This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Need to Get Out? Places Around Town for Chillin' With the Children

Here are some ideas for where parents and kids can go when you all just need to get out and relax.

There are times you want to get out of the house and burn energy. And there are times when you just want to get out and chill.

Like, when you’ve been in the house all day. Phones ringing. Babies crying. Kids running. Footballs flying. You… well, maybe you haven’t been the calm, cool, collected parent you like to think you are. You need to get out. You need some structure. And you need to chill.

Sometimes a change of venue is all you need. Rather than struggling to bring order around the kitchen table, why not bundle up and move lunch to the deck – or even to the park, like or ? Instead of becoming distracted by the minutia of your day, perhaps a trip to the lake for some boat sighting and duck watching will do the trick. Rather than stressing about flying balls and missing puzzle pieces, how about a walk through downtown Kirkland accompanied by a chilled out game of I Spy?

Find out what's happening in Kirklandwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Luckily, the Kirkland area is full of fun, yet chill, activities to calm your nerves, entertain the troops and give you the downtime you need. Here are just a few ideas:

 –Every other Friday at 9:45 a.m. is Baby’s Day at the Movies. Head to Park Place Cinema enjoy a real movie in a real theater … with the kids. Low lights are kept on and nobody bats an eye if your crew makes a little noise or you have to get up and bounce a wee one. For more information: http://www.kirklandparkplace.com/cinema.html

Find out what's happening in Kirklandwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Crafts Classes – Sometimes a craft project can be the best therapy for a frazzled mind. Why not bring the kids to Michael’s in Juanita for a crafts class? Classes vary in theme and in target age. For a schedule of upcoming events, check here: http://www.michaels.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Michaels-Site/default/StoreEvent-Show?store=8407

Story Time – There’s nothing like story time to calm and engage kids (and weary moms and dads). So, why not let professional story tellers do the job? Throughout the week, the Kirkland Public Library offers several Story Time sessions for kids from 3 months to 6 years old. For more information, check out: http://wiki.kcls.org/tellmeastory/index.php/Kirkland_Library.

 – Bowling – at least with kids – can be pretty chill. Slow moving, at least. But it’s always good for a change of pace and a lot of fun. Tech City Bowl is open throughout the week, but offers a significant discount on “Early Dismissal Wednesdays” from 1-4 p.m. while school is in session. The discount is only good for groups with a student who can show a K-12 school ID. Games are $2 and so is each pair of shoes.http://www.techcitybowl.com/specials/15-july-friday-night-specials

Tot Spot Café – Now, here’s a good idea. Why not bring the little ones somewhere that they can play in a safe, confined space, while you sip some coffee and chill. You can even bring your laptop to this spot in Woodinville and take advantage of the wifi – although while they have staff supervising the play area, you may not want to tune the kids out completely. The play area offers a variety of age appropriate toys and activities, as well as “guest” entertainers. The café includes drinks and eats for both kids and adults.

Kids Quest Children’s Museum – For a fun, interactive and educational outing, head over to Bellevue and explore Kids Quest. They have a variety of regular exhibits to explore, as well as a scheduled packed full of special events and activities.

So, next time you need to chill, get out of the house and explore. Enjoy!


We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Kirkland