Frugal Fun: Lowe's Build & Grow

Weekends can prove to be the best time for creating family memories, but sometimes they can also drain your wallets.  Since Benji is two years old right now, it sometimes becomes tough looking for new activities that he can sit through, especially with this never-ending cold weather.

This weekend we tried Lowe's Build & Grow program for the first time.  I signed us up thinking that it was worth a shot, though I really didn't think the odds were good that he would sit through the session.  I am happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised.

When you first enter Lowe's, the activity is already set up for everyone.  We walked up to three long tables, with aprons, safety goggles and hammers laid out.  I went to the desk to check in, and received the bird house kit.  Daddy started reading the instructions while Benji waited patiently... while banging the hammer, of course!

I think he could have just banged on the wood with the hammer all afternoon.

The kit was really simple, and contained blunt nails and pre-drilled holes for them which struck me as really thoughtful.  Since it was such an easy project, we could let Benji bang away at the pieces, and they just started to form the house.

He was very enthralled with the mechanics of the bird house.  We put a couple pieces on backwards since we were letting Benji take so much of the lead, but we quickly popped them out and put them together correctly while he was distracted with another piece of wood.  When he showed the birdhouse to the employee manning the desk, they gave him a certificate and a patch for his apron.

I am going to let him paint the birdhouse and then we will nail it to the tree right outside our bay window.  In the summer, Benji likes to climb in that window and watch the birds.

Cost: $0
Smiles: Infinite  :)