Frugal Family Entertainment, How to have Low Cost Fun!
It's The End Of The Month And We Are Having Some Frugal Family Fun!
Why does there always seem too much month for our money? Sometimes money can get so tight that for the last week of the month I have to start reverting to tips I used in my student days to make the pennies stretch further. Now I don't mean eating beans on toast for every meal, or having pasta with,... err... pasta, but trying to find more frugal ways to have fun with my son. So I thought I would share some of my cheap family activities for frugal family fun.
Low Cost Ways to Have Family Fun
Having little spare money does not have to mean boredom for your family. You can still have family fun without having to spend too much. Here are some ways to keep your family entertained without putting a big dent to your budget, and maintaining happy families and health.
Fun Things To Do As A Family
Grow a Green Thumb: Gardening is one of the most productive and yet less-costly ways to entertain oneself. If you have the kids helping, you can double the fun. You can have so much fun growing vegetables and fruits that you can also use to make your own meals. This means more savings for your family, as well as promoting good health and family life.
Watch your Local Sports Team. From football or rugby to cricket or hockey. Kids enjoy watching sports. Support your local sports team by adding yourself and your kid as part of its cheering team.
Look out for local free events, such as village fetes, town shows or festivals to visit. Check our magazine or website for event listings in the area.
Visit your local museum, which is usually free or has cheap admission, especially when they have family-friendly events or exhibitions running.
Turf out the junk in your, cupboards, attic or from the back of your garage and run a garage Sale - get the kids to make some posters that you can put up around the neighbourhood. Great fun, and an inexpensive way to earn some extra money.
Do you own a tent and some camping equipment? Shake off the dust and set up camp in your back garden. Get the camping stove out to cook some bangers and baked beans for tea. Great fun, and a nice break from the TV!
Purchase annual passes for cheap family outings. Do you live near a family attraction? Check out their annual pass or family membership packages. Buy these at a time when you do have a little spare money, or ask for them as a Christmas or Birthday gift. This will always give you an exiting place to go when money is low.
Get on the net for some free fun. With most of us using broadband with monthly payments instead of the old-fashioned pay as you go type connections, making use of the internet is great when looking for family entertainment. Watch some hilarious videos, or watch movie trailer clips to see what's about to be released at the cinema. There are also loads of online games you can play for free, just do a search for free games and lots of sites will come up. You can even get nostalgic with space invaders and Pac-man. My son really enjoys playing on sites that are specifically designed for children, but that also have an educational slant, so kids will learn while they are having fun. These sites are all free to play, and you don't have to pay for memberships unless you want to.
Have a family day. Whether you play Scrabble, Monopoly, or another favourite board game, watch DVD's together, or even getting into the kitchen to bake some cookies or make a cake, setting a regular family day doing these simple and yet fun activities will condition your family to look forward to less-expensive ways of having fun. It's a great way to bond with your family too.
Here's to plenty of low-cost family fun! Michelle & Joseph x
Fed up of buying expensive kids clothes that they grow out of too quickly?
AN ANSWER to the expensive problem of buying clothes for growing children has arrived, thanks to a pair of Gloucestershire mums.
Manic Mums is the brainchild of Nicky Murray and Mandy Griffiths, who run a business buying secondhand clothes from parents and selling them on to others at a fraction of the shop price.
The pair thought of the idea after getting fed up with paying so much for clothes for their growing children that only lasted a month or two before they got too small. "We just thought the amount of time babies are in each set of clothes didn't justify the cost of them," says Mandy, who lives in Gloucester. "We started using the charity shops and found them really good, but sometimes even they seemed overpriced. "Then other mums started coming to us and asking what they could do with their unwanted clothes." And so Manic Mums was born – named after the first part of their names Mandy and Nicky – and has grown steadily ever since.
Their range includes clothes mostly for children aged between newborn and seven, plus hats, shoes and maternity wear for expectant mums. "It started out as just a hobby but it has grown so much that we've run it as a proper business for several years," says Mandy, 35, who is mum to ten-year-old Harry and Eva, seven. Bags of clothes are dropped off by parents and then the pair sort them out, weeding out any unsuitable ones. They are then sold at village hall sales six times a year. "We also visit playgroups, ante-natal groups and nurseries with a selection of rails," said Nicky, 41, of Whitminster, mum to Noah, eight, and Hugo, six. "With nearly new sales becoming more and more popular people can also come to my home to visit between sales, if arranged beforehand. People often visit with a few friends. "We get clothes from right across the range from ASDA and Marks & Spencer to Gap and Boden. "Parents get a great deal – it's a lot cheaper than buying new. We have all sorts of mums who buy and sell through us. It's not just restricted to those on a tight budget. "We have a lot of mums with the money to buy new but who just resent paying that kind of money for something that only gets worn a few times."
Manic Mums are always on the lookout for new customers to buy from. "All we ask is that when the clothes are dropped off they're clean, in good condition and preferably less than two years old," says Nicky. Sales are held at Whitminster village hall and there are usually around 70 rails of clothes to choose from. Manic Mums charge 50p admission to the nearly new sales and all proceeds go to four children-based charities – Hope Romania, Bristol Children's Hospital Cardiac unit, a Kenyan orphanage and FARA. Any clothes that are unsuitable and the customers don't want back are sent via a charity to two orphanages in Romania. "So far we have sent more than 1100 bin bags since we set up," said Nicky. "We also support Gloucester Maternity Unit by donating sleepsuits and vests for their new arrivals." The next sale is on Sunday, 27th September at 11am at Whitminster village hall. If anyone has any questions, clothes they would like us to look at, or to find out when future sale dates are, please contact Manic Mums on 01452 742327.
Selling Childrens Toys On eBay by Allan Michael Taylor | | Fun and Free Activities for Kids by Ivana Katz |
Selling for a profit on eBay is simple when you have children. People are earning hundreds of dollars a month by selling kid related bits and pieces. Here are some general thoughts to aid you get started. Kids Stuff You Can Put on the market Clothes, toys and videos are first-class cash makers on eBay. Go to eBay and look up a "lot" of size six girl's cloths. You will notice they are expensive! The average price for a lot of 20 good conditioned clothes is about $35.00. When your kids grow out of their seasonal clothes do not throw them out. Package them into different lots by category. For example bundle girls dresses separate from girls play clothes, but only do that if you have at least six of each different type. Loads of any item sell better than single items unless the item is distinctive or high priced. For example, a hand embroidered dress that you paid a lot for would sell better by itself instead of bundled with other basic dresses. The next item to lookup on eBay is toys. Most toys in good condition will sell for a lot of money. One idea that works well is to buy hot items in October at Wal-Mart or Toys-R-Us and sell them on eBay. Busy people are willing to pay extra for the convenience of getting the items delivered to their home. For example, last year a Mega Power Ranger came out in stores around October and sold at Wal-Mart for about $45.00. The same item sold on eBay for up to $65.00 plus shipping. The Yellow Power Ranger is yet one more example where the store price was about $6.00, while the same item was selling on eBay for about $20.00. Have your children ever received identical birthday or Christmas presents? You can sell those on eBay also. Look at the eBay listings for stuff of interest to see if selling on eBay is worth more than returning the item to the store. Kid's videos and DVDs are also good cash-makers. Bundle about three of these together, and you can usually make about $7.00-$12.00 per bundle. Bundle more and the money goes up. Disney movies in hard cases can go for a higher amount. This also works for other types of movies as well. Save those McDonalds toys. Some Kids Meals toys sell high. Take the new Star Wars toys from Burger King...very collectible. You will find them selling on eBay from $1.00 to $5.00, not including shipping. Ebay has a whole section devoted to dolls and bears. If your daughter doesn't want her collectible dolls anymore sell them on eBay. Kids Crafts You Can Sell Around the holidays, especially, have your children place their hand in paint and make a print on some quality paper. Add a holiday related poem and you have a great craft to sell on eBay. Have your kids make gift jars with ready made mixes. For example, hot chocolate mixes in a jar with a plastic spoon tied to it with a ribbon. Dip the end of the spoon with white chocolate. Baby Items You Can Sell Second-hand baby items are very profitable. Baby items cost a lot of money, especially in their first year. Any "gently" used items are generally good sellers on eBay. If you have baby coupons that you will never use, sell them on eBay! Left over diapers and formula sell well also. A lot of 35 used cloth diapers usually sells for around $38.00 plus shipping. Four Fuzzi Bunz diapers (cloth diapers with hemp inserts) can sell for as much as $40.00. There you have it. Sufficient of ideas for selling those leftover kids items on eBay...and you can even make a nice profit while you are at it!
I think that Lego, StickleBricks & Mega Bloks sell well on eBay | | Play is an important part of childhood. It is also a hugely necessary part of childhood. Children learn through playing. They learn about themselves, they learn about the world around them, they ask questions, discover how to socialise with others, get the chance to practice new skills, develop their imaginations... The list goes on. It's not difficult to find new things to try and do when you know where to look. There are plenty of fun websites with ideas available online. By getting creative parents can make every day activities seem fun and exciting - finding special ways to make decorations, trying out different recipes, creating crafts and inventing new games. If you want to make your childrens activity stimulating and build their confidence: - Give lots of praise when your child plays well. - Ensure that your children's toys are suitable for their age, but at the same time challenge them. - Encourage your child to play with puzzle toys. - Your goal should be to increase learning in small steps. - Let your child choose what to play with most of the time. - Show that you are interested in your child's activity. - Be sympathetic when your child becomes frustrated. - Avoid comparing the way your child plays with the way another child plays. - Brag to your friends and relatives about your child's play achievements in front of them. - Give your child a hug sometimes during play. Consider these rules of child's play before you dive into some of these ideas. These are slightly tongue-in-cheek, but you may find them useful... 1. The name of the activity can make a lot of difference! Consider the scene: "Moooooom... I'm bored! What can I do with my teddies?" "Why don't you play tea-parties?" Or its alternative: "Moooooom... I'm bored! What can I do with my teddies?" "Have you ever heard of 'Stunt Ted'?" It should be clear which one will stimulate curiosity immediately. Before you know it, your child will be testing whether their soft toys roll well down the stairs, fit through the letterbox, or possibly even swim! (don't blame the author!) 2. Be a spin-doctor Practically anything can be made into a fun childrens activity as long as you take on the role of the political spin-doctor, putting a positive (and unique) spin on it. Clearing up the kitchen table? Make it into a challenge (how many crumbs can you scoop up in 15 seconds?). Going on a long car journey? While away the time by playing the Animal Game (Your children pick people that you know and assign them an animal according to their characteristics - tremendous fun to listen to!) Tired of the complaining while out and about? Award a prize for the person who can find the most interesting sight. 3. Customise There is no benefit in encouraging your child to play 'Build A Robot' if their particular interest is horses. This is your role in the process... Remember, parenting should be fun ... so go ahead and enjoy playing with your children, be silly, be creative and don't worry about what anyone else thinks!
Ivana Katz of Hey Gorgeous Kids shows you how to make parenting fun - keep your children entertained for hours with FREE fun activities for kids, create special memories, do some serious shopping, explore exciting parks & playgrounds and so much more!!! Get a free special report "What You Need to Know Before Travelling with Kids" - http://www.heygorgeouskids.com |
Turn your family memories into a low-cost hobby, and you will also be creating a priceless treasure
Scrapbooking memory keeps your fondest moments alive forever
Written by John Foster
It is cherished by our family. It triggers off a variety of responses in us ranging from laughter to tears depending on the memory that has been evoked by the photograph. Scrapbooking memory is therefore a popular activity that helps every individual to hold on to the past in the most attractive manner. Although photographs have Most of us can relive our happiest days in childhood by simply looking at the photographs that have been always been the most popular method to preserve the memory of an event or individual, the modern method of recording events in a digital camera and creating compact discs have also become very widely used by individuals across the globe. The advent of technology has however not managed to draw people away from the sheer attraction of the physicality of scrapbooks and creating scrapbooking memory is as popular as ever.
Over the times scrapbooking memory has developed into an art and proper methods are followed to increase the attractiveness of the scrapbook. For the individual that prefers the physicality of scrapbooking, it all starts from the scrapbook layout for the best in a scrapbooking memory. You can sit at the table with photos and study the scrapbooking memory of the pictures before cutting and cropping them. Then, while designing the scrapbook page, several individuals find they cut too much and wished they could restore the mistakes. Another situation is getting all the photographs and embellishments on the scrapbook page and realizing you have very little room for journaling. Planning ahead for a scrapbooking memory can really help make the most of scrapbooking time and help create beatific, comprehensive scrapbooking memory layouts.
For the fondest scrapbooking memory, your favorite photographs and scrapbook copies on CD can be organized in a Cropper Hopper storage unit. The Cropper Hopper is packaged in a compact accordion and can be assembled with easy steps and comes in assorted colors that range from magenta, clear, blue and purple. You can even add as many 12 photograph organizers to each box for easy access to a scrapbooking memory. Acid-free photo boxes can be found in practically any retail store. You and your family can relive any scrapbooking memory whenever you browse through organized folders on the PC, in photo boxes and on CD.
Prior to cutting out a photograph or journaling, the creation of a scrapbooking memory starts with all the supplies and tools on hand when it comes right down to the creation of the scrapbook layout. A trip to the local scrapbook store may be in order to purchase embellishments and coordinating paper. Sketching for a scrapbooking memory makes one think about the composition and style of the scrapbook layout prior to cutting. Sketching a scrapbooking memory layout is a very simple way to decide where the scrapbook layout should go. Once the individual has a clear idea about the kind of layout and look and feel he or she wants to give to the scrapbook, then it is simply a matter of diligent work to create the best scrapbooking memory. Once you have managed to create your very own scrapbooking memory it is sure to be a matter of tremendous pride, not only for you but also for all your family members.
Sign Up For Our FREE Email Newsletter
Each week we will send you an email newsletter full of health advice, fitness tips, family recipes, easy craft ideas you can make with you little one, and much more!
To sign up please fill out this form:
