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Kid's Parties on a Budget | Christmas Traditions
| The Pro's and Con's of Ebay
Kid's Parties on a Budget
Children's parties have the potential of being pretty expensive, but they don't have to be. With some thought and a little imagination your kids can have a fab time with minimal expense. First of all you should think carefully about your choice of venue.
There are huge advantages of holding the parties in places other than in your living room, such as not having to clear up lots of mess not to mention the inevitable breakages. However this does not mean you need to fork out for a local party venue, which can really add up if your child has lots of friends!
Instead you could have an outdoor party at a play park or beach. These are free and can be perfect backdrops for themed parties. The play park would work well for a teddy bear's picnic, a princess party (the climbing frames being used as castles!) or a fairy ball. The beach would be ideal for a pirate or mermaid party.
As for activities, don't under-estimate inexpensive things like bubbles, balls, boxes, streamers and balloons. Girls may enjoy blowing bubbles and dancing with streamers, whereas boys may like to build castles or pirate ships with large cardboard boxes. If the party is near Easter, you may like to have egg and spoon races (boil the eggs first) or Easter egg hunts.
Christmas Traditions
Does your family have specific Christmas traditions? Or have you just started your own family and are thinking of what traditions to set in place?
Christmas can be such as special time for family's and often family traditions can strengthen bonds and increase everyone's enjoyment of the holidays.
Traditions can take different shapes and forms. From baking mince pies to going to a carol service. I have listed some ideas...
You could set aside an afternoon to do some Christmas baking as a family while listening to a Christmas CD.
Each year you could help your children to make a new Christmas decoration.
Your child could write a letter to Santa/Father Christmas (and maybe receive one back).
Your family could go to see your town's/city's lights switched on (many places make a big event of this).
You could go on a family outing to see the local pantomime.
Children could donate old toys to orphanages or hospitals.
You could bake mince pies or biscuits, package them nicely and deliver them to friends and relatives or to a local nursing home.
You could go to choose a Christmas tree together, bring it home and decorate it while listening to Christmas music and drinking mulled wine (mulled apple juice for children).
Your family could find a local carol service to attend.
Christmas Eve
Young children could sprinkle 'magic reindeer food' outside their house to guide Santa's reindeer to their home.
A mince pie and a glass of sherry could be left out for Santa.
Children could hang up their stocking before they go to bed, ready for Santa to fill.
Your family could sit down together to watch a Christmas film, such as 'The Snowman' or 'The Polar Express'.
A Christmas story could be read, such as 'The night before Christmas'.
Christmas Day
Presents could be opened at the same time each year.
You could share a special breakfast together.
You could go for a family walk through local woodland (good for little one's to let off a bit of steam and to get some fresh air).
Everyone could sit down and play board-games together.
I hope this list has helped you if you were looking for additions to your holiday traditions. If you have any other traditions we would love to hear from you, email: info@kent-with-kids.co.uk
The pro's and con's of Ebay
I have recently caught on to the whole Ebay phenomena that has been sweeping the nation (and the world for that matter!) As a parent to a young child I have found it immensely useful.
As you will have found yourselves, small children grow at such a vast rate that it costs a fortune to keep them properly clothed and they hardly get any wear out of their attire. This is where ebay comes in...
You can buy nearly new clothing at a fraction of the price, plus you can sell your child's used clothing and regain some of the original cost.
The only problem is that you have to trust your seller to send the item in good condition. If they don't you can leave 'negative feedback', but other than that there's not an awful lot you can do.
I personally haven't had many problems and my items have all been received in excellent condition. Ebay is definitely the way forward for me!
If you would like to share your views and experiences of Ebay, or any other topic, we would love to hear from you. Send an email to info@kent-with-kids.co.uk