Five Day Trips in Alabama for Labor Day
Labor Day is quickly approaching and I have crafted five day trips in Alabama for Labor Day! As a child, I heard a speaker once share that she was clueless to the notion of Labor Day being a holiday because her father had convinced her family it was a day to labor on cleaning their property. Ha! That was a pretty smart father until his children became teenagers and aware that others were not cleaning their properties on Labor Day.
In preparation for the upcoming HOLIDAY, I have put together five day trips in Alabama that would make for quite a fun Labor Day.
1. Visit WildWater Cullman.
Here in Alabama, there is a new water park located in central Alabama, Wildwater Cullman. About an hour north of Birmingham, this water park would provide a wonderful day of water fun for the holiday. If you live outside of Alabama, do a quick Google search and see what water parks are near you. For most water activities, Labor Day marks the end of the season and a perfect way to celebrate the summer’s end.
2. Plan a hike.
Spend the day outdoors on a beautiful nature trail. Red Mountain Park is a nearby locale that provides miles of trails to hike and explore. Hiking is not the only activity available here. This is a place you can walk, hike, and mountain bike. There is also a dog park on the property.
Red Mountain Park provides ample trails similar to this one to hike and explore. 3. Host a cookout.
Don’t want to go far? Have no desire to get in your car and go for Labor Day? Don’t! Host a cookout in your backyard or in my case, an alleyway. Invite friends, neighbors, or family over to eat and fellowship together. A cookout is another great way to celebrate the summer’s end. Pinterest lends a hand when finding guides like this one for how to host a cookout.
4. Visit a waterfall.
What is it about a waterfall that makes life seem peaceful? Located north of my home is Bankhead National Forest. It has been nicknamed “Land of a 1,000 Waterfalls”. What an apt name for a locale that hosts such amazing beauty. Labor Day provides a wonderful pause in life to go exploring a waterfall.
Sougahoagdee Falls in Bankhead National Forest 5. Visit a Labor Day Celebration
Tannehill State Park will host a Tannehill Labor Day Celebration on Labor Day. This includes Alabama’s largest Moon Pie eating contest. In addition to this celebration, Bham Now includes other Labor Day Weekend activities to explore. Tannehill State Park is a wonderful campground that we have visited in the past. We love to go camping and we recently purchased a popup camper and put our own decor touch on it. You can read all about our camper and what to do when camping, here.
Bonus activities.
Choose Labor Day to get out and go biking. Another bonus idea is to check out a new spot you have not visited. With the hosting of the World Games, Birmingham did a wonderful job of creating a City Walk. My family and I have yet to visit it. Labor Day would be a good time to check it out! Leave a comment below and let me know what you are doing this Labor Day.
School Supply Shopping
Are you a spender or a saver? A tightwad or a spendthrift? For me, I find myself wanting to find the best deal on anything I can. To pay full price for anything just about kills me. School supplies is an area that agitates me. I want to get the best deal on items that are needed for the classroom. Waste and excess are two words I do not want to hear when getting ready for going back to school and have me looking for deals when school supply shopping. Planning for the routine and needs of school gets me thinking of other areas of our home that need preparation such as meal planning. A good refresher course for how to meal plan can be found here.
Purchasing Options
To acquire your school items, you have a few options. You may shop for each school supply on your own or order the school supply list from your school. Many schools are now crafting school supply lists then shipping them directly to the homes that have pre-ordered.
The benefit of ordering your school supplies from your local school is you do not have to go out and buy your items on your own time. One potential drawback is the overall cost of supplies tend to be higher on the pre-order list.
The down side of taking the time to shop for your own supplies is you are spending your precious time hunting down the best deals. Another option when searching for your own deals is completing a pick up order from Walmart or Target. You can order what you need then drive by and pick it up without having to go in the store.
Price Comparisons
I have wanted to know for a long time exactly how expensive school supplies are. Typically, I run into whatever store of my choice and throw in school supplies last minute with no knowledge of the cost until checkout.
This year, I did a price comparison between Walmart and Target on school supply prices. I will list the supplies I was shopping for and the price comparisons.
Item Walmart Target 1.5″ Avery Binder $7.64 $7.69 5 tab/poly dividers $3.33 $4.49 Wide Ruled Marble Composition Notebook $.50 $.55 #2 Dixon Ticonderoga Pencils 12 count $6.42 $2.99 Plastic Pocket folders with brads $.50 $.50 Crayola 12 count Erasable Colored Pencils $14.99 $3.99 Fisker 5″ scissors $1.47 $1.49 Elmer’s gluesticks .77 ounce $.52 $1.06 Comparison of prices between Walmart and Target For this week, Target has some great prices and selection so I purchased most of my school supplies from there. I was able to find binders cheaper than the Avery binder pricing. The Target brand binders were $4.69 each. Also, the price for the erasable pencils from Walmart seems just too high but that was the only price I could find online for that particular item. It was just too high compared to the Target price and I am hopeful that I simply made an error in looking up that item.
Ways to Save
Money tight in your household? Frustrated with buying the same supplies each year then getting them back at the end of the school year? Create a space to house all school supplies then at the beginning of each year, shop your stock pile first before you head out to the store. Below is a post from my friend JeriKay about a beautiful piece of furniture she has designated to house all her school supplies.
At times we have reused the plastic, pocketed folders with brads year after year. And with the use of pencil boxes and/or pouches, we have held on to crayons and colored pencils that are barely used. Shopping weekly sales in the days and weeks leading up to a new school year is another way to save money on school supplies.
If holding onto leftover supplies and hunting down the best deals is not worth your time, I totally understand! Do what works best for you and your family. School supply pre-orders may be just the option for you! Whichever you chose, may your school year be filled with peace, learning, and fun!
Let me know in the comments how you shop for school supplies. I would love to hear from you!
