the happy wishes! I think we will enjoy it. I hope that you have a wonderful weekend, too!
We have a local theater that runs movies for $5 on Tuesdays. We just discovered it a couple of months ago. We never go to the movies because of the cost, but now we can consider it if we really want to make it work. We did see "The Greatest Showman" with most of the family that way.
ReplyDeleteA couple of weekends ago, my aunt & uncle wanted to take my husband & me to see "Darkest Hour." When we realized that only one theater in town was still playing it (at full price), we changed our plan. My uncle figured out that he could rent it to stream on iTunes for $15. So we sat in recliners in their comfortable living room while we snacked on Smart Food popcorn and Trader Joe's dark chocolate covered almonds. It was great!
It sounds like you have a very nice birthday planned. I'm sure your girls will love it. You always put together lovely celebrations, Lili. Have a beautiful weekend! Melissa
Atomtickets.com occasionally offers promo code discounts that work on economy priced tickets (ours is $6 Tuesdays). I learn about the promo code from Hip2save blog. There is a convenience fee like Fandango but I like reserving my seat ahead and skipping the box office line. This is the only time we go to the movies just for the event of going, other than taking our grandkids.
ReplyDeleteHappy belated birthday to your two daughters!!
YHF