A Birthday Treat

Just because you don’t have much money to spend doesn’t mean you can’t treat yourself every once in a while.

For my daughter’s birthday, I told her I only had a limited amount to spend, but I would give her a choice. She could choose either to receive one present or to go somewhere special. She chose to go somewhere special, and said she really wanted to go to Cold Stone to create her own ice cream sundae. We typically cannot afford to go there, but for a special occasion, it is absolutely worth every penny!

What makes this ice cream store so distinct from others is that they mix your ice cream creation right in front of you on a frozen granite stone. I’m sure the people that work there have huge arm muscles!

Fortunately, I just happened to find some Cold Stone coupons in the newspaper! They would have expired before her actual birthday, but she didn’t mind that the outing wasn’t exactly on the day of her birthday. She was glad to go early because this way she said she gets to have two birthdays! 

There are several of their signature creations to choose from, such as the “Founder’s Favorite”:

• Sweet Cream ice cream
• chopped pecans
• a yummy chocolate brownie
• fudge sauce
• gooey caramel

I have had this before and it is amazing!

Or you can make your own unique creation like we did!

We invited my mom and my nephew on this special birthday outing, so I gave them the 2 for $5 coupon, which was good for the small “Like It” size with one mix-in.

My nephew ordered Cotton Candy ice cream mixed with Twix, which he said is his favorite thing that he likes to eat whenever he goes there.

My mom ordered their Vanilla Bean ice cream, which she said was “perfect.” She said what was even better was the fact that she only had to pay $5 plus tax.

My Daughter's Birthday Creation

• Cake Batter ice cream
• Fudge Truffle ice cream
• a chocolate brownie
• KitKat

She exclaimed, “This is heavenly sinful!” She got their medium “Love It” size, which is $5.99. One mix-in is free, then you pay 89 cents for each additional mix-in. 

Carol's Creation

• Skinny Vanilla ice cream (210 calories)
• shredded coconut (70 calories)
• maraschino cherries (5 calories each)

As an added benefit, the server added the cherry juice in my sundae as well, which was so delectably scrumptious! 

If you are watching your calories, you should try their delicious sorbet or frozen yogurt. They have their nutritional information conveniently listed for you on their website.

I definitely recommend that you try Cold Stone Creamery the next time you want a refreshing dessert! They have locations all across the United States and in 24 countries around the world! We went to the one on W. Sahara and they have great customer service there!

You can receive a coupon when you register for their rewards card.

So with the coupon, the total was only $7.32 including tax. This came in well under my budget of $10 for her birthday! I was able to use the rest of the money to bake her a chocolate cake on her birthday.

I am so proud of my daughter that she is perfectly happy with something inexpensive for her birthday, and yet it was still an extravagant outing on a small budget.