Kid’s Birthday Presents: Top Budget Ideas

It’s easy to get a little carried away when it comes to buying presents for kids, particularly when you’re their parents! It’s bad enough when it’s somebody else’s child that you’re buying for, let alone when it’s your own flesh and blood that you’d love nothing more than to spoil rotten. However, our finances don’t always mean we can do that and, when we have a budget to stick to, we have to be that little bit more careful about where our money is going. From boy’s pyjamas to hair clips and slides, here are some budget ideas for when you’d like your money to go as far as possible.

Books

Can kids ever have too many books? The answer is…no! Books are a great way to encourage reading at home – whether it’s reading by themselves, or sitting with you for a bedtime story. You can enjoy all manner of books for a few pounds, from authors including Julia Donaldson, Jacqueline Wilson and the like. Take a look at the book charts and pick a book or two that is suitable for the child’s age.

DVDs

Children’s DVDs are cheap as chips these days, and the variety on offer is out of this world. Help the child in question to build their film collection with one of the latest releases, such as Frozen, Turbo or the latest in the Tinkerbell franchise, The Pirate Fairy.

Pyjamas

Every kid needs a few sets of cool pyjamas, no matter what season we are in. George’s boys pyjamas are a great example of affordable, but funky, sleepwear and the girl’s range is fabulous too! Choose your child’s favourite character PJs, such as Skylanders, TMNT or Adventuretime, and who wouldn’t fall in love with Tatty Teddy, Doc McStuffins or timeless fave, Hello Kitty.

Arts & Crafts

Any parent of school-age children will know that the latest craze to hit the schoolyard is Loom Bands, and what better way to fuel this addiction than with a couple of sets of them? Perfect for any girl, or boy, who loves to loom, you can choose from a range of coloured sets, as well as glow in the dark, scented and glitter bands.

Alternatively, arts and crafts including paint sets, ceramics, kits and even flower presses are great ways to peel the kids away from computer games and into something that is engaging, fun and creative.

Jewellery & Hair Accessories

Beads, jewellery and hair accessories are great ways to bulk out a birthday present without spending a fortune. Headbands, bobbles, bows, slides, bracelets, necklaces – great gift ideas, the kids will be chuffed with any of these and they cost next to nothing!

Sticker Books

Sticker and activity books provide a perfect present idea for kids, and they don’t cost a lot either. From Marvel inspired to princess handbags, sticker and activity books help to keep them busy on rainy days while also encouraging them to use their knowledge to solve puzzles.

Here are a few ideas to help inspire you – if you’re still not sure what you wish to buy the birthday girl or boy, head to the high street or your local ASDA to see what great value goodies are available for you to splash your cash on.

This is a sponsored post

Take the Family to York

For a family getaway that ticks all the boxes for fun, entertainment, outdoor space and history, you can’t beat York. With great road and rail links, York is a fuss free destination to get to with kids in tow. City centre accommodation for more than two people can be pricey so why not book a family room in a Travelodge in York for a comfortable night’s sleep that’ll leave you with enough money left over to enjoy all the treats this fantastic city has to offer?

York Maze

Open for the summer holidays from July 12th, this maze, aptly made from maize, is the largest of its kind in the UK, providing ample opportunity for you all to get pleasantly lost together. Wear your comfiest shoes and if it’s hot make sure you pack sun cream and drinks. If you have any really little ones in tow ensure you have a firm grip of their hand so they don’t run off and get themselves well and truly lost! The viewing towers dotted around are well worth a climb to see fantastic views of the maze from within. When you finally find your way out, the fun’s not over – there are lots of rides to tempt your children while you sit down for a well-earned rest.

National Railway Museum

Most kids are fascinated by trains, and adults certainly don’t have to be train spotter types to enjoy this fantastic museum dedicated to the UK railway’s 300-year history. Your children can experience what it was like to travel on an old-fashioned steam train in the bone-shaking simulator in the Great Hall. If your kids are aged between 6 and 11, pick up a Kids’ Handbook to make the most of the experience. Also, watch out for special family events taking place throughout the summer holidays.

Jorvik Viking Centre

This world famous attraction is an absolute must-visit when you’re in York as a family. When it comes to figures from the past, the grizzly, bloodthirsty, helmet-clad Vikings seem to capture children’s imaginations like no other tribe and Jorvik Viking Centre is where they’re vividly brought back to life for young and old to experience. Now celebrating its 30th anniversary and the fact that it’s welcomed over 17 million visitors through its doors, Jorvik has added a new interactive dimension to its exhibits, making it even more interesting for kids. What makes Jorvik so special is the fact that it’s all on the excavation site of Viking York, so rather than seeing the artefacts in a museum setting, you actually get to experience Viking life where it was lived and breathed all those years ago.

Of course, you won’t be educating yourselves all the time, so when you want to take a breather and they want to run around, head to the lovely Rowntree Park in the city centre to enjoy the tranquil scenery and recharge your batteries. After a family trip to York, you’ll all return home refreshed, relaxed and a little bit brainier!

Commissioned post.

Eco-gaming: five environment-focused videogames

In any form of entertainment, having a preachy rhetoric can destroy the fun as swiftly as Nineties consoles destroyed the sustainability of the gaming sector, but five games have managed to put the message across without a hint of sermonising. All over the world, gamers are uniting against eco-baddies through their game environments – and having fun while they do. If Ovo Energy was a games developer, these are the kind of video games it would produce. Okabu – Teaser Trailer

Okabu There are gamers and there are game players. Okabu was developed for game players – families and children who are happy to while away an hour on gameplay but not to camp out beside their consoles for an entire, sleepless holiday. Its developers were inspired by a documentary about Botswana’s Okavango Delta, and have crafted a colourful world of eco-loving cloudwhales who must solve puzzles in order to destroy the toxic waste-producing rival Doza clan.

Flower If games had human subcultures, Flower would be a hippy poet, dragging its fingers through the daisies while telling esoteric tales of wonder. The game takes you into the dreams of a blossom, letting you hover on top of a breeze composing musical notes with passing petals. Like a lucid dreamer, you have the power to influence what you see by gathering petals and coaxing them along the wind and, as you do, the game coaxes you into multisensory euphoria. In short, Sony’s Flower is akin to a haiku with the implicit epiphany that man and nature can coexist. Groovy, man.

Oddworld: Abe’s Odyssee, Eco-Fighters Abe was a klutzy green underdog who worked at a pollution-belching corporation at the height of the Nineties gaming boom. Unlike most games of the time, the Oddworld franchise was forward-thinking enough to retain its relevance years into the future. Even today, gamers are venturing into the odd world of Oddworld. Abe ventures out of his comfort zone as a janitor to rescue his fellow Mudokons, escape his boss’s species-killing habits, and become one with Mother Nature. Through puzzles, storytelling, and sneaking, Eco-Fighters lets gamers wreak havoc on corporate polluters–and have a laugh while they do.

Energy City Energy City is a world simulation game that delves deep beneath the surface of its message, forcing its players to think consciously about the world around them. Players are tipped off about sophisticated elements of the eco-wars from a scientific, evidence-based angle. If that doesn’t sound like fun to you, you’ve probably never played Sim City. This is a genre that thrives on complexity and authenticity, especially when the citizens of your city are as easily satisfied as Gordon Ramsay. Energy City crowns you mayor and gives you freedom to power your city with as much budget-friendly coal as you wish (at a price). To earn your citizens’ cooperation, you must lay out bike paths, consider clean energy alternatives, and develop biofuel power plants that sustain your city 20 years into the future, even when immediate consequences aren’t apparent.

Fate of the World T.S. Elliott may have said that the world would end ‘not with a bang but a whisper’, but Fate of the World disagrees. The global simulator plunges you into the midst of a global crisis that is far from silent: tsunamis, fires, flooded continents, and civil war have all been clamped together into a single, epic present, and you’re tasked with redemption. The game, developed according to scientific research of an Oxford professor, has won acclaim as a courageous, award winning foray into serious, yet world-class, entertainment.

Commissioned by Ovo Energy – the cheaper, greener and simpler energy supplier

There is nothing as wonderful as having a lunch without the kids... that sounds very tragic, but honestly, being invited out to lunch when the boys are at school is rarely sniffed at, so I was delighted to be able to check out the newly revamped Crown and Anchor in Chiswick.

I spent many years working in Chiswick #BC (before children) and we struggled to find anywhere GOOD to go for lunch and I so wish the Crown and Anchor had been this beautiful back then! With an excellent decor and delightful staff, the choice on the menu is also fabulous… I went for a welsh rarebit, and the gnocci – mmm mmmmm.

And I know my boys would love hanging out there on a Sunday afternoon, it’s so cosy, and the kids’ menu is basically selected dishes at half price.

If you are looking for a good pub in West London that’s close to Turnham Green do try the Crown and Anchor. It’s close to Duke Meadows, Grove Park Farm House and the historical home of artist William Hogarth, making them ideal for a spot of lunch or dinner whilst out seeing the sights in Chiswick.

There is a Pub quiz on Tuesdays, 8pm and a Private function room available for hire too. With lots of cosy spaces it’s great for special occasions, and has a fab log burner too!

I look forward to returning there the next time I am in Chiswick, W4 and may pop in for a coffee next time I am passing!

Follow them on facebook.com/crownandanchorw4

http://www.crownandanchorchiswick.co.uk

How to Effectively Monitor Your Children’s Screen Time

Natalie writes: We live in a digital world; from computers to tablets to telephones and televisions, we are face to face with screens more than ever before. For many adults, screens are a relatively new part of life but many children in today’s world have never known life without them.

Kids today not only love technology, they have a remarkably intuitive understanding of how it works. Whether it’s a computer game, playing with their friends on the internet or manoeuvring a new gaming console, children possess the unique ability to understand the language of technology in a way that many parents struggle to keep up with.

With technologies and apps designed specifically for preschool aged children and sometimes even younger, the idea of ‘screen time’ becomes an important consideration for modern parents. This in mind, here are some great tips for parents looking to create structured screen time schedules for kids and positive relationships with technology for the whole family.

Make Sure Everything is Age Appropriate

The internet is vast and contains all types of information. A lot of it is not appropriate for young children (article in The Guardian). When setting up internet or television accounts, take advantage of the parental control settings and use passwords or timers to ensure your kids aren’t seeing anything they’re not old enough to understand. With younger children, try to make time spent with technology productive and educational, establishing good habits from a young age will pay off in the long run.

Participate

Whenever possible, try to get involved with your children’s relationship with technology. Watch what they watch, learn to play some of their favourite games and find programming that entertains you both. Making an effort to understand what your children spend their time doing, watching or playing on various screens will open up a dialogue and enable you to relate to them in new and important ways. Set weekly dates to watch a show the whole family likes or find games that you can play together, even if it’s just for a half an hour a week.

Set Limits Early

Establishing boundaries and time limits as they relate to screen time are most effective when they’re implemented from an early age. This enables parents and children to develop positive habits as they relate to technology and to understand that there are plenty of other ways to spend time beyond starting at a screen all day. Make sure as a parent you’re flexible with your rules and maybe consider adding screen time as a reward for good behaviour or to mark a special occasion. Above all be sure to regularly reevaluate your rules as your children grow and develop.

As school work has also gone the way of technology and many kids now require computers to complete assignments, this presents an interesting dilemma for parents as it requires a more diligent approach to technological monitoring. However, so long as you have rules in place and balance their screen time with physical exercise and family time, there’s no reason your kids can’t have a healthy relationship with computers.

Natalie Bailey lives with her family in Manchester and works part-time as an online journalist, specialising in parenting advice and practical tips for other families.

Image by Orin Zebest, used under Creative Comms license.

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching and that means it’s time once again to start seeking out a gift for that special someone. But beyond that, this holiday is an opportunity to give gifts to close family members, though the real trick is in finding a unique, romantic gesture for a significant other. Of course, there are a number of traditional options: an intimate date night, a bouquet of roses, a nice card with some decadent chocolates, and so on.

These are all standard ideas with which you can’t go wrong.

But if you’d like to do something a little bit more unique for Valentine’s Day in 2014, here’s another idea to consider: go the route of Fairtrade products or homemade crafts? Not only are these options more socially and environmentally efficient, they’re also very on trend and often one-of-a-kind gifts. If this idea appeals to you, here are five fair-trade and craft gift ideas for the coming Valentine’s Day. 1. Romantic Homemade Soaps Bath products and soaps are popular “gifts for her” on Valentine’s Day. And for 2014, Red Ted Art provides us with a recipe for how to make these gifts at home! Homemade, heart-shaped soaps are irresistibly cute gifts that show some real effort on your part and that will certainly be put to good use. Plus, you can get a bit creative within the recipe to infuse special scents and colours. 2. Fair-Trade Teas & Chocolates These are fairly standard gifts for Valentine’s Day, but many people have a tendency to opt for high-end, expensive brands simply for the occasion. However, if you’d prefer to go with a niche option, or a brand that upholds Fairtrade practices, there are plenty of teas, chocolates, and coffees that can suit your needs. For example, Divine Chocolate is one brand that practices fair-trade efforts. 3. Fair Trade Flowers The easiest option is always to stop by the nearest supermarket for a bouquet of Valentine’s-themed flowers, but fair-trade options are out there for you to use, too. The Marks and Spencer “Plan A,” for instance, dictates that the store practices fair-trade and environmentally conscious policies for natural products. And as a result, there are various bouquets and arrangements of fair-trade flowers available for the holiday. These can be lovely options as they’re traditional but of the highest quality. 4. Homemade Fortune Cookies This is an idea from Martha Stewart that’s very romantic. The idea is to construct homemade fortune cookies out of soft, red and pink felt while the messages within can be whatever you please! It’s simple, but if you’re looking for a fun new way to wrap up a personal massage coupon, it’s worth considering! 5. Homemade Votives Candles can be very romantic for a couple, whether used over dinner, during a massage, etc., so why not make a few artfully crafted homemade votives? Real Simple has some nice and easy tips for this simple, though deeply romantic and thoughtful, gift idea.

This is a guest post, I’m also over on aGreenerLifeforus.com for further ethical, Fairtrade stories….