Lynda Loveland: Fair kid trick

I grew up at the fair showing cattle. It holds a lot of special memories for me. So I love taking my kids now, walking them through the barns and showing them what I used to do.

They like it to, but only for so long. The pull of the Midway is waaaayyy too strong! The games, the rides, the food … all very tempting for a young-un. The rides and the food I can handle, but the games drive me nuts! No matter what the kids did it seemed like they’d only win some small, crappy toy filled with those little white beads that my dog couldn’t wait to get a hold of! Except that year when my son won FIVE goldfish. Who does that?

Anyway, I came up with an idea a few years ago. I’d find a game my kids really liked, look for a nice game operator I thought would be open to bargaining and then make my pitch. “If I give you $10/15/20 right off the bat, will you let my kid play the game for a little while and then give him/her a medium toy?”

It worked like a charm most of the time! I know it may sound like a lot, but you come out ahead at the end and you’re not stuck with a SCTFWB (small crappy toy filled with white beads).

And you didn’t hear it from me.

See you at the deep-fried stands!

Do you have any tricks?