Tearing my hair out over housekeeping

garret1

Poppy9 wrote:

Great buy in Tesco which you could use instead of party bags are plastic skipping ropes that attach to the hose pipe. As you skip it sprays water on you!!! Only 21p each. I bought a load as prizes for school fete. I also bought in Tesco Orange/Pink frissbees which were BOGOF at 47p. If you gave these as a gift at the end of the party with a piece of cake you wouldn't need to buy bags or give some sweets.

Wow! will definitely get those! thanks for helping

B.

patchwork_cat

Sweets go down well in party bags, as do Tesco value felt tips ( won't fit in the bag though!).
The 9 yo boy would probably want money , but not very money saving as there is no bargains to be had!
The 16 yo girl Claire's Accessories surprise bags.You could subscribe to a magazine and some of the gifts are great. Magazine thread is on shop but don't drop.

garret1

Just wanted to say thanks again to everyone who helped me out with advice on budgeting. Have had a really good day and have thouroughly distracted myself by trying to help people on other threads. Don't feel quite so useless anymore.:D

Pink.

garret, you aren't useless! I'm glad you've had a better day.

P xx

garret1

Thanks Pink

As my old dad would say "it's character building"

B xx

Pink.

garret1 wrote:

Thanks Pink

As my old dad would say "it's character building"

B xx

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

That's just the sort of thing my Dad would say too.

Edinburghlass_2

Your "old Dad" sounds a wise person garret1

I like Poppy's idea for party bags of the toys from Tesco and I would check there if they have bubble thingies as I always found they went down really well with kids of all ages and along with a few sweets and a bit of cake is all that is needed.

Queenie

garret1 wrote:

Thanks for the advice. Have just got to grips with ditital camera so am trying to thinks of gifts for the teachers using pics of the kids!

As for the other prezzies I need to buy for a 9 yr old boy, 16 yr old girl, 65 yr old mum in law. Have done my dad and the kids are sorted. i have twinsand while their present is cheap and cheerful (pet fish) they want a mermaid party. Have done my own invites and we are going to decorate plain paper plates. Am stuck for gift bag ideas as lately parents really seem to go to town on this. Any ideas?

Use your computer for party bag 'gifts'! When my boys had parties with hordes of nursery/school mates, I printed off 'placemats' basically, A4 lamenated paper! Easily 'designed' and themed with a straightforward word processing program (pix from google search - type in Mermaid or Fish!) On the reverse side, I printed off some O's & X's, puzzles and got a small pack of crayons from the £ shop.
Matching place name tags, and a 'certificate' for "Great Party Guest" - even did some name tag badges for all of them - hey, how else was I supposed to know who they were Went down a storm because not only did it co-ordinate the party table.

MIL - might appreciate a Journal Jar. And it can be adapted for the 16yo too.

Take a peek at Crafty Sayings as there are loads of ideas for craft gift (and gag gifts!) which you can utilise your computer for.

Budgeting - easiest way is to write down your daily spendings (keep a small notebook with you).
Sandwiches and fillings can be a real pain! So, instead, when making pasta make a little extra and use the extra to make a pasta salad for the lunchboxes instead of sandwiches. Tuna pasta salad is cheap and cheerful and I often do that for lunch for the next day. Same with rice. Both are a good way of making a little go a long way.

You're going to amaze yourself at just how much you are able to achieve simply by making small changes. Just remember to take baby steps and don't try and take on too many changes at once or it can become overwhelming.


You already have some great skills that will stand you in good stead.

~ Have just got to grips with ditital camera :T (new skill! )
~ I'm going to concentrate on giving the kids a great time at the party instead. :T (great attitude!)
~ the biggest thing I need to do is take control and have decided on my weekly amount of cash. :T (knowing that, accepting that, it's the biggest single thing you can do)
~ have made up a meal plan for next week and am currently living off meagre storecupboard :T
~ freeze wherever possible as I always make too much. :T
~ Am also growing my own salad veg :T

*I* think you're doing GREAT!! :T :T

garret1

Thanks Queenie. All this encouragement really helps. Was thinking of some ideas for the party last night and have decided on sweets as prizes. Local Farmfoods do Mao Mix (Haribo) dirt cheap and a little goes a long way. Instead of party bags I have a friend with a shop which can blow up balloons with helium for free so I will give each child one of those tied to some bubble mix (from cash and carry)
Have to make 2 cakes but am doing a really basic sponge with value ingredients, just the icing that will cost but should keep the cost of both down.

Thanks for the prezzie ideas. will check out those links now.:D

Kazonline

Now look what you've started Garret .... A really fantastic thread! You've done so well, you should be really really proud of yourself.
Huge hugs,
Kaz x