Arts & Entertainment Community

Two in Tow & On the Go | Low-pressure January outing ideas for families

A lot of people take January as an opportunity to plan things, make lists, and look ahead to the new year with a renewed sense of purpose. Me? With the holiday hustle plus Clara and Wyatt’s mid-December birthdays over and done with, January feels like a good time to … do absolutely none of that. Lol.

But as all parents and grandparents know, “doing nothing” isn’t really an option. Because, sigh, children still want to do things. (Drat!). Begrudgingly, this coming-to-terms has led me to conclude January could be a good time to refill some back-pocket kid outing plans after all.

So, for my fellow January minimalists, I pulled some low-pressure outings from past Two in Tow columns around Gig Harbor and the South Sound. As I looked through the archives, (setting aside the local guides and history pieces), I came up with quite a few places where the kids and I have made the most of ordinary afternoons. Think of them as local pre-packaged family adventures with all the intel you need to keep any of that pesky new-year-overachieving-ness at a minimum.

So let’s take a little look-see, shall we? I separated them into four category options:

Option 1: The “One Thing Only” Rule

The first option is when I pick one thing for us to do. Not an indoor jump park and a restaurant and another stop “since we’re already out.” The whole “Let’s Make it a Day!” mindset was surely created by some overly excited marketing exec in the tourism industry. Even though I have “On the Go” in my column title, I don’t actually like rushing from place to place to place in a single day. Plus, if it involves getting in and out of the car more than twice, the kids don’t like it either. And they will tell me. Audibly.

So I pick one thing. Then I let it breathe. I let it be enough. Sometimes I don’t even tell the kids what the one thing is until we’re in the car and going to it. I can’t have them saying “no” and ruining all my carefully curated calm, now can I?? Ha. Overall, I pick places where the kids can thoroughly explore, notice details, invent games, and ask questions we can look up the answers to later. The magic isn’t in doing more, it’s in staying a little longer in one spot.

Some past posts that fit this rule include:

Walking the Tacoma Narrows Bridge with Kids (Feb. 9, 2023):

Fast times on Tacoma’s Chutes and Ladders (Oct. 4, 2024):

An adventure at the Port Orchard Hobbit House (June 9, 2023):

Tacoma’s Mountaineer Tree is a giant of the forest (June 12, 2025):

A towering view at the Port of Tacoma (Sept. 12, 2025):

Option 2: Park first, questions later

As second kiddo adventure strategy is when I pick a park we already trust: one with room to roam, a restroom that’s usually open, and at least one feature that feels a little special. Sometimes it’s a playground park, sometimes it’s a walking-trail park. Mostly, it’s somewhere outside where the kids can burn just enough energy to feel accomplished, but not so much that we trigger overly tired pre-teen hiking mutiny.

If it’s a playground park, there’s a bonus: I get the chance to sit (unheard of , I know). We show up, the kids lead, and I mosey on over to a bench to supervise the water bottles. The key here is not having to rush home before anyone is ready to leave. A park visit that ends while everyone’s still having fun is a small parenting miracle. I shoot for that.

From past columns, examples include:

Kenneth Leo Marvin Veterans Memorial Park (and its beloved disc swing) (May 19, 2023)

Tacoma reaches new heights with tower slide at Foss Waterway (April 26, 2024):

Get to know Crescent Creek Park (Jan. 12, 2023):

Kids’ Gig playground charms with nods to local landmarks (Feb. 2, 2023):

Tacoma’s Franklin Park has Gig Harbor ties (Oct. 18, 2024):

Option 3: Indoor place re-set

Our third option comes with the reality that some afternoons call for the structure of operating hours and shelter from the rain. Which means a museum or indoor play-place usually fits the bill. If you don’t want to stay too long, go two hours before the places closes so when it’s time to leave, it won’t be your fault. “They’re kickin’ us out, kids! We gotta go …” (Magic, right?).

We’ve leaned into curiosity and creativity at places detailed in the following stories:

Ahoy Kitsap Playland is worth the drive (Nov. 17, 2023):

Plush animal scooters at the Kitsap Mall (Jan. 31, 2025):

Shoot your shot in Ocean5’s laser tag arena (March 1, 2024):

$2 movies and the Skittles machine (April 4, 2025)

Option 4: Lower the bar and raise the incentive

Our last strategy is for when we need to get out of the house but the afternoon feels fragile with tired kids, a late lunch, or, I don’t know … a tired mom with no tolerance for nonsense, perhaps? On those days, I lower the bar and raise the incentive. We drive to a place where we can take a short walk somewhere with something to look for (boats, yellow cars, weird rocks — whatever), followed by a treat. This option, bribes and all, has saved me more days than I can count.

Tip: We usually don’t walk from our house because once we get too far, we still have to walk all the way home. When we drive somewhere to walk, the space is contained and the car is never too far away in the event of the dreaded walk-back meltdown.

The walk doesn’t need to be epic. It just needs open space, a view and a mission. Adventure bags or baskets with which to collect stuff also help. The treat at the end doesn’t have to be fancy either. Sometimes it’s ice cream. Sometimes it’s a stop at the gas station mini mart, which somehow still feels exciting for reasons I no longer question.

We’ve detailed trips like this in the following columns:

Four surprising finds to explore outside the Gig Harbor Civic Center (Aug. 23, 2024):

Claybabies are a Fox Island find (Oct. 20, 2023):

Views, do’s and don’ts at the Old Ferry Landing (Sept. 1, 2023):

A walk up North Harborview Drive (July 28, 2023)

By any name, Donkey Creek Park is a good time (Aug. 18, 2023):

Nature, but nearby, at Adam Tallman Nature Park (April 21, 2023):

Love-locks in Gig Harbor (July 21, 2023):

It’s OK to play on these works of art (April 7, 2024)

The real win

The truth is, the kids rarely remember how much I packed into a day. They remember how it felt. So if you have a free afternoon, don’t try to make it perfect with a long to-do list. Make it manageable. Make it yours. Or, borrow one of ours and let me know how it goes!

See ya out there!

xo,

Tonya

Tonya Strickland is a Gig Harbor mom-of-two and longtime journalist. Now in the travel and family niche, her blog, Two in Tow & On the Go, was named among the 10 Seattle-Area Instagram Accounts to Follow by ParentMap magazine. Tonya and her husband Bowen moved to Gig Harbor from California with their two kids, Clara (11) and Wyatt (9) in 2021. Find them on Facebook for all the kid-friendly places in and around town.