Mother's Day: Cheap, free and fun

Some people think it’s a bad idea to hunt for Mother’s Day bargains. After all, if there’s anyone who should get an expensive outing, it’s mom, right?
 
Wrong. Didn’t you learn anything from your mom-- the one who told you to be smart with your money? Doing something with your mother—within the constraints of a sound budget—shows her that you actually listened when she tried to teach you the value of a dollar. There are plenty of things you can do on Mother’s Day weekend that offer both quality time for families and a great value:
 
* Friday, May 8: Take mom to the Florida Orchestra — for free. The orchestra will be performing at Lowry Park (7525 N. Boulevard) at 7:30 p.m. as part of their “Pops in the Park” series. Bring lawn chairs and whatever helps you get comfortable and enjoy the music.
 
* Sat.-Sun. May 9-10: Take mom to the Lowry Park Zoo (1101 W. Sligh Ave.). On Saturday and Sunday moms get in free with a child’s admission ticket. That saves you $20 right there. If you haven’t been to the zoo in a while, it’s easy to forget how much there is to see. And even if you have been recently…did you take your mom last time?

* Sunday, May 10. Okay, this is the big day, so you have a few options. For some reason, everyone wants you to take mom to an expensive brunch, but that’s just not going to work. You want to do something fun and cheap, right?
The zoo has its special and the Florida Orchestra is playing for free again, this time at the Safety Harbor Resort and Spa, 105 N. Bayshore Drive in Safety Harbor. But if you already did those things, you might want to try something different—like Sunken Gardens, 1825 4^th St. N. in St. Petersburg. Mom gets in free with another paid admission, which saves you another $8. It’s a good time to check out their collection of more than 50,000 plants and flowers, and a great cap to a fun (and cheap) Mother’s Day.