Who needs to cook when kids eat free every night of the week at restaurants around the DC area? From popular chains like IHOP and Denny’s to neighborhood pubs, Italian bistros, and more, we’ve got you covered with kid-friendly meal deals that will help you enjoy an evening out with your family while saving money, too. 

Read on for our list of 17 restaurants where kids eat free in DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia. For more great freebies, check out our Guide to Free Things to Do with Kids in DC, and look up our Kid-Friendly DC Restaurants Guide for more family restaurants throughout the area.

Find out what days kids eat free at IHOP; where kids can eat free today; or where kids eat free as part of an awesome rewards program in Orlando. We've rounded up Orlando restaurants where kids eat free and sorted them by every day of the week. And who doesn't want to save money on tasty, FREE food?!

This list is accurate as of publish date, but call ahead to verify that specials are current as individual locations. Also, many Orlando restaurants require the purchase of an adult entree with a kid's free meal. Find more free and budget-friendly fun with our Orlando Kids Free Things to Do Guide!

Here are 16 Chicago restaurants where grown-ups can have a great meal and kids can eat for FREE.

Not only does the Philly area have loads of options for fun family adventures, it's also a haven for food freebies and discounts for kids. Whether you're visiting the city or the suburbs, you will find chain restaurants and local spots that offer a break on the bill for kiddos.

Want to plan an itinerary for the day or weekend? Check out our events calendar or look at our list of 100 free things to do in Philly with kids! And if it's a special day, look for these birthday freebies. Don't forget to confirm these deals with the restaurants before you head out.

These Houston restaurants serve kiddie meals for free. 

If the end of the holiday season has you feeling blue, Luminosa's dazzling after-dark display recently opened at the Queens Botanical Garden proves you can squeeze out a little more seasonal cheer—and stunning lights displays—even after Three Kings Day.

A dazzling light show, Luminosa debuted in late December, and it continues illuminating our far too-dark, too-early nights at the Queens Botanical Garden through Sunday, March 23. Luminosa is a mesmerizing, immersive, outdoor, IRL experience. Without even a smidge of screentime, kids find themselves in a vivid, video game-like world (while parents perhaps flash back to pre-kid clubbing days).

Visitors follow a winding, mile-long path, taking in more than 40 larger-than-life, lamp-lit scenes featuring glowing animals, gleaming Ionic columns, knights in literal shining armor, massive mushrooms, and luminous otherworldly flowers—it is set in a botanical garden, after all. Little ones won’t be the only ones drooling at the 120 tons of steel, 150,000 feet of silk, and more than 1 million LED lights coming together to create this electric wonderland.

The recent wildfires tearing through Los Angeles have brought chaos, heartbreak, and destruction to our beloved city. Pacific Palisades and Altadena, both stunningly vibrant LA communities, have been wiped out. Families have lost their homes, children no longer have local schools to attend, and historical buildings have been reduced to rubble. This is not how we envisioned starting a new year. 

Amid the confusion and wreckage, we must look for the heroes. First Responders are working tirelessly to battle blazes and get Angelenos to safety. Firefighters are putting their lives on the line to save others and contain fires in poor air quality conditions.

Read on for the best ways to support these unsung heroes and where to contribute to organizations that are diligently helping displaced families.