Free summer activities for kids: A how-to guide from a Colorado mom and content creator

Summertime is upon us, and if you're a parent in Colorado you may be looking for ways to keep your child occupied. The issue is: those activities can become expensive quickly.

Lauren Santamaria is a mom who gets it. She's the content creator behind social media accounts "Denver with a Baby." She says her desire to help others grew as her family grew.

"I have been in social media and influencer marketing my entire career. When I became pregnant, I loved being able to find things to do for babies. Once I had my own little girl, it was like putting a bucket list together."

Santamaria discovered that bucket list could break the bank.

"I've been there before where I've had like a dollar to my bank account. I am always feeling the pinch. I always joke that my daughter pays for a higher gym membership than I do, to go work out once a week and do gymnastics."

So, she's made it her mission to find activities that are family-friend and free, then empower others with that information. Along with her little sidekick, Izzy, she's been sharing her wealth of knowledge online.

"Especially in those early months where I honestly was like, everything is hit or miss and you're in sleep windows. You're like if I need to bail on this, I don't want to have invested $20, $30 admission."

This summer, she assures, there's plenty to do.

"I'm a big Denver Library girlie. I'm a huge fan of all the services they provide. It is the Summer of Adventure. It's 0 to 18-year-olds. Every summer, you go to your Denver Library, you get this cute little card that is a map of all the activities and at the end of the journey you win a prize to go to the Denver Zoo. They put together a day where there's free train rides and shaved ice for the kids."

"Museums, bookstores, are holding free events, festivals," she continued. "Our local rec centers are like little water parks. I like to pair an activity and ice cream so maybe it's two stops and it feels like an adventure."

Santamaria does a monthly roundup of free activities on her Instagram and TikTok, providing resources for fellow parents.