Pancakes:
We also did not travel much with our daughter. We live within an hour of the ocean, so vacations were mostly staycations. (Traveling with small kids is hell IMHO, esp. in airplanes, so we just stayed home or took car trips til she was about 10).
The local zoo was Big Fun. Free days at local museums once she was old enough. Picnics. Short hikes.
I usually did very modest birthday parties at home or a local park, where the kids could tear around. (All they ever wanted was pizza and cake - and we made the cake!). We had neighbor kids in to decorate gingerbread houses once - a huge mess, but DD still talks about that! Later dance parties at our house with DH as the DJ. The local Boys and Girls club and YMCA had great cheap activities.
Most of the things kids NEED beyond the basics are time with their parents, some of which should be silly play IMHO! And some practical skills, such as cleaning, cooking, reading, etc. Also, your own kid(s) are much more interesting than other people's, and they tend to be a lot like you, so tend to grow up with similar tastes.
Before I had DD, I didn't know if I'd be a good mom. As it happens, I love being a mom, but also love working outside the home. I wish I'd had more kids, but I have one great one, and really enjoy her company the vast majority of the time. It's a serious decision to have children, but I'm glad I did, and so is DH, even though it cost some money. Everyone has to make up his or her own mind about it, however.