Oak Park kids eat free deals

This post has been updated. Click here to read updated post.

It's been nearly 3 years since I wrote my post on kid-friendly dining destinations in (or near) Oak Park. We're still frequenting a lot of those places, getting pizza, seafood salad and gelato at Freddy's, diner fare at the Depot and big bowls of pasta with free salads and cheap wine at Jimmy's Place. Since then, Pompei closed and Bar Louie went downhill fast. We gained a Five Guys (woo-hoo!) and Sushi Sen, a great spot for Japanese food, opened just a block from our house. But this post isn't about my favorite restaurants. It's about finding those kids eat free deals that make dining with young children worthwhile. As of today, all of these deals appear to be current. But that doesn't mean a restaurant can't cancel the offer whenever they wish. And yes, I included Denny's. Never been there, but I'll give the place props for offering free food to families two times a week.

Monday

Flat Top Grill

726 Lake Street, Oak Park

Francesca's Fiore

7407 W Madison Street, Forest Park

Fuego Loco

722 Lake Street, Oak Park

Healy's Westside

7321 Madison, Forest Park

Tuesday

Denny's (4-10pm)

711 North Harlem, Oak Park

Wednesday

Avenue Ale House

825 S Oak Park Avenue, Oak Park

Thursday

Trattoria 225, 225 Harrison Street, Oak Park

Saturday

Denny's (4-10pm)

711 North Harlem, Oak Park

1/15/10: I just learned that Blue Max (26 Lathrop Ave., Forest Park) offers $3 kids meals ($1 drink) every day--no adult purchase necessary.

How far could a smart shopper stretch $1000?

I love, love a good deal. Back in the dark ages, my Mom would clip coupons, scan the grocery store circulars for loss leaders and make dinner from whatever was marked down. She'd spend her weekends driving to three different grocery stores to get all the best deals and insist that any clothing she bought for us kids needed to be marked down at least twice. Clearance rack with a coupon and she'd have approved even the shortest miniskirt.

Her savvy shopping skills were admirable, but a lot of freaking work. As the mother of two small children who works full time, blogs a lot, is studying Hebrew and serving as co-president of the board of her daughter's school, I could totally rationalize Peapoding my grocery list and stocking up on toilet paper, detergent and tampons from Alice. Time is money, and my stay-at-home husband--who does most of the shopping--can't be bothered to bargain shop on his own.

Thanks to the Internet, I don't have to look very hard to score the most amazing deals. Fellow Oak Park mom Carrie Kirby updates Frugalista with the best deals at Chicago area grocery stores and savings codes for local entertainment. She turned me onto Money Saving Mom, a Christian housewife who sees economizing as a call from G-d. If I'm planning a trip to CVS or Walgreens, I'll scan through I Heart Wags or Mommy Snacks first.

I check the Woot sites and the Chicago-specific Groupon for one-day-only discounts on electronics, kids' toys, restaurants and more. If I'm feeling flush or need to buy gifts, I'll browse the online bargains at DealNews. WantNot is another great blog; Mir's alerted me to deals so good I couldn't pass them up--like the time I bought my Dyson vacuum for $249.

There's no denying smart shoppers are out there sharing their wisdom with those of us who want to save big but don't have the time or energy to snoop out all the best deals. It's about time they got recognized--and paid--for their talents! To that end, IRI is sponsoring the Savvy Supermarket Cents YouTube contest, and I--along with Liz Gumbinner and Kristen Chase from Cool Mom Picks--will be judging. Four category winners will receive a $250 gift card to the store of their chosing. One audience favorite will win a $500 gift card, and an overall grand prize winner will get a $1000 gift card. Hurry, the contest ends October 16th.

Steal and deals on baby stuff

I compulsively check the daily deal at BabySteals.com and this weekend they're offering a whole bunch of cool baby things for half price--usually it is just one item per day. And it is consignment sale season in Oak Park. The Mothers of Multiples sale is this Saturday at 9am at the Oak Park Arms and next Saturday is the Parenthesis sale.

How I scored a play kitchen for $12

I'm scored plenty of kid-related bargains by shopping yard sales and Craigslist and staying active in the Oak Park Freecycle group.

But while Freecycle's netted me free swim diapers, a high chair, nursing bras, a boppy pillow and rain boots, my best bargain find of all time is the Talking Chef Magic Kitchen I found at the Oak Park Temple rummage sale in October of 2005.

Having always yearned for one myself, I was hoping to buy Z a play kitchen for her 1st birthday. So I was over the moon to find a like-new one (with batteries included) at a rummage sale just 2 weeks before her birthday. For $12! Equivalent kitchens cost close to $100 at Toys R Us and deluxe, non-plastic kitchens (like those sold by Pottery Barn) ran a lot more than that!

The kitchen has moved from our real kitchen downstairs to the playroom in the basement, where it still gets played with almost every day, by both of our girls.

This post was written in response to Parent Bloggers Network and Couponers.com, who are asking bloggers to write about their greatest bargain-hunting success.

Cool to a tee

Chicago-based Threadless is having a $10 "Spring Broke" tee shirt sale, making now the perfect time to stock up on tees you won't see anyone else wearing. I love the Threadless business model: let anyone who wants to design a tee shirt, ask the public to vote for their favorite, and print up limited runs of winning designs on high-quality tees.

Personally, I've got my eye on Nineteen Seventy Five.