The Frog Pond: Ice Skating with Hot Cocoa

The Deal: $25 for Ice Skating, Hot Cocoa, and VIP Access for Two.

This is hands-down my favorite deal, because I just had such a great time. Also, there's a good chance it will be repeated next year, since I saw it advertised twice before I went ahead and bought it. There are two options here - for $9, you get admission with skate rental, and a free hot cocoa, normally a $17 value. That's already a pretty good deal. Or, you can pay $25 to get in, get skate rental for two, get hot cocoa, and skip the line so you don't have to wait, normally a $52 value. (Disclaimer: I wound up going on a Tuesday night, and there was no line, but that's not the point. I did the math, and we still saved money).

I would probably never have done this without the deal (Special thank you to my niece for making me learn to ice skate with her in November - literally two days before this deal was published). I always thought the pond would be full of couples, skating hand in hand. I have no idea why I thought this. I bought the deal so I could go with my boyfriend, but when he wound up unable to go, I still wanted to get my money's worth from the deal. I almost sold it, but, luckily, there were no takers. So, I called a friend, and I am so, so, so glad I did.

First, there's a freaking pond in the middle of Boston Common! Yes, I knew that. Yes, I expect most of you knew that. But what I didn't know is how beautiful it is to skate around that pond at dusk in March. And I didn't know how much fun it could be to laugh and talk to a good friend while skating around in circles. Or how cool it would be to run into other friends of ours (first time that's happened to me in 4.5 years in Boston). I suck at skating. It didn't matter. The views were amazing, the skating was fun, and the cocoa was... well, it was free hot cocoa. What do you expect? But it was fine. As a bonus, I burned about 300 calories, because ice skating is work. A word to the wise, though: the lines are ridiculously long on the weekends. I've seen them. But Tuesday is College Night so, while I am glad I chose a weeknight, it's probably better to do with a different weeknight. I can't wait to do this again next year.


Cost: $25
Value: $52
Savings: $27
Total Estimated Deal Savings: $902