Free is fun!
I have become that person. The person who takes food home from simchas. Does it make it any better that I am honest about it? If you have seen me at a bris furiously making bagels and tuna for Husband #1, I am also surreptitiously (well, not so much that I am admitting it now) making a bagel and tuna for myself, as well. Props to the caterer who realized the importance of putting out tinfoil and to-go containers.
Why am I sharing this with you? I am hoping that I am not the only one who does things like this, so if I am now normalizing your behavior, you are welcome. In addition to free food, I have also become fond of free activities. Especially when they are beneficial to my adorable pastries.
This past week, I ran a session of Camp Babka. For five nights I was blessed with two campers, and for two nights I was blessed with three campers. It is definitely easier to find things to do with two campers, especially when one of them wanted to stay home with Papa, and Babka was able to take Strudel’s 19-month-old sister to Van Saun for the first time.
I was hoping that telling the ticket lady that it was my granddaughter’s first time at the zoo would give us a free ride on the train, but that was not to be. Adult admission to the zoo is now $6 dollars. Six dollars!! Remember when it was free? And the train is $3 to everyone over the age of 1.
Little Curly, Strudel’s sister, started screaming when we sat down on the train and the people in front of us kept looking back at us. I finally had to say, “Be grateful we aren’t on a six-hour plane ride!” Little Curly calmed down soon after the train started, and by the end, she was cheering “Choo Choo” like it was the most fun she ever had in her life. Totally worth the $3.
But I still had to come up with activities for all three sweet girls. Shoprite is always a fan favorite. Two sat in the back of the cart and one sat in the front. The list wasn’t that big, so the two in the back didn’t get squished out by groceries. Got home, stuck all the frozen goods in the freezer — and then off the the mall.
The challenge, if Babka accepted it, was to bring three girls in one double stroller to meet 10 puppies and then get a small toy for each girl in the bunk. Strudel, the eldest camper, decided that if she couldn’t sit in the stroller, she was pushing the stroller.
Just for mental-image reasons — this side-by-side double stroller was passed down to me by a very generous neighbor. The stroller, with two kids in it, probably weighs close to 80 pounds. But Strudel is a Ganchrow, which means she is stubborn, which means she was pushing that stroller no matter what Babka told her. Through the uphill parking lot, in the single door, which was barely wide enough for Babka, let alone a double stroller — and to the puppy store we went.
Some of the puppies had puppies of their own by the time we got there, but I give Strudel a lot of credit for her determination.
Puppies were enjoyed, toys were bought, one already broke and is in the garbage — $5 down the toilet — but what can you do.
After nap time, our last formal activity of the day was “Big Ices, Big Games.” This was advertised as a free event for children and parents in someone’s back yard. The back story is that Amira Kra, a Teaneck resident, rents out giant games for parties — bar mitzvahs, bat mitzvahs, birthday parties, etc. It started when she made her son a bar mitzvah during covid and came up with the idea to get these big games for the kids to play outside.
The girls had so much fun playing giant Jenga and giant Guess Who, among others. Such a great idea, but honestly we were there for the free ices (the free entertainment was a bonus). And the people who ran it read my column, so since I am always looking for attention, that made me feel good, and Strudel was really excited about that fact.
Looking forward to the free stuff I can find for Camp Babka international, coming to a shtetl near you in just three weeks!
Banji Ganchrow of Teaneck is grateful to Son and Dil #1 for entrusting her with their progeny. For info about renting the giant games, you can text 917-414-6773.