Pippi's Piece Drive -ins = Savings!!!!

We all know kids just LOVE to go to see the latest movie!

We also know that it costs a fortune!!!!!!!!!!!
 With 4 kids it adds up to about $89.50 for me alone to take the children without Mr S.  How expensive is that!!!

Here enters the Drive-Ins.

We are fortunate in Adelaide to have a great Drive- In that is fairly close to the city.  It is only $22 per car load for up to 5 passengers  (extra person only $8).  SO if we go to the drive-ins instead of the cinema we are saving $59.50. For information see Wallis Main-line Drive-ins

We go & pack our deck chairs.  When we get there we get our chairs out, all line up & sit outside to watch the movie.  We pack pillows and blankets and the children have a great time.  Of course the next way to save $$$ is to pack all of your own food.  I make pop-corn in our pop-corn maker.  We received this as a gift one Christmas and we use it all the time.

It is quick and easy.  It means the children have a preservative free, high fibre snack which they think is a treat.  Sometimes I do add some salt, or sugar, or make a caramel topping, but most of the time they eat it plain.   Even when we get a small treat at the kiosk for each child, it still works out so much cheaper than going to the cinemas.

The next advantage is that if the youngest is really young, they can fall asleep in the back of the car, rather than whingeing half way through the movie, that they wantto go home.

Also in a cinema when the children ask questions throughout the movie, you are constantly trying to whisper or telling them to be quiet.  At the drive-ins, if you park a little further away from the other cars, you can answer the children's questions or let them talk throughout the film without disturbing other patrons.

Finally my tips on going to the drive-ins here in Adelaide.

•  It is best to go in the Autumn and Spring.  Winter is often too cold.  Even if all the children sit in the back of the station wagon, with the rear door up, it can get cold.  There is also more chance of rain.
• In Summer Daylight Savings means that the movies start to late for the younger children.  .
• I prefer to go on a night where it is not to dark - by this I mean - when the moon is bright. If it is too dark, and you do sit outside with your deck chairs / bean bags etc, you can't see where you have put everything.  I also prefer  it to be  a bright moon, so you can keep an eye on the kids and know exactly where they are all the time. However if you do go on a darker night, don't forget a torch, so you can quickly find that dropped packet of tictacs or jaffas or favourite teddy that the children have dropped onto the ground.

 So a big Thumbs up for the Wallis Main-line Drive-ins at Gepps Cross in Adelaide.  The only downside, is that there is not much choice on the time (obviously it needs to be at night) and the movie to view (there is only 1 screen, so only one movie at a time).  Most nights they screen numerous movies at later session times, with the children's movie on first.  But if that movie is not what your children want to see, then you need to wait until it either comes on, or you need to go elsewhere.

That is our dilema today.  The children want to see "Madagascar 3", this week, and at the Drive-ins they are screening "Diary of a Wimpy Kid 3".
So I did the search for the cheapest tickets to the movies.  Fortunately through our health insurance we can purchase discounted online movie tickets.  So if you also have health insurance you may want to check if your company does the same.

Today I have my 2 nieces staying with me, so for 1 adult and 5 children it is going to cost me $106.50.   Can you believe it?  That is just ridiculous & there is no way we can afford that.  Luckily through our health insurance I can get the tickets for $53.00. Which makes it far more reasonable and much more affordable.

So I must run, as we are all off to the movies!!