Year of Fun 2016

Former_MSE_Andrea

This is my year!

I made a resolution in January that the whole year will be a positive one with as little negativity as possible. I know it's easier said than done, especially when friends and family are unwell, things go wrong etc but I'm determined it's going to be the best, fabbest year so far (I'm 42 so I think you could probably call this the start of a mid-life crisis!)

I've called it Year of Fun 2016 and I'm encouraging as many friends and family to get involved as possible.

It can involve spending money or not spending money, it doesn't matter. I'm just going to have as much fun as possible throughout the year doing "different" and "new" things to give myself a change of scenery, whether it's with friends and family, colleagues or simply on my own.

I'm in such a happy and positive mood that even my 9 year old falling backwards onto the dishwasher door last night and probably busting the whole dishwasher hasn't put a dampener on it! (She's fine, just a little shocked!)

I started the year as I meant to go on, going out to see a band and disco with friends on New Years' Eve (the first time I've been out at New Year in many, many years), a twilight spa with some lovely friends on New Years' Day, several meet-ups with other parents at soft play (great for the kids and for us to have some adult time), signed up for a 5k Race for Life in June (I weigh over 11 stone - it was probably best to aim low with my first one) and I'm finally going to realise a teenage dream... I'm seeing A-ha at the o2 in March... a dream I thought I'd grown out of but clearly not!.

Last year I took the girls apple picking with MSE Rhiannon in exchange for a free bacon butty and apple juice/cider - it was great fun, helped the orchard get their apples picked, got the kids out in the fresh air and taught them we're all here to help each other - I'm hoping we can do it again this year and lots more stuff like it.

I hadn't planned to post about it on the Forum but I thought, actually, this could be something other parents could really enjoy joining in with so why not?

Things can get difficult, and as a MoneySaving website we're all very much aware that no-one is in the very same position as anyone else, but if we can support each other to stay positive and happy as much as possible by posting the fun stuff we're doing we can keep ourselves motivated!

If your kids are at home for half term and you're looking for inspiration our 100+ tips for cheap school holiday family fun has been fully updated for the holiday so have a look and see if any of those take your fancy.

Meanwhile, I'm off to my village pantomime on Saturday afternoon and haven't used my free Cineworld annual pass for a little while so may head off to the cinema this weekend

So who's with me?

PS I've blatantly borrowed the lovely picture at the top from Rhiannon's Kids guide - it's such a beautiful picture and will keep me relaxed, happy and inspired.

Former_MSE_Andrea

I've been hooked on Sushi Go Round since I updated the Freebies guide. It's a great time waster

Serendipitious

Well I'm with you! :j

I think it's brilliant and wish you well.

More later, but for now I just want to say I feel better already for reading your post. :j

Former_MSE_Andrea

Woohoo!

Well this has been worth it already then. Thank you for letting me know that...

Me doing what I probably should be doing every day > :j

System

I always try encourage fun, even on here

On Saturday before the rugby i made some Welsh dragon cookies with the kids. They looked great before they went in the oven but for some reason during cooking something went wrong and they lost their dragon shape and just looked like blobs

We still decorated them. They tasted great and we named them blobby biscuits as i had to make it look like what happened was intentional :rotfl: it was good fun though, minus the mess!

Former_MSE_Andrea

Perfect... something could have been sad you turned into a positive, I love it

When my eldest was younger she got upset when her "special stick" she'd been playing with for days broke in half. I told her "wow, now you have two sticks" and she cheered up no end

bugslet

Serendipitious wrote: »

More later, but for now I just want to say I feel better already for reading your post. :j

Yes, great to read something positive for a change.

I had a few bad years a while back and have learned to appreciate not having anything much going on at the moment.

Little things that I've planned include several trips to our excellent local theatre to see plays, opera, ballet, various speakers, also seeing James+ Jack Savoretti in Manchester and Bryan Adams in Liverpool.

Last year I was part of the £2.00 savers club, saving over £300.00 in the year and am going to go gliding when the weather is better!:)

lazer

I'm in too

Gigervamp

Sounds like a good plan.

I've got a little windfall coming to me and as I have terminal cancer, I've decided to use it on doing nice/fun stuff with my husband while we still can.

So, I've booked two, week long holidays in Dorset, one in May and the other in September, which also coincides with my birthday. Really looking forward to those.

Might have a few weekends away too.

BigAunty

I salute your decision to embrace change and try new things.

I have noticed a tendency with myself to stick to a fairly regular routine, my usual interests, my small circle of friends, so its quite easy to get insular and stay in a comfortzone.

kingfisherblue

Two ways to bring happiness to your day:

Smile! It sounds obvious, but if you smile at someone, chances are they will smile back. It can really cheer you up, and hopefully you can cheer someone else up too.

Do something nice for someone. It doesn't have to be something big. Again, great for cheering you up.

Things that have made me happy today:
Having breakfast out with my sons
Seeing my sister and her children
Spending time with my granddaughter
My mum telling me how much she enjoyed her tea (I made a pasta dish and gave her some)
My hair looking decent instead of wild looking!
The house being tidy despite it being half term
My older son emptying the dishwasher, meaning I didn't have to do it!

I'm sure there are other things, but I can't remember them. It doesn't take much to keep me happy.