Sunday, February 20, 2011

Frugal Gifts and Entertainment (with lots of pics!!)


This past week we have been missing in the blogging world, yet we have continued to plug away at purchasing nothing new and trying to keep our food packaging to a minimum.

One thing that I learned from my nanny (grandmother) many years ago was to always look ahead and plan for your family’s needs.  She didn’t have much money growing up as a child or while she was raising her own children.  She taught me that Christmas shopping needs to done all year long, same with your child’s birthday, their friend’s parties, plus the numerous baby showers and wedding showers.  Hannah’s b-day is not till April but I have already picked up some used books, a terry cloth bathrobe since hers is too small and we are on the lookout for a new-to-her bike with gears.  I also picked up a Dora PS2 game for Jill’s b-day in July off freecycle this week, plus some used books at Boomerang Kids.  Because I wasn’t sure on which books Hannah already had in a series, I ended up with 6 that were repeats…so I wrapped them up and have two gift bags ready for the next couple birthday parties she gets invited to.

A blank canvas for Hannah to decorate
Frugal fun is also great for our family.  A large chunk our planned spending is for Hannah’s gymnastic fees, which leaves little in the way of weekly entertainment for the family.  This past month we were able to get out to the ski hill down the road to use our season passes, get out to Winterlude on the Canal and Jacques Cartier Park, attend a local winter carnival, and use our family pass at the Museum of Civilization that Jillian got for Christmas from her Aunt Heather (another awesome gift!)



3 steps before we all gave up!






Working with wire at the museum


We tend to do a lot of entertaining of our children at home this year due to being so far away from the city and the cost of gas.  We often bake together, snowshoe, skate on the awesome rink Adam made for them, toboggan, hang out in the playroom and we read books from the library  in the evening as well as watch internet free t.v.(super frugal!) and netflix. 


Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins..yummy

Valentine's Day Cupcakes for Dad
Pink and purple sand for Jill to enjoy in her sensory table

Adam building the rink

The girls teaching their Maplea Dolls how to skate.
Very Canadian


Snowshoeing
to the lake


Trying to build a fire together


Spent my free time reading The Guardian by Nicholas
Sparks last week instead of blogging...oh well.


To those in Ontario, have a great Family Day Tomorrow!

Erin







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