The Xmas Factor 2009

As I mentioned in my Let There be Lights post I did something silly at the turning on of the Towns Christmas lights. On the spur of the moment I entered The Xmas Factor, which was a little fun that was being had and included mostly children singing Christmas songs such as Jingle Bells and We Wish you a Merry Christmas.

I did say that if I could get the video I would post it for you all to watch/listen to and so I am posting this as quickly as I have been able to get it so that I don't lose my bottle and hide it away. I have tagged myself in it on Facebook, so if you are reading this as a note on Facebook, you can go hunt it down too.

And if you think I look distracted remember that I hadn't sung solo in public since 1998 and I keep waving to Baby Boy who is the baby you can hear crying.

Oh, and Top Ender is the little girl you can hear at the start who comments

"My Mum is definitely going to win the adults!"

She must be psychic!

When Parents and Teachers disagree

In general I trust teachers. I don't go in and question every little choice that they make (even though sometimes I wonder!) and I tend not to take up their time unless I feel it is really needed (I won't stand bullying) or a parents evening has been scheduled.

In the parents evenings I take notes on what is said, ask questions about Top Enders progress, what can be done to help her at home and generally show an interest in her and her school life.

I felt that the teachers and I were a team.

Then a few weeks ago I was summoned to a classroom along with around twenty other parents where a teacher explained that our children were being put on to a special course to boost confidence and was just the same as the other children were doing, but they would get some really simple homework each week and did we have any objections to this if so speak now or forever hold your peace.

I didn't speak up then because I knew that Top Ender does suffer from confidence in her school work. She will often tell me that she can't do something, when I know that she can.

In her reading record book I have even written that Top Ender needed to be "tricked" into thinking the book she was reading was a lower level than it really was before she felt able to read this one quite wordy book. And she did then read it without any hesitation or mistakes.

So when Top Ender came home last Monday with spellings made up of two letters I got a little angry. Anyone that follows me of Twitter knows that Top Ender has been getting five out of five on her spellings for the last few weeks and the words are a lot harder than two bloody letters.

I decided to speak with Top Enders teacher about the spellings and why they were different for the children on this course as opposed to the other children in the class, but it was too late that evening so I went online and looked up this programme that Top Ender had been put on. I even downloaded the teacher lesson handbook.

The ELS programme is for children who are falling behind in reading or writing according to the levels set for children in year one.

Top Ender isn't falling behind in reading or writing according to the reports and parents evenings I have had and in some areas is reaching the levels set for children in year two. I was angry.

The following evening after School I asked Mrs Wise Owl why Top Ender had been put on to the ELS programme. Mrs Wise Owl made a few generalisations about the programme and repeated that it was a confidence building programme and looked at me as if I were a parent who thought that their little angel could do no wrong, when clearly they were.

I countered this look by explaining that I knew all about the ELS programme, what it was for, what it hoped to achieve and that I had a copy of the Teachers Handbook at home.

Mrs Wise Owl looked a bit sick. Eventually she explained that Top Ender had been put on this programme as she didn't always form some of her letters correctly and during a test piece of work they had spotted these errors.

I felt a little sick as I realised that Top Ender has been stopped from doing her normal work for twenty minutes a day and taken out of lessons because she sometimes doesn't form some of her letters correctly.

I asked Mrs Wise Owl why instead of putting her on this programme they simply hadn't asked me to go over this with Top Ender at home.

Mrs Wise Owl looked at me as if I was stupid.

I explained that I understood that as a Teacher she couldn't give one to one help all day, but that as a parent I could, and that as a parent it was my job.

Mrs Wise Owl looked at me as if I were a new breed of parent, or I had a third arm growing out of my head.

I explained that I wanted to revoke my permission for Top Ender to be in this programme and that as Top Ender learnt best from repetition that perhaps it would be best if I went over with her at home.

Mrs Wise Owl asked me not to remove Top Ender from the programme until the end of term, so we could see if the course was helping her or not and that she would look at Top Enders school work to see if there was improvement.

She then asked if I was happy with this.

"No, I'm not." I said "but I will go along with it until the end of term as long as you send home with Top Ender the proper spellings each week that I will test her on."

Mrs Wise Owl looked at me suspiciously but agreed and handed over the spellings for the week.

Am I right to expect to be included in Top Enders education?

A Wiggly Tooth

"My tooth is wiggly Mummy!" said Top Ender
"A really wiggly tooth or just a little wiggly tooth?" I asked thinking that it probably wasn't wiggly at all
"Quite wiggly!"
"I shall have to check when we get home then" I said

The next thing we were home and were talking to Daddy on the web cam.

"I have a wiggly tooth Daddy!" shouted Top Ender
"Really? Which one?" asked Daddy
"This one" Top Ender said whilst sticking her finger in her mouth
"Let me have a feel then Top Ender" I said

I gave the tooth a little wiggle and was surprised to see it really was quite wiggly. I suddenly felt a little teary, a little older and a little sad.

"Oooh it is wiggly!" I managed brightly and added "The Tooth Fairy is going to visit us soon I bet"
"Quick Mummy take some photos before it falls out!" said Daddy

I know that Top Ender is growing up, I have been noticing little things that she says or does over the last few months and I have even purchased a lovely little bracelet for the Tooth Fairy to leave along with a pearl charm (and it comes with nine more charms) as I knew that this day was coming...

I just wasn't really prepared for it to come so soon.

Top Ender my beautiful funny little Princess please don't grow up so fast!

Top Ender Giggles - You will obey

Whilst walking round Tescos Top Ender spotted some shaped bubble baths.

"Mummy!" she exclaimed
"Oh yes!" I said "Disney Fairies Bubble Bath!" as I know when I am supposed to be excited
"No! Look at this!" she giggled as she disappeared round the other side of the stand

Whilst I tried to manoeuvre the trolley round the freestanding unit Top Ender got into place bending down behind a Dalek shaped bubble bath. As soon as I appeared she said in a quite good Dalek voice;



"I am a Dalek Bubble bath and I will exterminate dirt across the Universe"

We left the store thirty minutes later still giggling!

Wordless Wednesday - Having Fun taking the photo for the Christmas card

Eating out with Kids... cheaply!

Top Ender and Baby Boy love to go out to eat. It doesn't matter if it is a Sandwich in the park, a picnic at the lake, dinner in a restaurant or a snack in a cafe. Anywhere that isn't home makes the food taste magically better and I know it isn't because of my cooking skills or my lack of culinary art!

It is because of their love of eating out that I have a list of places that we can go to where we can grab something to eat, not break the bank and not have to resort to McDonalds... although plenty of that is eaten at times! Here is the low down on where you will find me and family when we can't be bothered to cook!

Costco's restaurant is a marvellous thing. Pizza, Jacket Potato's, Salads, etc are sold at a fraction of the cost that you could get them at other restaurants and the portion sizes are bigger too. This does mean that a slice of pizza and a bit of Mummy and Daddy's Jacket potato or salad will feed both Top Ender and Baby Boy!

You can refill your fizzy drinks if you wish and the food is cooked so that you can see it being prepared as they have large glass windows down one side of the Kitchen. Of course if you don't want to eat in you can take the food away which is sometimes a plus as the small seating area gets very crowded!

The only issue that we have is it is Fizzy Drinks. Top Ender refuses to drink anything remotely fizzy and Baby Boy pulls a funny face if he steals a sip of Daddys drink! Mind you seeing as it is Costco's you could just go and pick up a family pack of squash or water from one of the aisles!

Ikea has not one but two places to eat, the restaurant and the Bistro. At the Bistro you can buy hot dogs, meatballs and chips as well as puddings and they will offer meal deals so buying a combination will work out cheaper too. Of course there are no chairs. just circular tables that are chest height to either lean or put your food on, with a ring further down the table leg for children to put their food on. Just don't get me started about the Ice Cream Machine...



The restaurant is Top Enders favourite (and mine for a cheap full English breakfast!) and she will often beg to be taken there. They serve a kids menu and a main menu as well as having plenty of Swedish snack foods too. The Kids menu is comprised of pasta with sauce or a choice of fish (Haddock) or meatballs and you can choose if you want potatoes or chips with the latter two and with the fish you normally get a vegetable serving too. It is even better value on a Wednesday because it is half price for Meatballs! The Main menu is basically the same as the Kids menu but bigger portions and you can also choose a starter if you want such as Gravalax and occasionally the chef will add other seasonal Swedish food items to the menu.

And of course if you want to recreate it at home you can always stop by at the Swedish shop and buy Swedish foods. Not that I have done that ever... okay so several times including Top Enders 4th Birthday.



Marks and Spencers cafe is at the upper part of our budget, but we do like it there as they always have gluten free and wheat free cakes out. This makes eating with Daddy a lot easier as if we just want to have a drink and snack it is nice to be able to have a choice rather than a packet of crisps. They tend to sell mostly Sandwiches, Jacket Potato's and Soup but they have been known in the past to sell other things!

The good thing about the M&S cafe's is that it gives me a chance to sit there in my best velvet voice saying things like;

"This isn't just any cafe table... this is an M&S cafe table."
or
"This isn't just any fork...this is an M&S fork."

I could go on for hours like that.

Little Chef use to be a favourite of ours, we would often take Top Ender to one of the local restaurants for an ice cream or a meal. It is also great fun to go to Little Chef as I find the colouring pages particularly fun to do and you get a free lolly when you pay! Well maybe the kids do, but if I smile nicely I get one too.

Then there are the Supermarkets Cafes that you can find in most Tesco's, Asda's, Sainsburys and Morrisons. All have their charms and serve what you would expect from a Supermarket cafe and round here all of them are staffed with helpful staff members who will carry my tray to my table if I have Baby Boy and Top Ender on my own and the ladies in Tesco even came and cleared up for me when Baby Boy was a few weeks old and I was sat in the corner breastfeeding whilst Top Ender ate her sandwich!

So if you are ever in one of my local haunts pretend you don't know me, you will be safer that way!

Top Ender Giggles - Its a bloke wearing a Dress!

Last week Top Ender was sitting in the back of the car as we drove past a local Adult Nightclub (Its the local Lesbian, Gay & Transgender Venue, don't you know). Normally when we go past this club the car park is empty and I have only once seen something (well someone) in the car park that made me double check what I had just seen as it was gone Midnight and I wasn't sure if I should believe my own tired eyes!

As we drove past I noticed in the car park a gentleman standing next to his car. The gentleman wasn't wearing the usual type of clothing that a gentleman would. He was however wearing a very nice black and purple Lycra dress and patent black high heels.

There were some giggles from the back of the car as Top Ender spotted him.

"Whats funny Top Ender?" asked Daddy
"There was a man wearing a purple and black dress!" giggled Top Ender
"How do you know it was a man?" asked Daddy
"It was very obviously a man!" I snorted
"He might of been going to a fancy dress party" said Daddy
"No he wasn't wearing a wig, it was just a man wearing a dress!" answered Top Ender

Edit: Obviously the picture isn't a bloke in a dress, its me when I was pregnant with Baby Boy going out to a Christmas dinner....

Top Ender Giggles - Age is something that doesn't matter, unless you are a cheese!

Whilst we were in the car, Top Ender was keeping us entertained with a constant stream of chatter about various topics including the near future.

"Mum? One day when my friends come round they will bring their boyfriend" she said
"Yeah?" I answered whilst wondering if it was one boyfriend per two girls these days
"Yes and then they will kiss their boyfriend!" she giggled
"You're only five!" said Daddy (a quick glance saw he was taking this seriously!)
"So are our Boyfriends Daddy!" she answered

Wordless Wednesday - My very own Cindy Lou Who

Where is Top Ender?

Last week Daddy took Top Ender to school one morning as they were having a good discussion and wanted to carry it on.

During the day I spoke with Daddy on Instant Messenger several times. More than likely about silly stuff like a shower curtain he had seen, or maybe how much thin mucus your nose produces every day (4 pints I am told, yeah I know that is disgusting!).

I'm not really sure though because we waffle a lot and the days all merge into one long waffled conversation, rather like the ones we have when he comes home at Midnight and I am asleep and don't realise until an hour later that he is in bed and I say something like;

"Oh its you!"

Well who else would be in my bed? Jeffrey Dean Morgan or Javier Bardem? (A girl can wish can't she?!) On a side note, don't they look similar? I also see a little of Nick Knowles about them, who my Mum and Sister met in a pub once, but I am digressing...

So Top Enders Teacher comes to the cloakroom door and the class starts to file out. They come out in alphabetical order, so I know I have a couple of minutes and so I carry on talking to High Heels Mum.

Then I realise that the children coming out are from the next class.

No problem Top Ender is probably having problems with her coat or trying to find a missing glove I think to myself.

Then I realise that the children coming out are from the third and last class.

Suddenly I realise that I don't know if Top Ender got into school that day because I didn't take her. What if Daddy dropped her off at the Gate, but then she decided to walk to town instead of going in to school? What if....

I catch Mrs Wise Owl's eye and she mouths something about Top Ender. So I have a moment of relief followed by confusion as I don't lip read all that well and she either said that Top Ender was inside or she didn't come to school. Thinking on it maybe I do have great lip reading skills, but Mrs Wise Owl needs to work more on bettering her mouthing words so people can understand them skills...

I walk down to the door and Mrs Wise Owl says that Top Ender is in the medical room as she accidentally bumped a table corner in a delicate area.... well they are at the same height!

Top Ender was fine sitting in the medical room discussing kittens with another little girl who had also been in some scrape just before home time. She was handed over to me without question (because apparently we look alike!) and we went off home... but now I always check that Daddy has deposited Top Ender into the school when ever he has taken her and we IM during the day!

Frugal Christmas Food

Food at Christmas is a huge thing, it is all part of the celebration that we feel we need to have nuts and other snacks as well as the traditional Turkey and trimmings and that is just on Christmas day! On top of Christmas Day and New Years Eve there are the snacks at parties, during special seasonal events, when friends or relatives drop round and if you are like Daddy and me in the run up to Christmas too!

One way that I like to try to keep the cost down is by making most of my treats. Over the last few weeks I have been making biscuit and cookie dough and freezing them uncooked either in sausage shapes or in special cut shapes. All I need to do is to defrost the sausage shaped ones in the fridge over night and cut and cook the next day. The cut shapes I just cook from frozen!

I also like to make my own mince pies, you can keep them in the freezer until needed and either defrost them in the oven or microwave as you are about to eat them or again freeze them uncooked. The added benefit of mince pies is that you get a really lovely smell in you home as they cook or you defrost them too!

You don't need to buy everything fresh, despite what people say. Frozen Vegetables, frozen Turkey, frozen puddings are all acceptable if that is what you want. I have used a mix of frozen and fresh vegetables over the last eight years and I have never had a fresh Turkey, but have always brought a frozen one!



The benefit of frozen food for me is that I can buy food in advance of a big event that I know that we will want or will use when I see it reduced or on special offer. I can then put this item into the freezer and everything is fine when I then get it out for the meal and it cost less than I was budgeting for.



Christmas cakes aren't that expensive anymore, you can easily buy a good quality decorated cake (or if you prefer an undecorated cake that you can then decorate yourself). When you take into consideration the cost of the ingredients of making a cake from scratch it does normally work out a lot cheaper... unfortunatley with Daddy being a celiac and me not touching food with alcohol in it buying a Christmas cake suitable for us both is very expensive even with my thrifty searching the cheapest I have found is £15! This is why I am making a Christmas cake using value ingredients. I will also make a second small sponge cake for Top Ender as she isn't one for fruit cake. If your family is the same a sponge cake works out a lot cheaper than a fruit cake and you can still ice it in the same way!

Of course if you don't like Christmas Cake you can always make a mincemeat cake;

Grease and line an 8in round cake tin. Preheat oven to160 C.

Mix together 8oz self raising flour, 12oz sweet mincemeat, 3oz dried fruit mix, 3 eggs, 5oz soft margarine and 5oz soft brown sugar. Beat until well blended. Spoon into tin and sprinkle some brown sugar on top.

Bake for 1hr 15 minutes until well risen and firm to touch. Cool in tin for 5 minutes and then turn out on to rack.

Then you can ice it as you would a Christmas cake or just leave it. It tastes lovely and as you can use up the last of your mincemeat from the Mince pies it is being frugal too!

A shopping list of everything food wise that you need over the Christmas period, will save you a fortune. If you can make a meal plan of the food that you are going to eat you will know what you need to buy, and won't be worried that the shops are closed for a whole 24 hours and you don't have enough food. It also means that you can buy one or two items a week in the run up to Christmas and spread the cost.

I like to make a menu for Christmas Day with several choices for breakfast, starters and puddings. Then a week before Christmas I start to ask what everyone would like from the choices I have given. I can then add the missed choices into my menu plan for the rest of the Christmas Week. It means that I can make things work in my favour even if everyone does want a different breakfast on Christmas Morning!

The other benefit of a menu plan is you can pre-think what you are going to do with your leftovers. You might have bubble and squeak for tea on Christmas Day (or breakfast the next day!), you might have turkey and stuffing sandwiches for lunch on Boxing day or Turkey Curry on the 27th, but what ever you decide you can make sure you use up all that you have brought!



A lot of people I know have a traditional take away on Christmas Eve, we try to have one on New Years Eve. One thing that hardly anyone ever does is to ask for a discount on this, or at any time of the year to be honest! A lot of places offer a discount if you pick up your own meal or if you order over a certain amount of money... be cheeky and ask you'll never know until you ask!

The last thing I want to mention is not to be afraid to go into so called discount stores, or the Value Brands. Aldi, Lidl, Farmfoods, Netto and Poundland are all stores that I have been into buy food from and Tescos, Morrisons, Asda and Sainsburys all have good quality value ranges! Not one of them has ever failed me and this year Good House Keeping guide has done the hard work for you and have come up with a shopping list using value products for a full Christmas meal.



Well that is all that I can think of at the moment so I wish you a frugal Christmas and if you missed my previous frugal posts go take a look at my Christmas Gifts and the idea of being frugal post and whilst you are at it why not take a look at my Frugal Christmas Entertainment post whilst I wish you a frugal Christmas!

Frugal Christmas Entertainment

I don't know about you but when I was younger I always felt a little out of my friends conversations around Christmas time. It seemed to me that my friends parents spent hundreds of pounds more on my friends Christmas entertainment than my parents did on mine, they went to Pantos, to Lapland and other things that must of cost a fortune.

I often felt that my friends were being short changed however, because even though they had the most desirable places to go to I was always given what I wanted or needed I was given my parents time. I will have to ask my Mum, because looking back everything is slightly rose tinted and I know that it wasn't all Sunshine Lollipops and Rainbows, but it certainly felt that way!

We did a lot of things over the Christmas period that cost next to nothing and to me is part of a frugal Christmas. So if you are time rich and money poor, I hope some of my ideas and traditions for Frugal Christmas Entertainment may become yours!

When I was little we use to go for Christmas Drives, hunting down the Rotary Club Santa. It was always printed in the paper, which area he would be in on which night, but my Sister and I didn't know that. As far as we knew we really were hunting for Santa. Top Ender has done this over the last few years and she adores looking for him, catching a glimpse and having to try to find him again. It is a good way to spend some time together, as long as you don't mind spending some petrol money or as long as you can all walk fast!

Starting in the first week of December we go on Christmas light hunts. We know of three or four areas, where the decorations outside the homes in the area are fantastic and so we love to drive around them and hunt for new ones!

Then of course there is our annual trip to see the Christmas Lights in London. We are lucky that we now have a Picasso with a giant sun roof, so that we can just look up and see the beautiful displays. This also works for us in our local town, as I think every town puts up some form of Holiday lighting these days!


For the last three years, Top Ender and I have gone to see the lights being turned on the Christmas tree in our local town square. It is really lovely and we enjoy the countdown before the lights are turned on. Our town council has made an effort to make it more enjoyable, with a small funfair and a light parade first.

Something we love to do is to turn the main lights off in our living room once our decorations are up, and either to just have the Christmas lights on or to light a few candles. Top Ender, Daddy and I have snuggled on the sofa just watching the twinkling lights for ages, Baby Boy tended to fall asleep, but then he was only seven months old!


Watching films is something that Top Ender and I do every week, we have a huge range to chose from and often watch one that I have recorded in the week on one of the kids TV Channels. Doing this with popcorn or some Christmas snacks (and with the lights off and just the Christmas lights on!) will just add the Christmas excitement!

One of my best memories was when Daddy and I were wrapping Christmas gifts listening to Christmas radio on the Internet and we heard a unique song that neither of us had heard before. I recommend that you don't listen to this if there are children around...

Lets just say that Daddy and I enjoyed that Christmas song and the wrapping of the gifts went a lot quicker that year...

Learning Christmas Carols as a family is great. Top Ender got the giggles a few years back when ever we sang "In the Bleak Mid-Winter". It took us ages to find out that she thought the line "Snow had fallen snow on snow" was the funniest thing she had heard! Even now when we sing it she will give us a knowing look at that line!

Christmas stories are plentiful and they might be classics ("Twas the Night before Christmas" anyone?) or new but they always bring a smile to someones face... especially if you are like Daddy and me and still think that Randy the Reindeer is a life choice rather than a name!

And of course you can always use the Great Robinson's website as reviewed by Top Ender here and put on a Panto!

Those are all that I can think of at the moment so I wish you a frugal Christmas and if you missed my post on Frugal Gift Ideas, go take a look here at my Christmas Gifts and the idea of being frugal post or at my Frugal Christmas Food post!

Wordless Wednesday - Spot the Robin Red Breast

I wish I could take credit for this, but this was taken by Top Ender!

Top Ender Does Panto... "Oh yes she does!"

This is a special post by Top Ender, (Oh No it isn't! Mummy stop adding things and Oh Yes it is!) Mummy has typed what I have told her to say, but she has added pictures and stuff. Mummy also wants to talk at the end.



Last week we finished up our bottle of Blackcurrant that we had been given by Nanny B. On the label it said that I could Put on a Panto. I know all about Panto's as Mummy has told me about them as we are going to go and see Cinderella at the Milton Keynes Theatre as part of the Have A Lovely Time series "The Great British Panto, 2009".



So I got Mummy to take me to the website that is here and followed all the steps to get my own panto of Snow White. I thought that as I was going to see Cinderella that I should do another one, and I like Snow White.



I asked Mummy if she would be the Beautiful Evil Queen as I would be Snow White and I was going to phone up Daddy at work and ask if he would be in my panto too, but Mummy pointed out that even with us all playing a part we still wouldn't have enough people and so I would need to ask some more people.



I thought about this for ages and then decided that I would play all the parts using puppets! Mummy is going to help me make the puppets and a special theatre made out of a box, which she said we would paint red and white stripped like a Punch and Judy tent. I decided that if I used the laptop in my tent, I would be able to use the Autocue 5000T to do all the voices, and that way I wouldn't have to worry about not being able to read the script.



I am really excited and Mummy said she will record our Panto so that we can send it to Nanny B at Christmas as it was her bottle of Juice that gave us the idea! I am off to draw my puppets!

Mummy here (Boo Hiss!), Top Ender is really excited about this Panto and so if I can I will edit a small amount to be shown on here in the run up to Christmas... but you might need to wait until Daddy is around as I have no clue how to do it!

The Robinsons Website is great and Top Ender was easily able to navigate it, and understand what she was supposed to do. I would recommend it to anyone (in fact I already have in the School playground) and if you think outside the box like Top Ender it is easy for those who are younger to be involved in the Panto production too!

Its not only Christmas that is Big Business!

Its not only Christmas that is Big Business in this house, but Birthdays too.

You see, my Birthday is the day after my Mum's and so we celebrated them together. It was great fun as I grew up, especially as my sisters birthday is three days after our Dad's and again we would love celebrating both the birthdays together. In fact the first Birthday that Daddy spent with my family was the joint celebration of my Dad and Sisters Birthday (and he didn't nearly get us thrown out of the Chinese Restaurant we were in with his Chinese accented version of Happy Birthday, that is just a rumour...) of which we even have documented proof!



It wasn't intentional that Top Enders Birthday was exactly two weeks before Daddy's, she was due before Christmas but managed to hold on until early in the New Year... and I was kind of forgotten by the Midwife team; But I will admit to some crafty planning with Baby Boy and he ended up being born 13 days after my birthday! I'm not sure what to do if we do go ahead and expand our family, perhaps I should aim for our Anniversary...

With Top Enders birthday being so close to Christmas and New Year, I have to start planning now so that other parents can schedule the party in and so that we can decide which one of our many ideas from our big folder of Birthday ideas we shall go with.

Last year we went with a Princess theme and we wrote special invites in Modern olde English (which we wrapped as a scroll and hand delivered to the other Princesses who were invited) inviting the girls to come in Princess dress. We spent the week before the party preparing the house...

The Royal Throne Room

The Magic Mirror (complete with recorded voice telling each Girl she was the fairest of them all)

Special wall sconces

A Roaring Fire

And of course a red carpet and Battlement leading to the Royal Front Door

We had Princess themed party games such as Snog the Frog, (which was my version of Pin the Tail on the Donkey) Decorating Princess Crowns, Decorating Cupcakes, Colouring in, Royal Pass the Parcel to name a few!

This year we decided to go with a Bag and Bear party theme and are holding Top Ender's party at The Bear Factory (hence the bear in the theme title) and we are going to make special bags for the party favours to go in (and there is the bag mentioned!), but I can't mention much more in case Top Ender's friends or their Mummies are reading as we don't want to spoil the surprise!

Last years surprise was a DVD that the children were given along with Thank you notes when we went back to school. It was a video of the photos that we had taken during the party, the very video that the children were watching as their parents came to pick them up!

Next year we are thinking of having a cinema party in a local hall... or maybe a make over party... or maybe a ball... or maybe a music party... or maybe a cooking party... or maybe...

Christmas Gifts and the idea of being frugal

Christmas means such a lot to me and always has. I think it in a large part has to do with my Mum and her enthusiasm for Christmas. As a child she and her family didn't have a lot of money and as we grew up she tried to make sure that we never went without.

We never went without.

With this in my background it isn't surprising that every Christmas I try to come up with a new and inventive gift for family members that doesn't cost the earth, and over the last eight years I have come up with a large number of ideas...

When I saw that Liz at Violet Posy was hosting a Frugal Christmas Carnival I had to jump in with my ideas, as it isn't always about the money when buying gifts, but using your imagination and making sure that the gift that you choose fits the person and their needs.

So for your pleasure here are some gift ideas that you might like to use. Before we get to them however I am going to have to trust immediate family members that read my blog not to read this post until after Christmas, because your gift this year is mentioned here!

Home made chocolate shapes

This is as easy as can be, last year Top Ender and I brought several cheap bars of chocolate (It was the value stuff from Tesco!) and we melted it in a glass bowl in the microwave before pouring it into shaped ice cube trays that we had previously brought from Ikea. After they had set we popped them out of the trays and put them into cellophane bags (we had been given them the previous Easter, but not used them) we added two lollies from a multibag from the £1 shop and then tied them up with gold or green ribbon.

Each one of Top Enders friends that got a bag was delighted and so was I as it cost next to nothing!

Home made crayons

Top Ender has hundreds of bits of crayons. Every so often I steal them off her and put them into my tin. Once I have a good amount of bits, I melt them in the microwave (in a glass jug) and pour them into the shaped ice cube trays. Again I let them set, and once they are done I pop them out, voila new multi-coloured crayons!

Top Enders friends are getting these for Christmas this year, along with personalised notepads.

Personalised Notepads

Take a plain notepad, decorate and personalise.... genius!

Cake in a mug

Put into a ziplock bag;

4 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 tablespoon choc chips

Then put it in a mug and wrap in cellophane and on a label add the follow information;

Add 1 egg, 3 tablespoons milk, 3 tablespoons butter or oil and mix well. Once mixed put in the microwave for 3 minutes. Wait for two minutes after cooking before eating!

No sew Fleece Blanket

The amount of fabric you need depends upon the size you want to make. A rough guide is as follows Baby size 1 to 1 1/2 yards, Child 1 3/4 yards, Adult 2 yards. You can choose two different fleece patterns or colours and make them compliment each other or contrast, but both will need to be the same size that you have chosen!

Place them on top of each other with the good sides facing out and I then like to cut round the edges to trim the straight and to get rid of the selvage. I then cut a 4"x4" square out of each corner on both layers and then I cut a fringe round the outside. You need to cut 4" in every 1", you need to keep them uniform in size so I tend to use either my fingers or a piece of the fleece I have already cut as a marker.

Once this is done you need to tie a fringe from each piece in a knot. I like to double knot them and to tie every other one and then to turn the blanket over once I have gone once round to tie the others as it makes it more even and secure.

And that's it!

Knitted items

Can you knit? Then knit a square blanket, or a scarf or anything that your skills will allow. I made Baby Boy a scarf last year when I couldn't find one that was the right size for him, all from following instructions found on the web.

Home Made Costumes

A couple of years back red cotton was on offer in a fabric shop, and so I brought a meter. It cost a couple of pounds and I turned it in to Little Red Riding Hood's cape and hood. Top Ender was thrilled with her costume and it is still in the costume box!



Hand Sewn Items

I wasn't very handy with a needle and thread when I saw this castle material in John Lewis. It was an off cut and therefore didn't cost much! I turned it into an Apron during my lunch hour, sitting at my desk the week before Christmas.

Top Ender has grown out of it now and I am turning it into some clothes for her dolls, but this Christmas both she and Baby Boy are getting new apron's from material that I brought from the Fabric Shop. The cost was £4 for the two pieces!

Secret Hollow Book

This is one of Daddy's gifts this year, and there are hundreds on instructions out there. The best I have found are here and I think it makes a great gift! You can even hide things in it when you give it and wait to see a disappointed face when all they get is an old book, not knowing hidden inside is something great!

Letter writing set

Buy stamps, envelopes, paper, a nice pen and an address book. I also like to include plain postcards and some little notelet cards. Of course I always include a hand written letter from me too!

Photo album

When Big Cousin turned one, we gave Auntie a photo album with all the pictures that had been taken of Big Cousin since she was born. We had a copy of all of the images Auntie had taken as a back up and Daddy thought it would make a great gift. Daddy was right as Auntie loved the gift. We have been asked to do it again by Granny for her as a Christmas gift, but for all four children.

Framed Photo

One of the funniest gifts we have ever given was one that wasn't known about. At Easter Auntie and her family came with us and Granny to the Gardens of Woburn Abbey for a walk round. When Daddy and I left with Top Ender and Baby Boy we had a plan to get a photo that had been taken that day printed, put into a frame and snuck into Grannys house. We did this, all within an hour of the photo having been taken. It took Granny eight hours to spot the new photo....

If you have a photo that is special make a copy and give it in a frame to someone. It always makes me smile to see photos I have taken on display at someone else's home.

The Card Box

This I always think of as a good gift for older people, but it can work for anyone. Simply buy a selection of greeting cards for various occasions, multiple times (I did it for my Gran and I counted out how many Birthday cards she would need for all her Children, her Grandchildren and her Great Grandchildren as well as a few for friends, but I also added Thank you cards, anniversary cards and plain cards). This gift can cost as much as you want as there are shops that sell Greeting cards from 29p these days and a lot of them are really nice, but it does sometimes take a little effort to find the good ones for this price!

Hampers

This is my signature gift. I don't think there is anyone in our extended family that hasn't had a hamper from me at Christmas or on a birthday. I like to theme them.

The Breakfast in Bed Hamper. A bedding set on a tray, along with Jam, Croissants, Coffee, Tea, Hot Chocolate, a variety pack of Cereal, some Bucks Fizz and some Orange Juice. Then of course there are the finishing touches a DVD of either Breakfast at Tiffanys or The Breakfast Club, some napkins etc.

The Art Hamper. Some Paintbrushes, some paint, some sketch pads, a smock, a couple of canvasses and anything else that you find cheap! I found some cheap art pad covers in WHSmiths that did great!

The Italian meal. Sun Dried Tomatos, Pasta, Pesto, mozzarella cheese, Italian wine, cans of Cappuccino, Italian Biscuits... you get the idea! Although my Brother in law does still sometimes mention the year we got him cheese for Christmas...

The bath Hamper. Bubble Bath, a Bath pillow, shower gel, soap, shampoo, candles, a good book and a bottle of something to drink. This can be presented in a bath sheet and given with a hand towel and a flannel.

The Adult Basket. This was a great gift given to a friend and her husband. Novelty under ware, wine, massage oil, chocolate, grapes and strawberries and I think there was also a Karma Sutra book. I know there was a mix CD featuring Barry White!

The Chocolate Hamper. Chocolate, Chocolate and more Chocolate! Oh and Drinking Chocolate!

The luxury Hamper. Think of all the things that your intended person likes but doesn't buy often as they are expensive. Now buy those. I did this for my Gran and gave her biscuits, cans of drink, soup, crisps, chocolate, sweets and magazines.

No Budget

Kids art work

Top Ender and Baby Boy have loads of drawings that we like to give as gifts. It costs nothing, and always means something to the person to get a drawing just for them.



Coupons

Home made coupons, for a dinner at home, a cake, a massage, doing the dishes or what ever you can think of always go down well here!

Preserves

Home made preserves using up your home grown fruit and veg show your talents and cost you nothing!

Cakes

My Gran use to love cake, but a whole cake would go hard before she could eat it. I would make her a cake every month (her choice of flavour) and cut it in to individual slices before wrapping them and putting them in her freezer. Then she could have a slice of cake when ever she wanted!

Mix Tape (well CD these days!)

Create a mix tape of songs that mean something to the person. Daddy has made a few for me in the past and they always bring back special memories when ever I listen to them.

And those are all that I can think of at the moment but why not take a look at my Frugal Christmas entertainment ideas and my Frugal Christmas Food whilst I wish you a frugal Christmas!

Daddy Giggles - I knew it when I married him!

Daddy and I have been encouraging Top Ender to drink water through out the day, as we told her that being hydrated would help her get better. We have been adding very weak squash to the water in order to get her to drink it, at more than a rate of a bottle every 24 hours

Daddy went into the kitchen to fill up Top Enders Bottle and I could hear him pushing the freezer stick into the bottle.

"Daddy? The freezer stick is supposed to stay in the cap" I called
"But then the lid doesn't come off!" he called back
"You have to unscrew the top lid" I called back again
"That hole is too small for pouring things in!" he answered
"Then you unscrew the second lid" I called back

I could hear the top lid being unscrewed, followed by the second lid and a gentle giggle from Daddy:

"I wondered how you were supposed to get the stick out to put it in the freezer!" he giggled

Top Ender has only had the bottle for nine months!