This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser, Walmart Family Mobile. All opinions are mine alone. #DataAndAMovie #CollectiveBias
What does spending time with your family mean to you? I can tell you personally that my children and husband are the most important things in the world to me. I know many of you feel the same. I do my best to value every minute we have while they’re still young, although let’s face it, it’s not always easy. The day-to-day gets monotonous, stressful even. We rush to get up, get them fed, dressed and out the door to school. We rush to fit in our own “chores” as parents: work, cleaning, shopping and cooking. Heaven forbid you want to actually WORK OUT or join a gym! Ha, best of luck to you my friend. For me, that means waking up an hour before everyone else to squeeze in that precious 40 minutes where I can focus on my fitness and being healthy, which keep me happy….happy momma, happy family, right?
I digress. Before you know it, the whole day is gone, bedtime routine ensues, and the process repeats. So we decide, hey, let’s spend some quality time together as a family this weekend! So what do we do? We find trips, museums, parks, playdates, fairs, and events….all these things are great and everyone (mostly) enjoys them. But, we find that organizing and attending many of these events is stressful in itself, and can add up to be expensive.
We often put the most value on our family time not on the QUALITY, but on the quantity…and I’m not talking moments, I mean WHAT we do with them. Daytrips, souvenirs at every museum or theme park, full price of admission to all kinds of fairs, events, even the fun ones….it all adds up to cost and doesn’t necessarily equate to fulfilling, QUALITY time spent!
How can you make the most of your family time?
I’m going to start by talking about something that may be surprising to you. Your smartphone. Contrary to what many parents think, the smartphone is not the devil, when used appropriately. These things are one of the handiest tools of the 21st century. I’m not talking about being nose deep in social media whilst your precious kids shriek “Mommy look at me!! Look at me!!” 50,000 times while on the playground just to get a second of your attention (but no judgment….seriously…sometimes you need a break for a moment of ME time and that’s ok!!). Smart phones like my Samsung Galaxy Core Prime from Walmart can be an awesomely helpful tool in this busy day and age. This thing has lightning fast 4G LTE data, the easy to use Android operating system, and super clear front and rear facing cameras. We use this with our Walmart Family Mobile Plus plan.
Say you DO decide to head out to a pick-your-own berry farm, or pumpkin patch, or build-your-own birdhouse workshop (whatever floats your boat), your phone can help with everything from finding directions to taking pics to Googling how much Benadryl to give Junior who you just found out this very moment is slightly allergic to berries… Video chat with Grandma across the country, she would love to see what the kiddos are up to these days and how much they’ve grown (sorry, no cheek-pinching or pink lipstick smudges included here). My Walmart Family Mobile Plus plan gives me unlimited talk, text and 4G LTE data up to 10 GB each month to get all this done, and more, for only $49.88 per month!
Try lowering the price tag on family time. Quality doesn’t always equal expensive. Want to know one of my favorite family activities we do once a month? Family Movie night. We push the coffee table out of the way, grab lots of blankets, pillows, giant teddy bears, pop some popcorn, and watch a family movie together. Kids love it, and we parents do too. Here’s’ where my Walmart Family Mobile Plus steps in again… with my plan we also get a FREE MOVIE from VUDU each month too (up to $7!). So with the free VUDU app on smart TV, on Roku, or any of our tablets, we can watch new movies each month to keep things interesting! Movie night is really cost effective and tons of fun.
How would unlimited data benefit your family? For us, we can do research for homework on the go, for example. My 9 year old constantly has questions about scientific facts she just needs the answer to, like NOW. My 6 year old loves watching videos on YouTube kids for ideas on building her Minecraft world. They ALL love streaming music….seriously… (should have bought stock in Spotify and Kidz Bop years ago…). I can text my husband a zillion times a day with each idea I have for our garden, chicken coop, bathroom paint color, astrophysics theory, pics of the baby running down the hall naked…pretty much every dumb thought that crosses my mind with no worries! Well I do worry about annoying him to death while he’s trying to work… With my unlimited talk, text and data I have no worries about going over. All these things keep us involved with EACH OTHER.
My kids love cooking. They love getting involved when I bake. They love eating what we bake. What kid doesn’t?? You know, one of the easiest and cheapest ways to bond with your children is to teach them how to cook. Let them help prepare foods they wouldn’t normally want to eat (Brussels sprouts anyone?). Simple enough, but the greatest return on that investment is the time spent, involved, engaged together. Let your daughter pick a fruit or vegetable at the grocery store or your local Walmart Supercenter, and then let HER choose a recipe that you make TOGETHER. There are countless recipe resources available on the web, (even on Walmart.com) or let her browse Pinterest on your smartphone until she finds something (which may take a while but hey, no big deal right? Unlimited Data to the rescue!). Prepare the recipe together, and see how proud and happy your kid feels afterwards.
It doesn’t have to be about doing it all. It’s about doing what you do, with your precious family, and doing it well. Sometimes the right technology can help you do it! This tax season, when you get your refund, think about upgrading your cellular plan to the new Walmart Family Mobile Plus with your free VUDU monthly movie. Your tax return is your money! You worked hard for it! And why not spend it on the ones you love? It’s the perfect time to upgrade your current plan, get a new line for your son or daughter, or simply switch so you can get one of their great new phones. For less than the price of admission for your family to a theme park, you can get a new Samsung Galaxy Core Prime like mine, for only $79.92 *, and all that glorious data, talk and text for $49.88 per line. You work hard for your family, and your time is precious too. Spend it wisely!
*Disclaimer: All prices for phones and plans included in this post are accurate as of the date of posting; however, these prices are subject to change. Please refer to cbi.as/2n6q6 or your local Walmart for current pricing. Additional products i.e. the Starter Kit ($25) for first time Walmart Family Mobile customers may be required.
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