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Mr and Mrs K's New Journey to a Debt Free Life.
Comments
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Ooooh toys talk.
Confession time, my parents owned a toy shop and we lived in the double flat above. I was a Saturday Girl from 11 and my main job was to demo all the new games so that kids would want to join in and play with me. I'm a dab hand at Hungry Hippos :j
A basic wooden garage with a ramp and petrol pump is fab. Some even have a little winch so you can wind the handle and the car goes from the ground to the top and can then run down the ramp. One of the big benefits of wooden (or plastic and use stickers) is to personalise the garage name. So Mini-K's or the local town whatever you fancy. You can get buckes (literally) of toy cars in charity shops which he can trash and crash outside in the mud and grass and keep your nice ones for indoors.
One thing we once did for small boy was to get a giant box (think it was the one the fridge / freezer came in) and cat it fit the entire door frame and then cut out a door sized door to match the real door (does this make any sense??). The whole thing was then painted in blue paint and black marker penned to make the entrance to the Tardis, so every time he went into his room he went into the Tardis. Maybe an explorer themed door, with jungle fronds and monkeys and big smiley snakes would work? Cheap as chips and if he's anything like mine it'll stay there til it falls down months later.
The fun is challenging yourself to see how much fun themed stuff you can get for a fixed cost. And because it's cheap and cheerful no one gets upset if bits are lost or trashed or left out in the jungle overnight.:A Let us be grateful to people who make us happy: they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. Marcel Proust :A0 -
My son loved (and still does) torches - an essential for an explorers kit!!!0
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My dad made DS a garage with ramp, winch, petrol pumps, stickers etc.[STRIKE] I[/STRIKE] he loved it :T.A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort
Mortgage Balance = £0
"Do what others won't early in life so you can do what others can't later in life"0 -
Well don't be too hard on yourself for being demotivated while feeling ill - its understandable.
Regarding your son - you don't have to compete with grandparents.
Often the most fun presents are the cheap ones - like water pistols or glow in the dark balls that you throw around with the lights off - great fun. also you know what he likes - like a pile more Lego or lots of paints and glue. Some of the expensive stuff we got - like big Power Ranger figures years ago - did not have much play value as if you just bought jigsaws.
Never a truer word said!! also dont forget your the ones that buy the clothes, toys, etc throughout the year, so you dont need to worry if grandparents present may overshadow yours - xxxx rip dad... we had our ups and downs but we’re always be family xx0 -
The old Fisher Price garage was the best - with the turn handle lift - gosh I can still remember the noise it kept making!Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day. -- Sally Koch0
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cottage_retreatist wrote: »I hope Mrs K is only going to be 'looking' at the car and no more!!!!
:D:D:D
You know as well as most of us with your knowledge of cars that it's never just the cost of buying them and your priority and hers is to get debt free and sell sell sell not buy! :money:
PS - love the idea of an explorers kit - you could even do explorer-themed party food! You should go on Pinterest - they'd have some great ideas.
PPS - may be a bit late in the year now but I saw a great idea for young kids to freeze toys in a giant block of ice + give the kids some toy tools and let them spend hours hacking at the block of ice to get the toys out!!!! Maybe something to put away for next summer now even though it's unseasonably mild! But completely free!!!
PPPS - keep up the good work. We all get that feeling of giving up after a couple of months but don't let the slump get you down - mine caused me to chop all the cards up in a crazy rage! Best thing I ever did!!!!!!!!
If the car is right, Mrs. K. will buy it. However, IF it's right and that's a big if, it's worth about £1000 more than the current owner is asking.
Very much like the idea of an explorers party. We'll look into that idea.
Could have a go at the ice idea next year as it's starting to get rather cold here now.
Thank you. We are really trying our best even though this week and last was not so good on the debt busting front. Well the selling hasn't been bad but our buying is beginning to get a little out of control again and I've not kept as good spending records.Granariesgirl wrote: »Aaahhh the Fisher Price garage - a timeless classic. How I LOVED mine!And I wanted my little brothers garage ...
I remember those too. 2018 totals:
Savings £11,200
Mortgage Overpayments £5,5000 -
Ooooh toys talk.
Confession time, my parents owned a toy shop and we lived in the double flat above. I was a Saturday Girl from 11 and my main job was to demo all the new games so that kids would want to join in and play with me. I'm a dab hand at Hungry Hippos :j
A basic wooden garage with a ramp and petrol pump is fab. Some even have a little winch so you can wind the handle and the car goes from the ground to the top and can then run down the ramp. One of the big benefits of wooden (or plastic and use stickers) is to personalise the garage name. So Mini-K's or the local town whatever you fancy. You can get buckes (literally) of toy cars in charity shops which he can trash and crash outside in the mud and grass and keep your nice ones for indoors.
One thing we once did for small boy was to get a giant box (think it was the one the fridge / freezer came in) and cat it fit the entire door frame and then cut out a door sized door to match the real door (does this make any sense??). The whole thing was then painted in blue paint and black marker penned to make the entrance to the Tardis, so every time he went into his room he went into the Tardis. Maybe an explorer themed door, with jungle fronds and monkeys and big smiley snakes would work? Cheap as chips and if he's anything like mine it'll stay there til it falls down months later.
The fun is challenging yourself to see how much fun themed stuff you can get for a fixed cost. And because it's cheap and cheerful no one gets upset if bits are lost or trashed or left out in the jungle overnight.
Kissjenn: What an inspirational post! And, wow, I wish I'd grew up with parents who owned a toy shop, every kid's dream that, surely?
I rather like making things as I may have said on here before and so does Mrs. K. so we shall come up with some ideas.My son loved (and still does) torches - an essential for an explorers kit!!!
Was already on the list but thank you.My dad made DS a garage with ramp, winch, petrol pumps, stickers etc.[STRIKE] I[/STRIKE] he loved it :T. You lot are giving me so much inspiration I may not have time to work again for all the toys I could make for our son. 
2018 totals:
Savings £11,200
Mortgage Overpayments £5,5000 -
Why don't you try and turn a negative into a positive and look at it this way......if your parents are spending a lot on little one for his birthday it means that you don't have to!!
What I would say is that children will get lots of presents when they're little, but it's the experiences they remember. We have three kids, 10, 8 and 5 and the deal in our house is 'party or present'. In other words, their party is their present from us!! Last year my eldest thought long and hard about what to have as he was saving up for something, but the party won out. They will always look back and remember the fun times they had with their friends, but they may not remember what present they had. I'm sure whatever you decide your young man will have a fab day x0 -
Never a truer word said!! also dont forget your the ones that buy the clothes, toys, etc throughout the year, so you dont need to worry if grandparents present may overshadow yours - xx
Thank you.
I do wonder if Mrs. K. and I are "good enough" parents at times. There has been times I've been completely paranoid that we'd have our son taken away from us for being bad parents.The old Fisher Price garage was the best - with the turn handle lift - gosh I can still remember the noise it kept making!
:rotfl: Oh, the memories! 2018 totals:
Savings £11,200
Mortgage Overpayments £5,5000 -
Yes my sister often gives grandchildren a small gift as she says they get so much there's no point in just buying for the sake of it - she takes them out and spends tome with them - which is worth more than a plastic toy - and they don't even notice.Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day. -- Sally Koch0
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