Free Trials: Is it even worth it?

Recently I won a giveaway for a workshop at Plain as Play. Cos we sort of live pretty far from the place, my transport back and forth was estimated to be around ~$60. Including the lunch we had outside, we ended up spending around ~$100. 

My husband joked that for this unstructured play with no clear deliverables and outcomes, the price of it doesn't entirely justify. This set me thinking if attending enrichment trials to give the child alternative activities are even worth it. 

There were supposed to be 2 activities that day. One was an art collage where he basically pasted cut pieces of cloth on a canvas and another was a threading activity which my toddler had absolute no interest in. I am not sure if it is obvious to you readers but I generally don't force my children against their wishes. They do walk away at events sometimes which explains why we are quite selective who we work with. 

From an economical sense, my husband asked if we just came all the way here to let him paste cloth on canvas. And I was like, yup. Haha. Personally, I found their activities though simple to execute, creative and something I would have never thought of. And...I am highly unlikely to prepare these materials for him at home. 

Overall, my toddler certainly had fun and enjoyed his day out (amidst some melt downs). He was more impressed with the automated dustbin and half the time he was busy finding something to toss into the bin. As you can see, he totally miss the point of the workshop. LOL!

But to all the people who think like my husband...I just want to say a lot of things shouldn't be measured by money. I value more on the experiences and exposures my kids get. Fine, some things just don't work out and turns out to be an absolute waste of resources but hey at least we tried and now we know what the kids like and don't like. It is exhausting to bring the duo out for specific events, but because I don't have that much time with the kids, I always see these as opportunities for the family to do something together. :)

Will I continue to bring the duo for interesting play/ events I see? Of course!