You know it is coming. The ominous clouds, the cold rain, the piles of pearly white powder. The winter weather in many parts of the North American continent is about to make heading over to the local playground a dicey, not to mention chilly, proposition. Even the shortest of strolls is set to become a potentially unpleasant experience, for once the air temperature outside begins to feel like the inside of your refrigerator (and freezer) the desire to plow through that front door begins to fade.
Fear not the wind and snow!
Your neighborhood Pet Shop, the perfect remedy for those cabin fever days is, in all likelihood, right around the corner from your toasty abode. Most every town and city in the United States features at least one of the following:
1) A mall pet store
2) A standalone, locally owned pet shop
3) A Petco or another national chain pet super mart
Each of these establishments will feature a number of your child’s favorite things: dogs, cats, fish, snakes, lizards, turtles, parrots, mice, bunnies, hamsters and more. Your local pet shop provides you and your family with a free, indoor animal excursion, any day of the year. Your kids can roam the aisles while calling out to the friendly birds, race around the rows of aquariums picking out which colorful clown fish is the funniest and dream about taking home a huggable, fluffy puppy dog. The most difficult aspect of this outing will be getting out the door without a new member of the family!
Unless a pet purchase IS in your plans, you will want to set the expectations going in: there will be window-shopping only today! Appease the masses with a pizza lunch afterwards and talk about all the animals you just saw, where they come from, what they eat, etc.