We usually use this space to tell you about fun things to do with your children around the Kansas City metro. But today, we thought we’d pass along a few good deals that some of our advertising partners are offering right now.

15 Percent Off All Purchases with Code HAA8 (Ends 11/2)

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BuyCostumes.com is offering 10% off of orders $50 or more:

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Get 10% off your order at Mini Boden (SOOOOO CUTE!):

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Take An Extra 15% Off Star Wars Halloween Costumes $35 Or More! Use Coupon Code SPOOKY15

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PhotoMama is offering the BEST price for digital photo prints on the ‘net - check it out:

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And don’t forget that Sprint Center is excited to offer KC Kids Fun a special discount on Sprint Center tickets!

• click HERE to get your discounted tickets to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, December 19 thru 21
  
• click link stating “find tickets” on your selected date
• type kckids in the Special Offer Code box
• The first time you log in you will need to use the “Create an Account” box located on the right.
• Please use all lower case letters when logging on.
• No Ticketmaster fees will be added to the order. The only additional charge is a $1.25/ticket TicketFast charge. Purchased tickets are delivered via e-mail to print at work or home.

On Friday night, Kate and I had the opportunity to join more than 12,000 other basketball fans as the Sprint Center hosted the Atlanta Hawks and the Portland Trail Blazers in an NBA exhibition game. Between the two of us, we took 2 husbands and 4 children…and everyone had a great time. As you might expect from 5, 6 and 7-year-olds, the real thrill came not from the game itself, but from the unicycle-riding, porcelain-bowl-balancing beauty who entertained us at halftime! The courtside musical chairs game and the Crimson Girls from KU were hits, as well.

It was fitting that we were able to take our families to an event which marked Sprint Center’s one-year anniversary in Kansas City. Even though an anchor tenant has yet to be signed, I think the arena has been a huge success and has brought some fantastic family-friendly programming and events to our city. There’s lots yet to come…including two huge December events: The Cheetah Girls, and the world famous Radio City Rockettes performing their Christmas Spectacular! You’ll want to take advantage of the special discounts given to our readers by utilizing our GROUP RATE CODE when purchasing your tickets to the Rockettes’ Show!

And coming November 16, fresh from their stunning performances at the Beijing Summer Olympics, are Nastia Liukin, Shawn Johnson and company, as part of The 2008 Tour of Gymnastics Superstars. Billed as an extraordinary sports and music extravaganza, this is sure to be a fun-filled, unique night for the entire family! The “music” part comes courtesy of live performances by teen sensations Jordan Pruitt and KSM. Also featured will be songs from Walt Disney Records’ Disney Girlz Rock 2 CD.

It’s not too early to start thinking about how you are going to spend those cold late fall and early winter nights…why not load the family up in the car and head down to the Sprint Center for a fun night?!? There’s lots of fun to be had, and KC Kids Fun will make sure you don’t miss a beat!

The NBA is coming to Sprint Center on Friday, October 10th - and guess who is going to be there?

Courtesy of KC Kids Fun, the following three lucky readers won our random drawing for family four-packs of tickets to the game:

• Amy R. of Overland Park, KS

• Tomiko W. of Kansas City, MO

• Bett F. of Lathrop, MO

Congratulations ladies! We hope you have a great time at the game with your families!

For those of you who weren’t so lucky, you still have time to score DISCOUNTED TICKETS to the game - now thru Friday, October 3rd, KC Kids Fun readers can take advantage of a special offer - just click HERE and enter “kckids” when prompted for a special code!

*********THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. WINNERS WILL BE CHOSEN AT RANDOM AND NOTIFIED VIA EMAIL THIS WEEKEND. TICKET DISCOUNTS ARE STILL AVAILABLE THRU OCTOBER 3 BY CLICKING HERE AND ENTERING “kckids” WHEN PROMPTED FOR A SPECIAL CODE.***********

The NBA makes its Sprint Center debut on Friday night, October 10th. The Portland Trailblazers will take on the Atlanta Hawks. It’s a Friday night, folks! Not a school night! And it’s pro basketball in Kansas City!

And did I mention we’ve got tickets to give away?

KC Kids Fun has three (3) family four-packs of tickets that we would LOVE to give to you guys!

Enter today thru Friday night! TELL YOUR FRIENDS! You could win FOUR FREE TICKETS to the Hawks-Trailblazers game - a value of $120!

So, here’s what you need to do to enter the random drawing - (1) submit a comment by clicking the Comments link at the end of this article; (2) the form will require a valid email address which will NOT be made public with your comment; (3) just tell us your favorite fall activity in the Kansas City metro and you’re entered!

**Or if you’d just like ticket discounts - Click on this link to discounted NBA tickets at Sprint Center and enter “kckids” when prompted for a Special Offer code. This discount offer is good through October 3rd at 7:00 pm or until supplies last.

RULES: Comments/entries must be submitted before 11:59pm CDT on Friday, September 26, 2008. Three winning entries will be drawn at random and the winners will be notified by KC Kids Fun via email.

Must be 21 years of age to enter and win. Only one entry per household will be considered. No substitutions or transfers. Giveaway prize is not redeemable for cash. By entering, winner consents to allow the use of his/her name for promotional purposes without further compensation. Winner releases all sponsors of liability regarding use and enjoyment of the prize. No purchase necessary to enter or win.

WE HAVE THREE WINNERS!

Congratulations to:

• Steve H. of Tonganoxie

• Marnie E. of Lee’s Summit

• Angie C. of Overland Park

They each won a family pack of four tickets to see the St. Louis Blues take on the Los Angeles Kings in Sprint Center’s first NHL hockey game on Monday, September 22nd!

Tickets are still available via the Sprint Center and Ticketmaster. Check out Sprint Center’s website for details!

Thanks to everyone who entered our drawing for the hockey tickets. We have a lot of fun with our giveaways and can’t wait for the next one. (It just might possibly be for tickets to the NBA game at Sprint Center on Friday, October 10th - wouldn’t that be a blast to take the kids to?! Take a look at the special discount we’re offering if you just can’t wait for the giveaway!!)

***COMMENTS/ENTRIES ARE NOW CLOSED FOR THIS GIVEAWAY. THREE ENTRIES WILL BE CHOSEN AT RANDOM AND NOTIFIED VIA THE EMAIL ADDRESS PROVIDED. WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON THIS SITE ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15TH. THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERED!***

KC Kids Fun is EXCITED about hockey! The NHL is coming to Sprint Center on September 22nd - and we’ve got TICKETS TO GIVE AWAY!

The St. Louis Blues and the Los Angeles Kings will face off in Sprint Center’s first hockey game. Your family will love the fast-paced action and a fun night out.

So…we want to share THREE Family 4-packs of tickets with our KC Kids Fun readers. Enter today thru Friday night! TELL YOUR FRIENDS! You could win FOUR FREE TICKETS to the Blues-Kings game - a value of $100!

So, here’s what you need to do to enter the random drawing - (1) submit a comment by clicking the Comments link at the end of this article; (2) the form will require a valid email address which will NOT be made public with your comment; (3) just tell us the best activity you shared with your kids this summer around the Kansas City metro and you’re entered!

**Or if you’d just like ticket discounts - Click on this link to discounted NHL tickets at Sprint Center and enter “kckidsfun” when prompted for a Special Offer code. This discount offer is good through September 12th at 7:00 pm or until supplies last.

RULES: Comments/entries must be submitted before 11:59pm CDT on Friday, September 12, 2008. Three winning entries will be drawn at random and the winners will be notified by KC Kids Fun via email.

Must be 21 years of age to enter and win. Only one entry per household will be considered. No substitutions or transfers. Giveaway prize is not redeemable for cash. By entering, winner consents to allow the use of his/her name for promotional purposes without further compensation. Winner releases all sponsors of liability regarding use and enjoyment of the prize. No purchase necessary to enter or win.

KC Kids Fun is pleased to announce our newest advertising partner, AEG/Sprint Center. Sprint Center will host many upcoming family-friendly events, and KC Kids Fun will tell you everything you need to know about them!

You’ll want to check in frequently as we will be offering exclusive TICKET GIVEAWAYS, EVENT DISCOUNTS and SPECIAL OFFERS…available only to KC Kids Fun readers! Don’t want to miss out? Subscribe to our RSS feed or sign up for our email subscription list. Check out the orange boxes in the left sidebar for subscription options. With either one, you’ll be the first to know about these fantastic, family-friendly Sprint Center offers!

You won’t want to miss the fast paced action as Sprint Center hosts its first-ever NHL event: the Los Angeles Kings vs. the St. Louis Blues in a pre-season showdown on September 22 at 7:00pm. KC Kids Fun is pleased to offer a special discount on event tickets–enjoy a $5-$15 savings PER TICKET!

To purchase discounted NHL tickets - just for KC Kids Fun readers, just click here and enter “kckids” when prompted for a special offer code. Offer expires Friday, Sept. 12th at 7:00pm or while supplies last.

Congratulations to KC Kids Fun reader Kelly M. of Leawood, KS!

Kelly was the winner of our random drawing for a Combo Family Adventure Pass from Paradise Park in Lee’s Summit! Yay Kelly and yay Kelly’s kids! Lucky ducks…

Thanks to everyone for participating. Watch this space. We’ll have more giveaways soon!

WELCOME TO THE NEW AND IMPROVED KC KIDS FUN! We hope you’re enjoying our new look. We’re still working out a few kinks and bugs. So, we’ll ask you to bear with us for a few days while we finish up this transition process.

ONE TECHNICAL NOTE: The site currently looks best using the Firefox internet browser. We’re working out some issues with Internet Explorer 6 and 7. We’d recommend that you download Firefox - it’s quickly surpassing Explorer as the “go-to” browser. (Downloading Firefox will not affect your email at all, by the way. That will stay the same.)