Free Thinking: Davis County352

Families in Davis County have a lot of options for keeping their kids amused, fed, and entertained without spending a fortune. We've been searching for free things to do around this region and the following list should help keep your family happy while allowing you to keep some of your cash in your wallet.

Let's start with the restaurants that offer free food or special discounts for kids and families. Kids ages three and under can always eat free at Chuck-a-rama, and kids in that same age range also can eat free from the salad bar at Sizzler with an adult meal purchase. At Lone Star Steakhouse restaurants in Centerville and Layton, up to two kids eat free from the Kid's Menu all day on Tuesdays with the purchase of an adult entree. In the mood for Mexican food? Garcia's in Layton offers a "kids eat free" deal on Tuesdays and Sundays. Also on Tuesdays, Fazoli's hosts Kids' Night from 5pm to 8pm. The evening features crafts, games, and 99-cent kids' meals. Fazoli's also offers food specials on Mondays and Thursdays - Meatball Madness on Monday and Pizza Sampler on Thursday. Denny's restaurants in Woods Cross and Layton let kids eat free on Tuesday and Saturday nights after 4pm; up to two children can eat for free off the kids' menu with each adult meal purchase. And, finally, Carl's Jr. restaurants in Bountiful and Layton offer a Kids Eat Free program; on Wednesdays from 4pm to close, get a free kids' meal with the purchase of a regular combo meal.

Weekly storytimes take place at the Barnes & Noble in Layton. We list this venue's upcoming storytimes and events on our calendar; check the "events" section of their venue pages for direct links to the calendar items.

For crafty kids, or kids who just like to "tool" around, Home Depot stores in Centerville and Layton offer free Kids' Workshops on the first Saturday of each month from 9am to 11am. The Lowe's stores in Layton and Woods Cross both host free Build and Grow Kids' Clinics a couple times a month.

Got a sweet tooth? How about a free factory tour of Mrs. Cavanaugh's Candies, Inc.? Guests can view the candy kitchen and boxing area, see how hand-dipped chocolates are made, watch videos, and even sample some candies.

For days when you want to get the family out into the great outdoors, consider a visit to Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area. This wetland serves as a home to hundreds of thousands of waterbirds, songbirds, and raptors, offering amazing wildlife viewing opportunities. It's especially appealing when the bald eagles are there during the months of January and early February.

The Utah Botanical Center in Kaysville is a 100-acre demonstration garden. Families can walk through the gardens, do some fishing in the center's four ponds (must have a license if over the age of 13), tour the greenhouse (by appointment), and check out the Utah House - a model home demonstrating landscaping and building practices that promote energy efficiency, water conservation, renewable resources, and healthy indoor environments. Workshops and community events are held at the Utah Botanical Center throughout the year.

Another great outdoor offering is a free treasure hunting game called Geocaching. Geocaches are hidden containers that can be found using coordinates and a GPS unit. If you choose to remove a "treasure" (stickers, toy cars, postcards, pencils, crayons, bubbles, etc.) from the cache, be sure to leave an item to replace it - all of those kids' meal toys laying around the house make great treasures for the cache. Thousands of caches are hidden throughout the Salt Lake area, and some are right here in Davis County.

Do you know of more free stuff, events, and activities for kids and families around Bountiful, Centerville, Kaysville, North Salt Lake, Woods Cross, Farmington, or Layton? Add a comment below and we'll get right on it!

Note: Our editors make every attempt to keep this list as current as possible, but changes to these programs do happen. We recommend that you visit the venue websites for exceptions, other qualifying details, and any updates before visiting the venues themselves.