Fall Family Fun ~ Our Day at Shaw Farms

As a working mom with a retail work schedule, I have to be very intentional about finding weekend days for my family to go to the pumpkin patches. Since I have only a few days in October that work for our schedule, I have to be very selective about which farms we go to. Almost every year, Shaw Farms in Milford makes the list.
Some of the reasons we love Shaw:

• Free admission and parking. I really don’t like paying to get in somewhere, just so I can pay more to participate in activities and buy things, so I really appreciate businesses that offer free admission.
• Live Music in the barn. The day we went there was bluegrass music starting at lunch time in an old rustic barn. Great environment with hay bales as seating!
• Large kids area with themed play areas. Themes we saw included Cinderella’s pumpkin carriage, Wizard of Oz, a large pirate ship, The 3 Little Pigs, Flintstones, and Aladdin. They also offer face painting for just $2. I thought for half a second about having my Audrey’s face painted, but realized having her sit still long enough was just not going to happen.
• Large selection of pumpkins with budget-friendly options, including a pile of $2.50 pumpkins. There were also some adorable little white pumpkins for $1 and some “spooky pumpkins” for $1.50.
• Tractor and horse-drawn hay rides. $3 per person for tractor-drawn hay ride, $4 per person for horse-drawn hay ride. Kids 2 and under are free.
• Pick your own pumpkin patch.
• Blue barrel train ride. $2 per child. I rode for free with Audrey since we sat in the same bucket – a tight squeeze I might add. We also blew a tire half way through the ride, which I was sure was because of my pregnancy weight, but was assured that it happened often. It was a pretty bumpy ride! Maybe more appropriate for ages 3 and older, although we still had fun.
• Live farm animals for kids to see, like ducks, chickens, calves, miniature horses, ponies, goats, and geese.
• Food and drinks at affordable pricing. Bottled water is just $1.

An enjoyable budget-friendly fall family day that ended with this adorable picture. We really enjoyed our day at Shaw Farms and will definitely be back again in the future.