LivingSocial: Save Money While Crossing Off Family Bucket List Items at Home or When Traveling

In between weeks of camp and dive practice, we’ve had weeks of summer with absolutely nothing planned. This has allowed us the rare luxury of sleeping in and enjoying carefree days where we’ve planned activities according to our moods and even allowed for a spontaneous trip to Baltimore as Emily and I did last weekend.

I know that my days with my soon-to-be middle schooler are numbered. There will come a time where she prefers spending time with her friends over me and eventually won’t spend her summers at home. Sniff. That’s why I’m determined to make the most of every summer we have until then and with the help of LivingSocial, we took spontaneity to a new level when we planned our time in Baltimore.

If you’re not familiar with LivingSocial, it’s a site that offers local deals, escapes (think spas, vacations, and family outings), and is even a place to shop for products all at a savings from retail price. LivingSocial emails notify me about the newest offerings in my area and beyond as I think about  taking my kids horseback riding one weekend, experiencing the adrenaline rush of my very first skydiving adventure, and enjoy a surf and turf dinner at Bobby Van’s Grill on another.

With offerings across the country, LivingSocial can be a fabulous way to discover adventures and restaurants in a new city. Since we had some free time in Baltimore, I typed our destination name into the search field to view offerings for city attractions and restaurants near our Inner Harbor hotel.

In a matter of seconds, an entire list of options for Baltimore appeared. Left hand navigation can help you filter to find items you want or enter a specific place into the search field in the upper right corner to see if there’s a deal for a place that’s on your family bucket list.

Wouldn’t it be fun to charter a fishing boat with some friends, do a mystery dinner or comedy show as a date night excursion, or try a new restaurant as a family in a new city? Local deals for a massage or a cleaning service are also appealing! I know I could use a cleaning service to come to our home since shuttling kids to and from camp and spending time at the pool has meant very little time at home. My priority has been keeping the fridge has been full and making sure that the laundry gets done instead of regular housekeeping! Oops!

Using LivingSocial to Score Discounts When Traveling

My Baltimore search on LivingSocial helped me find deals for the Maryland Science Center. Options included two single day tickets with two IMAX tickets for $25 (a $49 value) or an Adventurer Family Membership for $62, a steal at half off the regular price of $125.

I selected the Adventurer Annual Family Membership because it allowed us to enjoy all admission to the museum’s exhibits, planetarium and observatory along with discounts in the Science Store, Café, and tickets to the IMAX Theater, but reciprocal admission at other ASTC Passport participating science centers granting us local admission to to other science centers and museums around the world.

Even though we live close to the Smithsonian Museums that offer free admission, visiting the Maryland Science Center was an entirely different experience. Rather than observing science, kids are actively participating in thoughtful investigations thanks to hands-on activities that allow them to explore important scientific concepts while acting like a scientist.

With every trip to the Inner Harbor, I’ve walked by the four historic ships but never set foot on one. Thanks to a LivingSocial deal for a $9 adult admission (regularly $18) and $4 child admission (usually $7) to the Historic Ships in Baltimore, Emily and I got to climb aboard the US Sloop-of-War Constellation, the US Submarine Torsk, the US Coast Guard Cutter Taney, and the Lightship Chesapeake to learn the tales associated with each vessel’s service.

Our favorite was the USS Constellation, a ship that served as a battle ship during the Civil War. Emily is fascinated by Civil War history and we got to go many levels under the deck of this historic ship to imagine what life must have been like aboard it in the 1700s as we walked by the rows of cannons, posh officer quarters, and hanging canvas hammocks where the crew would have slept en masse. The audio tour and posted signs plus knowledgeable volunteers who were able to answer our questions about life on this massive wooden boat made our visit fun and educational.

Docked right in front of The National Aquarium is the Chesapeake (below), another vessel that you can visit as part of the 4 ship Historic Ships ticket.

I also found a deal for a a sightseeing boat cruise on Seadog, that left from the Inner Harbor that would have been a good way to see Federal Hill, Fort McHenry, Fells Point and other sights from the water. Not wanting to overschedule us, I decided that this was a deal that I could buy online once we got to Baltimore and knew how we wanted to spend our time in the city.

We’re big fans of LivingSocial for local deals on outings and new and favorite restaurants but our trip to Baltimore served as a great reminder that I can use the site to search for discounts in other cities and spontaneous fun!

LivingSocial Giveaway

As part of their #socialsummer campaign, LivingSocial wants you to get a little adventurous and check off an item on your bucket list, or find ways to keep the kids entertained while serving as your go-to destination for family fun, adventure and spontaneity this summer. To do this, they’re offering a giveaway of $50 in Deal Bucks. Deal Bucks are like a gift certificate to the site and the winner will receive $50 in credit to their Living Social account to spend as they choose. On Living Social, $50 can go a long ways since prices are always less than the retail so you’re getting an amazing value for your money! Enter using the Rafflecopter form below and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

LivingSocial provided me with Deal Bucks to enjoy their deals as part of their #SummerSocial campaign. All opinions are my own and based on personal experience.