Home TwinCitiesFrugalMom.com

Twin Cities Frugal Mom

Living well while spending less in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area

You are here: Home / Archives for Mom Reviews

Christmas in Color at Valleyfair is a DeLIGHTful Drive-Thru Experience (Review & Discount)

By

Christmas in Color - Valleyfair

We went to Christmas in Color at Valleyfair on opening night, and had a great time!
 
We were there 30 minutes total. Our ticket time was for 5:30pm – 6:00pm but we arrived around 5:15pm. There was already a line of cars but they were already going in so we didn’t have much of a wait and the line kept moving.

Here’s the view from entering the parking lot:

Christmas in Color - Valleyfair
 
The entrance had a huge lighted “wall” that cars drove through.
 

[Read more…]

Firstleaf Wine Club: 6 Bottles for $29.95 + Free Shipping for a Year! (HOT DEAL!)

By

Firstleaf Wine Club Cyber Weekend Deal!

Firstleaf Wine Club has been a HOT deal here on my blog, so I’m super excited to share their BEST DEAL YET!

Right now for Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend, you can get 6 bottles of wine, customized to your tastes, for only $29.95! PLUS you get FREE shipping for a year, if you decide to stay in the club! 

You can cancel anytime, too!

The deal they usually offer is $40 for 6 bottles of wine with free shipping for that order only, so you can’t beat this $29.95 deal with free shipping for a year!

Get the deal now while it lasts!

I tried Firstleaf Wine Club myself!!!!

They’ve had such great deals in the past couple months that I signed up for the club myself!

Firstleaf Wine Club

The process was super easy and fun – you answer a few questions about wine and food that you like, and Firstleaf customizes 6 selections for you!

[Read more…]

GLOW Holiday Festival Drive-Thru Light Experience Lit Up Our Season

By

Glow Holiday Festival review

After hearing that Governor Walz has announced new COVID restrictions for the next month, we weren’t surprised, but certainly could use a bit of cheering up. It’s been a tough year for everyone.

But not everything is closed! There are many drive-thru holiday lights events this season, and we got a sneak peek at the all-new GLOW Holiday Festival which is at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds from November 19th, 2020 to January 3rd, 2021!

It definitely cheered us all up, and we got to enjoy it from the warm comfort of our car!

GLOW logo

As I posted last month, GLOW is a one-mile drive-thru that has a dozen seasonal scenes. There are over a million holiday lights, a 100-foot illuminated tree, icicle and art installations, a festive gingerbread house, and other attractions.

[Read more…]

Relax at Cobblestone Hotel & Suites in Austin, Minnesota

By

Cobblestone Suites relax

We recently headed to Austin, Minnesota for a much-needed weekend getaway, and oh my gosh, we had such a fun, relaxing visit! (Watch for my full review soon!)

Have you ever been to Austin, Minnesota? It’s about 90 minutes south of the Twin Cities, and it is home of Hormel Foods and the SPAM Museum. We enjoyed so many attractions here, but we also enjoyed a comfortable stay at a brand new hotel, the Cobblestone Suites & Hotel!

The Cobblestone Hotel & Suites just opened up this summer of 2020, and has many amenities for an affordable price, so we were excited to try out this new hotel for our stay.

Cobblestone Hotel & Suites is located right near both interstate 90 and highway 218, and is just a few minutes from downtown, so it’s super convenient. 

Cobblestone Suites Austin

Cobblestone has a beautiful. elegant lobby with Seattle’s Best coffee available 24/7 (of course I had some :).

[Read more…]

Scheels in Eden Prairie is a Shopping & Entertainment Wonderland for Families

By

Scheels Eden Prairie

Have you heard about Scheels?

Scheels in Eden Prairie originally opened in 2006 as a 20,000 square-foot retail store specializing in sports products, fashion and footwear.

This summer, they moved to a newly built 250,000 square-foot location in the Eden Prairie Center. It’s more than a shopping experience now, and has everything from a 65-foot ferris wheel, a 16,000-gallon aquarium, a cafe, a candy shop, a toy shop, plus many interactive games and activities for the whole family.     

[Read more…]

Sever’s Stories, Riddles, & Rhymes is Silly Fun for Families (Review)

By

Sever's Riddles

This past month I shared that Sever’s in Shakopee is offering a safe, unique drive-thru event this fall! It’s called Sever’s Stories, Riddles, & Rhymes, and it’s a safe storytime adventure with magic, humor and visuals.

This unique adventure includes a 3/4 mile magical trail where families will be able to enjoy humorous rhymes, riddles and large scale illustrations that give readers of all ages a whole new take on storytime. There will be a huge treasure hunt, a larger than life chicken samurai, a zany squirrel named Hayley with her adorable pumpkin pet, and a lot more!

It takes place Thursdays to Sundays now through November 1st, and the cost is $7 per person or $25 per car maximum.

It sounded like a good option for families during this time, so we decided to go check it out and share our experience with you. We went recently and thought it was cute, silly and sweet!

[Read more…]

Words on Bathroom Walls – Movie Review & Digital Book Giveaway (Ends 8/20)

By

Words on Bathroom Walls

Families – there’s a new movie in select theatres (yes, theatres!) this Friday, August 21st, and it’s one to check out especially if you have a teen.

It’s called Words on Bathroom Walls, and it’s based on a popular young adult novel by Julia Walton. It’s a love story about a high school senior who is diagnosed with a mental illness. He tries to keep it a secret while falling in love -=with a brilliant classmate who inspires him to open his heart and not be defined by his condition.

My (Spoiler-Free) Movie Review:

I watched the movie this week so I can review it. (I watched it by myself as I thought it might be too mature for my kids.)

I thought it was a beautiful movie. It’s 1 hour and 50 minutes, and it’s PG-13 for language and dark themes. The movie is more about Adam’s schizophrenia than about his love life. He struggles with changes in his family and recently diagnosed mental illness, as his family tries to support him and tries new medications to help him. Well, the medications cause side effects, and he doesn’t feel he can talk to his family honestly. It’s real and raw, and Maya is one ray of light in his daily life.

Like with most movies, I thought that many things were exaggerated. I wasn’t sure that people were just being cold and heartless to Adam, or if his schizophrenia made him perceive the world that way, and that’s simply what the movie was showing us. But I thought the way the world was handling his mental illness was very outdated and demeaning. In this way I didn’t feel it was realistic, but the movie had a good message and is definitely worth seeing. (I agree with the movie’s rating though and I don’t recommend it for kids under 13.)

[Read more…]

Girls’ Day Out! Driving Bulldozers at Extreme Sandbox in Hastings, Minnesota

By

Extreme Sandbox Hastings

Two moms driving bulldozers together. Driving over dirt piles, pushing vans, flipping tires.

Sounds like a perfect Saturday afternoon, right?

Well, it is – my friend and I did this, and it was awesome!

Until this year I had no idea a place existed where a girls’ day out – or any other day out – could involve driving heavy construction equipment together, and having fun doing so!

Then I learned about Extreme Sandbox in Hastings which offers anyone age 14 and up to drive heavy construction equipment just for fun. (Thus the appropriate name “Extreme Sandbox” – it really is a giant sandbox for adults and big kids!)

Heavy Metal Drive Thru

And since March, when they had to temporarily suspend their regular business, they offered “Heavy Metal Drive-Thru” shows that you could watch safely from your car, for FREE!

[Read more…]

Dinosaur Adventure Drive Thru Review (& 25 Things to Do in Your Car While in Line 2 Hours)

By

Dinosaur Adventure Drive Thru

Dinosaurs have arrived at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds! And you can see them in a safe drive-thru adventure called “Dinosaur Adventure Drive Thru.” It’s happening the weekends of July 31 – August 2 and August 7-9.

Tickets are $40 for a regular car, truck or minivan that seats up to 7 people. We bought a ticket for opening day for the 6-8pm timeslot. 

This is what our confirmation email said:

Dinosaur Drive Thru email

So we arrived at 6:20pm and the line was starting to go out past the main entrance off Snelling Avenue to the street. I figured it wouldn’t be long once we got in. 

Minnesota State Fairgrounds Dinosaur Drive Thru

However, the line of cars actually wound around the fairgrounds and the attraction was on the other side, so we literally sat in our car until 8:20pm – for 2 hours! – before we got to the entrance of the Dinosaur Adventure Drive Thru!

[Read more…]

The Secret: Dare to Dream Movie Review & Book Giveaway

By

The Secret: Dare to Dream

There are many things I’ve missed during COVID-19, and one of them is going to movies!

But thankfully you can still see new movies – just digitally!

On Friday, July 31st, a new, uplifting movie called The Secret: Dare to Dream will be available on Premium Video on Demand, and moms – get your girlfriends together for this one! It is totally worth seeing!

I had an exclusive opportunity to see the movie in advance at home. I watched it with my mom and we both absolutely loved it! My mom said it was a beautiful movie, and I agreed.

Without spoiling anything, I want to share my review of this movie, plus a taffy recipe (you have to see the movie to understand why)! AND I have a digital download of the BOOK to give away! 

[Read more…]