Bargain Birthday Bashes

Category: Real Frugal

We've just glided through "Birthday Season" at our house, celebrating 2 of our 3 kids birthday's, plus my dad, uncle, brother and nephew.  We've had a steady stream of cupcakes flowing out of our kitchen since the beginning of October.  I love birthdays, the joy and smiles from those celebrating someone's special day is contagious.  I love balloons, streamers, colourful tissue paper and rainbow ribbons.  I love throwing a good party, but I don't love how much it all costs.  It's sometimes hard to refrain from buying everything I see that relates to our chosen birthday themes each year.  I attempt to make the majority of the decorations, food and loot bag items. Now, for those of you who know me personally, you know that I relish the opportunity to "make" something, whether it be an edible treat or personalized name tag.  However, you don't have to have a lot of creative talent to throw together a fun party on the cheap.    Here are some tips to help:

Hosting the party at home saves big time! If that's not a possibility, consider booking rooms in your local community center or joining a public program (ie: skating). We did this for our 8yr old's birthday and it didn't blow our budget.  We got a discount on the public skate (less than $1/person) which took place down the stairs from our rented room. 

Scour your house to see what supplies you could come up with before buying everything new.  We had paper cups, plates, napkins and tablecloths left over from previous parties. Write the kid's names on the paper cups so they don't go through 4 each.


Balloons are wonderful inexpensive decorations and there are a variety of fun games to play with balloons.  I found some extra large balloons which we used for volleyball and other games. There are so many fun games you can do at home depending on the age.  One of our biggest hits was a scavenger hunt to find the cupcakes.  Relay races have been successful, as well as freeze dance, musical chairs & costume parades, and all you need is what you already have at home.  One time, when our daughter was 3, we had a Halloween party and the biggest hit was when my husband read a book to the group.  Go figure! The kids were riveted by the story, amazing how the whole group was completley enthralled listening to thrilling tale. 

Making your own food (either when hosting at home or bringing it to your birthday location) gives you the control to buy just what you need.  I lucked into a sale a the grocery store for $3.00 frozen pizza's. Fruit & veggie platters, mini sandwiches, cheese and crackers...they all work well and don't cost a lot.  Buying ingredients from the bulk store saves $ in the long run.  This easy chocolate cake recipe is my standard for chocolate cakes and cupcakes, it's so easy and they taste great!  (with homemade buttercream icing of course!)

I want to be a "farm-girl!"

 

Moo Cow Cupcakes

Loot bags are a tough one and I've often thought of caving in and starting the trend to fore go the loot bag.  I haven't though.......yet.  Instead, we print out activity sheets relating to our party's theme then make a little booklet.  Tying some pencil crayons together with raffia is a nice accessory for the book.   For a farm themed party, I found $2 straw hats, bought one meter of fabric and cut it into strips to tie around the hats.  Paper bags do wonders to hold your goodies and can be recycled (I glued black spots on the white bags above). Other loot bag items that we've given out: small pumpkins that the kids painted as a craft, wooden bead necklaces they made at the party,  I've made wands using construction paper and BBQ skewers which the kids then decorated and went home in their loot bag.  I've baked and decorated sugar cookies that also end up in, wait for it...... the loot bag. 

I attempt to avoid all things plastic, instead gravitating to something the child will actually enjoy using without having it break on them within the first 8 minutes or end up in the garbage after 24 minutes.  It's sometimes a challenge, but it is possible. 

Choosing a theme, whether it be a sport, character or a colour, will help with your whole party preparation.  Don't get too picky though.  I've learned over the years that the kids generally don't notice that the pink cups match the pink napkins and the pink plates.  They're too busy chowing down cupcakes and anticipating the next fun group activity we have planned. 

Bring on the party, put up the decorations, send out the invites!  You can do it without breaking the bank and you don't have to be a Martha Stewart.

We Pad,You Pad, We all Pad for iPad.

Category: Real Life & Real Fun

How the iPad saved us

We enjoy naming our "things". Take our cars, for example.  We were all teary eyed as we said goodbye to "Trusty Rusty", our Subaru wagon.  One of us adored "Boomer", a (horrible) pick-up truck that was stolen twice but then returned just before we got the insurance check. (darn!) Now, we have "Bluey" and it's like a 6th member of our family.  "OK kids, let's find Bluey in the parking lot".  I'll wake up after sleeping on Contact C (a pillow), put on Colonel Mustard (pants), jump into Bluey (car), head over to Horny Tim's (Tim Hortons) then to Blob-blobs (Loblaws) for some milk.  Typical lingo in our household, these fun names just stick and we continue to use them.  Hence, it wasn't a surprise as we found ourselves naming our new family toy, the apple iPad.  Our kids are old enough to say "I" when asking for something but they have a horrible habit of saying "me" way too often.  On our drive out East (to visit PEI, NB and NS) recently, we heard our 3 year old repeat "Me want the iPad" from the back seat one time too many.  It stuck.  Pad-me.

We love our Padme.  Our Padme rocks!  Padme became an invaluable tool on our trip and we all learned to navigate through it's myriad of apps and features by the time we reached our first stop in Quebec City just 4 1/2 hours from home.  Padme came to the rescue saving us from traffic jams, travel boredom and bad hotels.  We found rest-stops, gas stations and learned how many minutes it would take us to get there.(especially helpful if someone was in a "panic"). We found attractions just off our route (we had a wonderful break at the longest covered bridge in Canada in Hartland, NB).  Padme kept Ian busy in the 9th hour of driving when nothing else would. Peter read his book on Padme during the nights in the hotel rooms as the kids slept sideways in a double bed to make it "feel" like a king. Padme took us on an alternate scenic route along the coast of NB to the amazingly long and initially frightening Confederation Bridge.   I sat in the back between Ian and Aleda and played Reversi with them on Padme.  Love.

During our week-long ocean front cottage stay in Darnley, PEI, we would unwind in the evenings, overlooking the sunset behind the lighthouse on the dunes and research our next day's trip according to the ever changing island weather forecast and the info we gathered from talking to locals. After a morning of Canada Day activities at the Charlottetown Harbour front Festival and a tour through Province House in downtown, we pulled out Padme to find a quiet beach just out of town to unwind and take a nap before heading to a quaint fishing village packed with thousands to watch the fireworks display.  We relied on Padme to get us out of a traffic jam after the fireworks, finding an alternate route home while hundreds of cars rallied to go out the one and only exit. (at least, that's what they thought! aha!!). Having Padme allowed us to communicate with friends and family, it allowed the kids to keep up with some fun math games, and learn the lyrics to some cool new songs.  We've been home for 4 weeks now and haven't even broken the ice with what else Padme has to offer.  Our next trial will be after 8pm tonight which is when the Rogers Cable guy (or gal) shows up at our door to pick up our cable tv box.  No more cable.  But not to worry.....Padme to the rescue!! Pad we, Pad you, we all pad for Padme.

Teckids

Category: Real Fun(ny)

Teckids = Technologically Advanced Kids

My 3yr old little boy was all dressed up and ready to put on a "show" for me one day.  (a common occurrence at our house)  He told me where to sit to watch him, also to introduce him to the stage (performing area).  He went out and I announced "Introducing Ian!!", he came bounding through the double doors and said "Hi, my name is Introducing Ian, I'm going to put on a show!".  "OK" I said, then waited for him to begin.  I waited, and waited, then waited some more.  Ian stood silent, still, staring.  "Are you ready?" I asked, finally.  "Oh, it's just loading" replied Ian.  I couldn't stop laughing at that point.  Oh, the influence technology has on our wee ones these days is astounding.  I realized at that moment that every time he sat on the his little perch (the armchair of our sofa beside our family computer) he was taking it all in, the terms, the ideas, the wonder of computers.  I also realized that it was due time for us to increase our internet speed!

Another day, just last week as we were driving in the car, Ian and his 5yr old sister were talking about their morning outings.  Then Ian abruptly stopped talking.  "What's wrong?" asked his big sister?  "Why aren't you answering me?"  "I'm out of power" replied Ian, "I'm recharging".

With the terms emanating from his cute little head, it's almost as though he was born with a built-in computer chip.  He doesn't know many terms from the TV but he can navigate around the computer, my ipod and the Nintendo DSi.  We have 30 days left of our TV subscription, we're canceling it completely.  We're bumping up our internet speed though and dreaming of one day being able to purchase an ipad.  I suspect I'll be hearing more funny terms from wee little Ian, sayings that you would never have heard from me at age 3.

He's a Teckid and I love him to bits (and bytes).

Ring Ring Ring

Categories: Real Life & Real Frugal

 Our phone broke recently.  It was dropped (by our continuously curious 3yr old) and the ringer stopped ringing.  We lived for a week without a ringing phone then I picked one up at a garage sale and plugged it in.  The ringer worked but the receiver didn't.  I then plugged the old one back in and had one phone that rang (quietly, upstairs, since there's only one phone jack on the main floor) and another phone to talk on.   Not the best scenario. I looked online to see what phones are going for these days and was having trouble finding a simple phone.  We didn't need an LCD screen, call display or speed dial memory buttons, or speaker phone or multiple receivers....we just needed a phone. Pick up, dial....talk. Ring, Ring.. answer. 

My husband argued that we don't need a home phone, or we could live with our ringer-less broken one.  He suggested we check our messages 4x/day and called people back as necessary.  I wasn't comfortable with that idea...not at home with a family and with family far away from home.  I didn't want to miss the important calls , the calls from friends, the calls from school, the emergencies.  I spent two years  living in a cabin in the woods of British Columbia without electricity or hydro, a 30 min drive from a payphone but that was in my 20's, not now with 3 little ones dependent on me.  I want to pick-up the phone and hear:
"Come on over for a swim!"
"I'm pregnant"
"Your child is sick, please come pick them up"
"I love you"
"Want to go to the beach?"
"I'm engaged"
"It's a boy!"
"I'll be home soon"

etc. etc. etc. 

We investigated using a cell phone as a home phone but my worry with that was the 911 service.  All phone companies have complied with the new regulations that all 911 calls from a cell are to be directed to the nearest cell tower but I was afraid of hiccups with that set-up.  Having called 911 recently from our house, I can't afford to lose the call or be stuck with an un-charged phone or lose time being re-directed to our local emergency stations.

So, yes, we needed a phone.  Yes, we're on a tight budget.  How to get a home phone without any of the extra features.....for free?  I searched the used sites and the cheapest I found was $8 but it was a 25 min drive to pick-it up.  I put the word out on Facebook and a friend kindly donated a phone they weren't using.  It worked for 3 days.  I recently visited my parents and noticed they had 2 phones in their basement.  Simple phones.  I asked if we could have one, "yes, of course" they said.  It works!  It was free!  Now if only we can keep our 3 yr old from breaking it, we're all set. 

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.  If it broke, research your options,search the web, ask around, you'll likely find what you need without all the unnecessary bells and whistles.  Quite honestly, I don't know why you have to "see" who's calling you....just pick it up and say "Hello".

Make sure it rings though.
Ring ring ring.....

Literally Litter Free Lunch

Category: Real Food

Our packed litter-free lunch we brought on our day-trip to the Biodome in Montreal

 

Literally Litter-Free Lunch

I was thrilled when my daughter brought home a notice from school in her JK year stating that the school was going to promote a litter-free lunch day. That's great! I thought. What a good idea and a wonderful program to get going with kids at such a young age.  If the habit can be started in their first year, maybe the parents would follow-through throughout their kids school days. It was just a day though.  One measly day.  It's been 4 years of school days and I haven't seen a similar notice since. Why? I wonder.  It jumped started us on a roll to packing litter-free lunches and we've managed to keep it up for all of our take-out-of-the-house meals.  Our kids are used to opening their Tupperware containers filled with leftover dinners, pasta, fruit, veggies, homemade breads, muffins, cookies and granola bars.  Not only does their lunch result in zero garbage, our food is brought home from the store that way. No mini-yogurts or applesauce-to-go, no individually wrapped goldfish crackers or cheese sticks.  They're aware of the changes we've made and are proud of the fact that they go about their days without having to throw a single thing in a bin headed for the landfill.  The result of our litter free lunches: healthy,happy kids (eating real food!) and a cleaner environment.  I applaud the schools who have continued to promote this healthy habit and am hoping our school picks up the pace and converts to litter free lunch program.  Literally.

Sneakers'n'Snakes

Category: Real Fun

You've figured by now (from my measly 3 blog posts) that our family does everything we can to get the most out of our lives with very little $.  But how about the good times..... the family time, the relaxing time...the fun?  That's what weekends are for, right?

We're working on it!!  We try to get all of our grocery shopping and weekly errands done by Friday evening. That leaves two full calendar days to fill, usually involving the outdoors and is either free or relatively 'cheap'.  Our local pool and library are within easy biking & walking distance and we go to one or both often. We've researched when museums offer free visits (Ottawa's Museum of Nature is free every Saturday morning!), which Cultural & Community events are worth attending and what trails in the myriad of National Capital Commission trail network are relatively dry for our little hiking / exploring adventures.

I wasn't always so keen to hit the trails however. I have a severe phobia of snakes and it was on one of these  NCC Trails in 2003 that completely brought me to my knees in fear, vowing never to step foot in the woods (any woods) ever, ever again.

It was a beautiful, sunny, springtime day in March.  We (my husband and I) made our way to the trailhead of a well known,well used trail near our home.  I slid my 1 year old in my nifty Deuter backpack and headed off.  Birds were chirping, flowers were sprouting and I was happy.  We came across a log blocking the trail and as I lifted my sneaker (you really don't need to go high-tech to have a happy hike) to step over the log, I saw it.  A slippery snake, slithering slowly across the trail in front of me.  I froze.  My eyes darted this way and that, I was deciding whether to run back, run forward or stay still (read.."die"!).  As I glanced sideways again...I saw them. It looked like hundreds (but was likely dozens) of snakes...in a ball....in a BALL!  My husband was ahead of the log across the trail and he was enthusiastically (desperately) encouraging me to get to him so we can continue on, get over my fears and finish our walk.  Yeah....right.  Did I mention phobia?  Yes I did, let's emphasize severe phobia.  I screamed, I cried, I woke up my slumbering child on my back who also began shrieking. I made a run for it.... over the log.  I buried my head in my husbands shoulder and continued to hyperventilate.  The snakes seemed to like my reaction, seemed to be attracted to my panic. They started to come after me, I swear.  My husband told me to keep my eyes on him while he poked at them with a stick.  Eventually, they dispersed, slithering slowly away and I managed to get to the end of the walk (via the shortest route possible back home) though I continued to shiver and whimper in fear.

For 5 years, I refused to walk in the woods in the spring though I managed to talk myself into some summer walks (winter walks are a breeze).  I've camped, I've been to cottages and on bike-rides. I have been getting braver every season to hit more trails in the spring.  I managed to get my sneakers moving on a springtime trail last weekend with the family, convincing myself that what we saw 7 years ago was a unique, rare "snake awakening" that we'll never encounter again in our lifetime.

Weekend hikes are back on our calender, in every season.  I'm getting my sneakers out there and conquering my fear of snakes.

So....that's what we do on our weekends...for fun.

Decisions, decisions

Category: Real Frugal

Ever since we set up our budget and I realized just how much (read...how little) money we had leftover to "spend", I started changing the way I made decisions while out shopping. I'll talk about groceries later (that's a whole other issue) I've developed my own set of questions and pre-requisites I mentally check off before spending our extra money on  the "extra stuff".  Birthday gifts, clothes, household supplies, electronics, toys etc.                                                                                                                     This is what goes through my head BEFORE I get out to the mall, market or plaza.



 * Do we really need this item? -----I've often stopped right there and cancelled my shopping outing.  If we don't really need it, I'd rather save our money or spend it on something we simply can't live without. 

 *Can I find this item at a lower price? ----browsing online can sometimes be beneficial if you can find what you need online for less money. What about kijiji, or craigslist or a consignment store?

*Can I make this or re-use something instead?-----I'm pretty crafty and often come up with a home-made alternative instead of hitting the shops, deal or no deal.  I've made picture frames, cookies & cards for birthday presents.  I've whipped up household cleaners with vinegar and baking soda. Check this link for simple recipes to make your own cleaning supplies. 

 *What impact on the environment does this item have? -----We try very hard to "not" buy things that come in non-recyclable packaging.  I think about this constantly when I am in the stores browsing.  What long-term impact will it have? Will this end up in the garbage bin in a year? If yes...I say no to buying it.

Since creating our budget and reviewing these four questions before pulling out the bankcard, we've reduced the amount of money spent on extra items by over $150 / month. (by our monthly average) That's just from making better decisions.  That's not too shabby....but pretty chic!! 

Getting Started

Category: Real Frugal

OK, it's still March so I did mean it when I said "starting March 2010".  I've been organizing all of my thoughts about how I'm going to do this blog in my head and realized that I just need to get started, just do it.  (thanks Nike). 

US

We're a family of 5, living in Ottawa, ON. Our kids are 3, 5 and 7.  We like outdoorsy activities, (camping, hiking, swimming) as well as time spent reading, creating art, and eating good food.

We've been changing our ways over the past couple of years, morhping into a lifestyle that requires little money, outputs small amounts of garbage while at the same time, rewarding us with healthy choices and happy hearts. How are we doing this?  This is what this blog is all about.  We're a real family, making these real choices, transforming our lives...right before your eyes and I'm going to share all of this with you!

How we got started:

This tip started the ball rolling. This tool opened our eyes and brought us back to reality.  If you don't have one of these, it's hard to make solid, realistic decisions.  It's a protractor, I don't know how you can live without one.  No....I'm joking, ha ha...It's a budget.  It's important and it works, we're living proof.  Sit down and start making a budget.  Check out this website to learn how.You really need to find out where your money is going before you can feel comfortable spending it.  I was one of those 'non believers' but after 2 years of using our budget spreadsheet and being honest with all details of our finances....I'm a true believer and am dedicated to our budget. I'm so happy we took this first step.  Once you have a budget, you can start setting goals and realize how realistic it is to reach those goals. Knowledge is power, take charge!!

If you already have a budget set up, this is a good time to revisit it.  Does it work?  Have both parties in your relationship contributed and tweaked it as necessary?  Are both of you aware of the details?  These are important questions to ask and necessary to get answered, for your own benefit.

 It's similar to counting calories while following a specific meal plan.  That hand-full of raisins does count and so does a magazine you bought while waiting for the bus.  Start tracking....more on how we started tracking coming soon.  Just do it.

Next post: Wednesday April 7 2010

Welcome to the brand new Paija 4 Real blog!!  You're going to love it here! You'll find: Tips on  thriving on a frugal budget. Real, whole food recipes. Stories of successes and disasters from our real life's adventures. How to make the transition from a chaotic cluttered way of life to a simplified, streamlined, organized, enjoyable way of life. Even bonus decorating tips!!   It will all be here at PAIJA 4 REAL.

Starting March 2010!!  Stay tuned......