Christmas Club - August

Today there is 122 days until Christmas! I know that a lot of you are going to start throwing things at me, but really, that is a small number of days before everyone will be complaining that they have so much to do before Christmas and that they wish they were better organised for the upcoming celebrations!

I was really naughty and didn't post last month, and so I didn't suggest that if you were preparing for Christmas that you take a look at what you had planned to make and cut back or redefined what you were planning! So consider last month your holiday and this month make sure that you aren't expecting too much of yourself.

This month for me is about the fiddly bits. I have already created my lists for what I am hoping to get people and what I would like (Towels please family, I can show you which ones!) and I am getting into the bargain bins and looking for stocking fillers for everyone. I love WH Smiths at this time of year, as the clearance stock seems to always be fantastic and I can normally pick up books, folders pencils etc quite cheaply and it is all things that will be used!

Don't forget if you write a Christmas letter or round robin, make a note of what has happened this month!

Christmas Club - June

In six months time it will be Christmas Day! Yes, that thought does excite me and yes I realise what means to the view that you have of me!

There is a lot that changes over the next couple of months, shops start thinking about putting Christmas displays out, adverts for Toys will start being noticed by children more than normal, catalogues will start being circled and its time for grown ups to start working out budgets and who is sleeping where when Grandparents stay over at Christmas!

Almost to prove the point that shops have already started preparing for Christmas I have been invited to preview the John Lewis Christmas preparations next week, and they will be giving me the lowdown on what products are set to be hot this Christmas and what else will be trending. Maybe this year we will know what the children in our lives want for Christmas before they do!

This month for Christmas preparation it is all about the lists. I need lists for everything, lists of what gifts to get, what gifts I have got, who is getting a card, who is getting a visit, what gift wrapping products I need, what batteries I need, what clothes we need and of course a list of lists would probably be good too!

Don't forget if you write a Christmas letter or round robin, make a note of what has happened this month!

Christmas Club - May

Five months down, seven months to go. I start to get more excited now because its nearly half way to Christmas! This is the last month that I can slack, the last month that I have to refine what it is that I want this Christmas for my family.... but it doesn't need to be that way for you too!

With Fathers Day coming up, its time to start looking to making gifts and cards paying homage to the men in your children's life, there is the half term coming up and as I am sure the entire world is aware the start of the World Cup is drawing near.

Now even if you don't like football (like me!), there is a lot to learn about organisation from the World cup and a lot of fun games that can be had with kids and family members whilst watching football!

Something that we are going to do this world cup is make sure that each game we watch we eat something from the country that's playing. The good thing about eating the different foods is that Top Ender and Baby Boy (and Daddy) will try something new, and even if they don't like it the fact is that they tried it!

I am planning on making a lot of Christmas cards whilst watching a few games (well I say watching, I will be looking at the legs of the players, I am more of a rugby girl myself...) and also teaching Top Ender and Baby Boy the different flags of the different nations!

So really this month is a catch up month, a chance to make sure that everything from the first few months of the year have been completed and that I am ready for the more serious preparation coming up!
Don't forget to make a note if you do a round robin, or a summary blog post to sum up May in a few words!

Christmas Club - April

Its almost the end of the fourth month of the year, Easter has been and gone and taken with it the first third of the year. Its time to be thinking about Spring Cleaning and working in the garden and getting ready to come round my house and decorate for my birthday and whilst you are doing that I'll get round to clearing a big space for all the gifts you are all bringing for me...

May for me is a big month as not only is it my birthday, and my Mums birthday but it is also Baby Boys birthday and my sister's third daughter is due! May has actually caught me a bit unawares this year, and just a few nights ago I told Daddy how many days were left in April and not even realising that I was giving myself a countdown until I turned Twenty-One Twenty-Two Twenty-Three Twenty-Four (I can get away with that right?).

I am looking this month at starting jobs that annoy me at Christmas and having extra daylight makes a lot easier. This weekend we have tackled the garage. When we moved in three and a half years ago there were a few things that the previous owner left in the garage that we kept thinking that maybe one day we would use them. Things like the off cut of our kitchen work surfaces (If I had said bunkers who would of known what I meant?), a couple of cracked floor tiles and some ceramic tiles that don't match anything in the house to name but three. This weekend we got down and dirty and took these items down the tip along with a lot of other things that we no longer loved or needed!

The two other main jobs for the month are to add some hooks to the front of our house above our bedroom windows and to give the loft a sort out. The hooks are being put up so that the Christmas lights will be more secure this year, doing it now means we don't have to worry about the weather or timing nearer to Christmas! Sorting out the loft is because anybody who has been in their own loft at the height of summer or winter knows how hot or cold the rooms can get!

Now whilst this might not be the most obvious Christmas preparation it is fairly straightforward. Anyone who has ever tried to hide a Christmas gift knows that a clean, decluttered area to hide a gift in means that it won't be found by the person it is meant for and will be found by the hider come the time to exchange gifts!

And a quick reminder, whilst I know that the children have only just gone back to school after the Easter break, the May Half Term is rapidly approaching so make your plans now! And as always if you do write a Christmas letter don't forget to make a short note now so you don't forget what you did this April and take a look at some photos that you might like to add in to the letter too!

Christmas Club - March

That's right the third month of the 2010 and Easter is just around the corner! Hopefully by now you have brought your Easter Eggs or organised Easter gifts (if that is something you do in your house) and remembered last month after the February post to organise some treats for the Easter Holidays or childcare if it is needed!

Last month I said that I was starting to save money more seriously for Christmas. Daddy and I are planning to save stamps in Tesco and Icelands (they do lots of wheat free ready meals which he likes) and I have started a card in Wilkinsons and one in Tesco's of my own! Every time I go into either store I just add a couple of quid to the relevant card and come Christmas I should be able to buy a few extras.

This month is about crafting for Christmas and I am looking to what I am making as gifts for Christmas. I want to make alphabet letter initial pillows for Baby Boy and Top Ender and for the Cousins (I will buy the pattern pack), and if I can manage them I was hoping that I could make some sock monkeys too! This will be an addition to the small gifts that my Sister and I will discuss nearer the time!

I figured that the pillows would take me three months in total (I have a couple of tricky initials to do!) and the sock Monkeys two months as I would be doing them all by hand. If I start in April, this will bring me up to September. I have some cross stitch pictures to do (four of them) and I will start those now when I have a spare half an hour or so but in September I will re-evaluate where I am with them and if they aren't on schedule then I will have a re-think. The other things that are being made (gifts that I can't talk about because I know that my family are reading) are going to be made between September and November.

So if you are planning on making gifts for Christmas this year, start thinking about it now so that come the week before Christmas you aren't rushing!

As always if you do write a Christmas letter don't forget to make a short note now so you don't forget what you did this March!

Christmas Club - February!

This time last month you all thought I was mad. Well this time yesterday you thought I was mad, but this time last month I posted Christmas Club - January and in it detailed a few things that you could do in January to get ready for Christmas.

This month I am going to start getting a little more serious about putting money aside for Christmas. I have already said to Daddy that I want to put 10% of my wages to one side each month, not just for Christmas I hasten to add but for Birthdays and general rainy days!

Daddy and I saved a £1 a week last year with the Tesco Bonus club. Lots of Supermarkets run schemes like this where you save a certain amount and if the card is cashed in at a certain time you get a bonus. It can vary from Supermarket to Supermarket, but some of the deals are very good;

Wilkinsons will give you £1 for every £19 you spend,
Iceland is £1 for £29 and a further £1 if you carry on to £49 on the same card you get a further £1,
Morrisons gives £1 for £49 saved and a further £2 at the £98 mark but you have to cash in December to get this,
and Tesco gives £1 for £49 if cashed in during December.

Of course if the Supermarket goes bankrupt your money is lost and the rate of interest (between 2% and 5%) could be better in a Savings Account where your money would be safer but for us it works.

This year we are buying stamps at the rate of 2 or 3 a week. We don't notice this small amount each week, but when Christmas comes round we will hopefully have saved £150. Along with our Clubcard vouchers (yes we know if we cashed them in for deals we would double or even quadruple our vouchers) we won't have to pay for any food shopping in December including all our extras and we will probably buy several gifts too... ssh don't tell!

I have started to keep note of small items that I am buying in sales, that will end up in Top Ender and Baby Boys stockings... or mine and Daddy's. That way I shouldn't buy too much for the stockings to handle! There are a few sale items from Valentines Day in some stores that might make fun gifts or even make an ordinary evening in a little more special!
Now of course there are several celebrations next month that we are hoping to celebrate with a special meal and just in case you want to join in there is;

St Davids Day
St Patricks day
Greek Independence Day

to name just three. If you want a full list of everything going on in March then just look at this Wikipedia page of General observances! Just remember to make a note of what you get up to for the letter at the end of the year if you do one!

And don't forget that we will also have the start of British Summer Time (where we have to spend an hour putting all our clocks forward and so actually lose two hours, but do get lighter evenings) and there is the First Day of Spring to look forward to and Mothers Day!

I will also be planning some Easter break activities (such as an egg hunt and a treasure hunt and a break to Nanny B's and another sleepover for Top Ender at Granny's) so if you want to be prepared for the Easter Holidays and for Christmas then why not join in with me this month?

Valentines Day on the cheap

If you didn't read my January Christmas Club post at the start of the week, you might not of realised that I am preparing for Valentines Day with Top Ender and Baby Boy in the evenings, making decorations and cards and getting ideas together for gifts.

Last year Top Ender and I made Gluten Free Gingerbread biscuits for Daddy (and us!) and Top Ender decorated them using icing pens.

And of course the ever so lovely Daddy left me a trail of heart post it notes to my new-to-me PC in the Kitchen, which is useful for tweeting whilst cooking, looking up recipies and part of my plan to have access to every room in the house via a PC....

Top Ender was a lot easier to please with a packet of Heart Shaped cheese twists that she had spotted in the Supermarket (and Baby Boy got a packet too) along with what ever dinner it was that she fancied that evening.

This year of course we shall make some gluten free Gingerbread to decorate as we did last year, and I am sure that Daddy is planning something for me (You are right? If your not then I have a list of ideas here that you may borrow and if none of those take your fancy then can I please have a hand sorting out my microphone levels?) and as Daddy isn't going to be at work during the day this year we shall plan some during-the-day-child-friendly-activities to do.

But as I mentioned at Christmas and when we were talking about giving to Charity what happens when you have little or no cash to spend?

Well you come here of course and get some ideas!

The following ideas are all things that will have even the most cynical of those amongst us (about Valentines Day and the commercialisation of the day, not just those who are cynical I haven't found a cure for that yet) celebrating or at the very least thinking which one they would like.

1.) Breakfast in Bed.

Its a known fact that any meal that hasn't been cooked by the person eating it tastes better. What is a not so known fact is that any meal eaten in bed also tastes better. Especially if there is a tray, a little flower in a vase and the person has had a lay in.

2.) Breakfast out.

Its not frugal! I hear you cry. Well you aren't going to the right places. Go to Ikea, go to the local Supermarket, go to the local Farmers Market! There is always somewhere that you can go that will do something cheap and yummy! Heck even Macdonalds do bagels and porridge if you don't fancy a "cooked" breakfast!

3.) Brunch.

Is it breakfast or is it lunch? Who knows, but there is something nice about brunch and being lazy eating a selection of whats best from breakfast foods and lunch foods!

4.) Stroll to the pub.

A walk together to the pub, with a chill in the air will get you a bit of exercise to burn off your pint or G&T or what ever your tipple is! Its a casual laid back drink and spending time with each other. Win win!

5.) A walk in the countryside

You know in magazines how you always see a couple holding on to each other with rosy cheeks, woolly jumpers, gloves and scarves (but no coats or unbrellas or small children or dog poo in sight) and think that could be me. Well make it you today.

6.) Window shopping or people watching.

Go to the local shopping centre (or arcade or high street) and walk along looking at what you could buy, or who you would buy the things on display for. Just don't take a debit or credit card. Alternatively sit and watch the people who go by. You could try and play a form of bingo and have to spot a kissing couple, an old couple, a married couple... I'm sure you get the idea!

7.) Bargin hunting in a £1 shop

Set a price limit and then go in the £1 shop and try and buy the best gift for the other, or the most tacky, or the most I-can't-believe-they-sell-this-so-I-brought-it-for-you-to-prove-it gift. The winner can get a bar of chocolate or a kiss...

8.) Picnic lunch

Picnics make any food taste better (its one of those things everyone know like eating in bed and someone else cooking as mentioned in idea number one!) and it doesn't matter where they are, on your bed, on the living room floor, in the car, at a park, in the woods... the ideas are as endless as your imagination!

9.) Make food together

When Daddy and I were first dating we had a meal that we loved to make together. Each of us would chop and mix and prepare side by side and our meal would taste wonderful (because both of us cooked it) or maybe it was just because we were too busy staring into each others eyes we didn't taste the food!

10.) Do a jigsaw together

It doesn't have to be a jigsaw, it could be a wordsearch or a crossword or any project that you like. As long as you do it together and don't start arguing (thats why I haven't suggested a board game!) then it will be something that you enjoy and will remember fondly!

11.) Read to each other.

Daddy use to read to me everynight. He has a voice for radio (and commercials on the telly) and it is lovely to be able to listen to your loved one read a book (or poem, or newspaper) so that you can share a few moments together. Plus it always helped me fall asleep.

12.) Write a poem to each other

I am terrible at poetry, my old English teachers will tell you. Give me a piece to critique and I am fine, but ask me to write something and its terrible....BUT writing a poem to your loved one needs to be from the heart and anything written from the heart is beautiful.

13.) Have a meal at home

Instead of going out to a restaurant for a meal, cook one at home. You can plan your favourite meal, you know that it will be cooked wonderfully and if you combine it with number nine it shouldn't take a lot of effot. Of course this also works if you want to order in a Take Away. Just don't expect Chinese, as this Valentines is also Chinese New Year, so most Chinese Take Aways (if not all) will be closed.

14.) Watch a film together

Rent a video or DVD, buy a cheap one from the £1 shop (not *that* kind although they do sell those in our local £1 shop) or from the Supermarket, borrow one from the Library or choose one from your own collection (no not *those* ones!) and sit cuddled on the sofa, or bed, or floor and share a bowl of popcorn or chips and dip.

15.) Spend time together with no distractions

Turn off the TV, your mobile phone, your computer, your pager, your fax machine or anything else that you can and talk to your other half. If you run out of things to talk about then talk about a shared memory or something that you have planned. Oh and don't worry it doesn't have to be all day, it could just be half an hour!

16.) Learn to say I love you in a different language or write them down

I gave a jar of slips of paper to Daddy for Christmas the year before last. On each slip of Paper it said I love you, but written in a different language. Either learn to say it or write them down, it is something that is simple but effective.

17.) Take a photo

There are two ways to do this, you could go out and buy a cheap throw away camera and take silly shots of you both. As it is a disposable you will have to have them developed, but that adds to the excitement and also means you can't delete them as you would on a digital camera. Of course if you trust yourself you can do it on a digital camera. The other thing that you could do is take some more intimate photos. Everyone seems to have the old passport style photos of them and a loved one kissing, you could do the same or get more erm adult...

18.) Make a mix tape

"How original!" I hear you cry, but think about it a CD or tape or Ipod playlist of music that means something to you both is always nice to have and nice to listen to!

19.) Write a love letter

Write down just how much you love them, how you want to share your life with them... the things you would want to hear and the things you know they would like to hear.

20.) Do your partners least favourite chore

I hate doing the ironing and putting away clean clothes, I would know how much Daddy loved me if he did them for me.

21.) Love Cheques

You know how this works right? The I owe you one back rub, foot massage, cuddle, snog....

22.) Go to the bookstore and have a coffee and read books

Its fun to go to bookshops and browse books, especially if you have a bookstore that has a cafe too. Pick a book for each other or have to find a book that is something to do with romance or another theme!

23.) Give them something they need, a note pad a pen, new socks, new undies...

This will allow them to remember you when using something that isn't clutter!

24.) Buy some flower seeds

Cheaper than a bunch of flowers, last longer and is more fun as you get to watch things grow!

25.) Make paper flowers

Again cheaper than a bunch of flowers and they look great... try clicking this link to find ways to make them!

26.) Frame a favourite photograph

Maybe it is a photo from number 17, or maybe it is a photo from your wedding day, or mabe even one that they would of used in the Sticky Fingers Photo Meme... get it framed and it will be a hit!

27.) Make a Scrapbook

This can be done so quickly and easily. If you need ideas follow this link or make one for free using Picnik

28.) Treasure Map

A bit of local knowledge, a tea bag and a lighter and you can make a little map to a treasure... or a place to have your picnic, walk in the park or even to John Lewis to have a cookie!

29.) Memory box

Create a memory box together, place photos, letters, cards, old cinema tickets... you get the idea.

30.) Things I love about you

This was one of my most favourite things that I did with Daddy. We wrote down ten things that we liked about each other and ten things that we liked or that made us happy (like reading a book, having chocolate) and then we put them in a frame and gave them to each other. If we wanted to make ourselves happy we could read a reason why the other person loved us and if we wanted to make them happy we could read a thing to do. We still have them now!

So here my 30 things to do for Valentines day frugally.... just look out for my things to do for Children on Valentines day this weekend!

Christmas Club - January!

Well, if you have stumbled upon me today not knowing that I was planning on preparing for Christmas please don't run for the hills screaming that Christmas is coming soon, you haven't fallen asleep for a really long time, Christmas Day was really only one month ago and the big event for 2010 is still a whole 11 months away... but who doesn't like to be prepared before the big event?

If you too want to prepare for Christmas, then you are welcome to join me! And if you have any ideas or suggestions the comment box is always open! What I am planning on doing is each month tackling a small area of Christmas planning as well as the planning for celebrations in the month. Like for example today is Burns Night, and so last month I made sure that as I was going to have a small celebration with my family that I would remember to buy a Turnip for neeps and tatties to go with the mince and onion. (And tomorrow we will have Stovies, but thats another story)

Today however I am going to walk around the house and make sure all Christmas items are away, I know Top Ender and I know there will be a couple of decorations hidden somewhere in her room... and I also know that there is a box of Christmas paper still to go up into the loft in my bedroom.

I am also going to catalogue the gifts that were given to me this Christmas that I won't use and so are either going to regift (not to the person who gave it to me) or take to a Charity Shop. For example next to my bed is a bottle of Red Door perfume which my Mum loves and my Great Nan got confused and thought I loved. But on me Red Door doesn't smell as nice as it does on my Mum!

I must admit this year I have been really bad and still haven't handed out thank you notes. It isn't too late to give them, and just a quick reminder if you haven't sent yours don't say you have been busy and that is why you haven't written them! Say something along the lines of "Please forgive me for not having expressed sooner how greatful we were for your lovely..." and please remind me to follow my rules for writing Thank you notes next time.

Seeing as I am going to be writing I will also make note of Good ideas from the Christmas just gone that I liked or the children like. For example this year we sprinkled glitter on the driveway for Santa to use as a Landing Marker. It was such a simple thing to do, but it was great and we had fun doing it as a family.

This is also a great time to note down things that I know other people might like, and if needs be put a copy of the ideas in with the Christmas decorations. A few years back a family friend joked when we gave him and his wife a lamp for Christmas that for the last four years we had slowly been replacing the furniture in thier living room and would we be buying him a three piece suite the following year. We remembered this and the following year presented him with his own gift in a tiny little gift box...

A three piece sweet...

I have already set up this years Gift list ideas file and have a copy on my ipod touch, a copy on the calender and a copy on the main PC. I have ideas for birthdays and for other celebrations such as Anniversarys, New Baby Gifts etc. That way if I happen to be in a shop and see something that would make a great gift, I can check that I haven't already brought something for them.... like the beautiful baby coat I have brought for my Sisters 3rd Baby which is due in late May!

The last thing I need to do is to check next month for dates that are coming up. I have Valentines Day (Top Ender, Baby Boy and I are making a lot of cards this year!), Chinese New Year (which is the 14th February this year), Big Cousins Birthday, Half Term a few friends Birthdays and of course it is also Jo Beaufoix's birthday... Need to plan something big for that one.

Image stolen from Jo's blog. Hope she doesn't mind. If she does I shall make sure the Male Strippers for her Birthday make up for it. They shall be Tweet Strippers...

Oh and the absolute last thing I am going to do is to write a couple of lines about January so that when I come to write my review of the year post in December, I'll remember what I thought was important!

How to buy gifts for tricky people

On Christmas Day my Mother In Law had popped round to see us and to swap gifts. Whilst she was here Daddy had to quickly use the Carpet Sweeper (or the hodduhuduhduh as it is known in our house thanks to Eddie Izzard) and she made a comment about how she didn't have one and would like one.

"Brilliant!" I thought

I made a mental note for a future gift for Mothers Day or Birthday or one of the other million reasons there are per year to show apprecation for those around us and carried on enduring enjoying her visit.

It was decided between Daddy and I later that day, that because she has been having a bad time of it of late, that we would purchase one and take it round on New Years Day, a clean start to the New Year sort of thing.

So we took it round on New Years Day and discovered that she had already brought one...

It was the Digital Camera debacle all over again, but that is a story for another day.

It was with thanks to my MIL that I made sure that I wrote down my unofficial rules that I try to follow when buying gifts as I do through out the year and they are;

1) Will this add clutter to someones home or will they use it?
2) Is it something they would like?
3) Is it something they might have already?
4) Is it something they have asked for?
5) Is it something they would buy for themselves?

And I also want to remind everyone to start thinking about the Christmas Club, which will start on the 25th of January!

Lets party like it's 2009 - Week Eighteen of The Holiday Grand Plan

Well Christmas is over and not quite forgotten even though all the toys have been unwrapped and played with and are currently scattered across most of our living room and bedrooms and the landing and bathroom... Daddy and I are fighting a losing battle against an ever increasing Toy Army!

We had a really great day and saw most of our family on Christmas Day and even with Daddy needing to leave to go to work in the early evening, we spent a lot of quality time together and even managed to keep the Kitchen fairly tidy! We were so on the ball this year that we have stripped the Turkey, used up all the left over Veg (Baby Boy and I had Bubble and Squeak for Breakfast on Boxing Day and I had what was left in an omlette today!), made stock from the Turkey Carcass and I have a a few meals for the left over Turkey planned.

We are thinking about changing a few things next year and we are also going to need to think about what can be done about the number of toys that are gifted to Top Ender and Baby Boy because we don't live in a TARDIS, despite my attemps to woo David Tennant, but for now we are enjoying the gifts we were lucky enough to be given and the leftover Chistmas goodies (such as the Christmas cake and Christmas pudding!) as well as looking forward to New Year!

Daddy is working on New Years Eve and so this will be the first time in ten years that we haven't seen the New Year in together. We will of course be on the phone to each other (we have VOIP phones so should be able to connect despite all the other people trying to talk to each other at the same time!) and will more than likely both be watching Myleene Klass on the BBC with events from London.

This week in the Holiday Grand Plan it is suggested that we write our thank you notes, take down our trees and decorations and of course think about the New Year that is stretching out ahead of us. We will take our decorations down on the 1st and 2nd of January (before Top Enders Birthday but after New Year) and our thank you notes should all be in the post on the 29th December!

And this marks the end of the Holiday Grand Plan and Christmas 2009, but it is just the start for preparing for Christmas in 2010! Yes that's right I am already thinking about next year and planning to ease into Christmas preparation by stocking up on good value finds throughout the year.

If you would like to join me then stop on by on the 25th of each month!