Tag: presents

Christmas

How to prevent unwanted Christmas gifts

JayneLeave a comment

Christmas is undoubtably a time for giving and receiving. But how do you prevent receiving those unwanted Christmas gifts? It’s estimated that that over 50% of us receive at least one unwanted gift each year, that’s a whopping £5.03 billion going down the drain. Not only is this waste having a detrimental effect on our environment but it’s having a negative impact on our personal finances too, to the tune of nearly £50 per person.

Prevent yourself from receiving unwanted Christmas gifts this year by being proactive and taking charge – we’ve all got things we want or need, so let your loved ones know!  

Create a list 

The easiest way to prevent yourself from receiving unwanted Christmas gifts is to write a list. It doesn’t have to be long, but make sure it includes items under different budgets, for example gift ideas under £20, around £50 and over £100. This will help people assess how much they can afford to spend, and they’ll know they’ve got you something you will actually appreciate. Check some gift  ideas and  more info here

Ask for experiences

Avoid receiving more stuff and ultimately more things for landfill by asking for experiences. This is great for a group of friends. Instead of buying each other a mediocre gift that is sadly unwanted, why not all club together and buy an experience. This could be each putting in £20 to go to the spa together, going out for a meal at that fancy new restaurant, or even putting money towards a holiday. 

Not only will this prevent you having to fake an enthusiastic smile when you receive an unwanted gift, but you’ll have something to look forward to in the new year that has already been paid for! 

Drop hints

Drop into conversation with friends and family that you’ve seen something that you would love for Christmas. You can be as subtle or unsubtle as you like. If you’ve seen something in a magazine, leave the magazine lying around open on the page, or even better tell them face to face.

The most important thing to remember is that Christmas is about more than things – it’s about spending time with loved ones, reminiscing about the past and looking forward to the future. 

When it comes to buying presents, make sure that you don’t spend beyond your means. You may consider spreading the cost of Christmas with a credit card – which can be a good option, as long as you pay the balance off with your January paycheque.

If you do receive an unwanted gift, see if you can return it, sell it on or better yet donate it to charity. 

 

Kids

Has your Little One Got a Big Birthday Coming Up? Discover My Gift Ideas for 7 year old Boys!

JayneLeave a comment
Photo by Ardian Lumi on Unsplash

It only seemed like yesterday you were bringing a tiny bundle home from the hospital, now you’ve got a six year old that’s about to turn seven! You almost-seven year old will be bubbling with energy and fizzing with curiosity, they’re excited to learn about the world around them, they’re probably showing interest in a particular sport or already have a few firm favourites on TV, in the movies and in the toybox!

It’s not always easy to find toys that are suitable for a boy aged 7, but don’t despair! I’ve come up with a few simple ideas that your little lad will absolutely love. Read on for a little inspiration.

Lego/building bricks

Lego should be a staple in any toybox! So if your child already has some, then consider updating their current supply with some new sets. You can either go down the traditional route of a box of simple bricks and accessories, or opt for something themed such as Star Wars, Marvel or even Harry Potter. There are so many Lego sets out there including Lego movies, Batman Lego etc so you’re sure to know which ones they’ll like. If they’ve never had Lego before then this is your time to introduce them to the simple yet creative world of building bricks. Not only does Lego allow them to unleash their creativity, but it’s something you can enjoy doing together.

A magic set

Do you have a budding Houdini at home? Or maybe they’re in the market for a new hobby and want to impress their family and friends? Treating them to a magic set, teaches them the wonders of slight of hand, the art of expression and performance and the dexterity needed to pull off all their new tricks! It might be fun and awe inspiring but it’s a good skills builder, they’ll also feel incredible when they pull off their first magic trick successfully.

A new bike/scooter

There’s no escaping the fact that technology plays a huge part in our little ones lives; from Tv to tablets, games consoles to handheld devices, so it’s important to find the right balance and encourage them to play outside as much as we can. A new bike or scooter is a super simple way to achieve this. They can get excited about choosing a new bell for their bike as well as all the safety accessories they’re going to need. From family walks, to trips to the park and even on holiday, your child will get plenty of use out of a new bike or scooter, and plenty of fresh air to boot!

Arts and crafts

Sometimes, the simplest of gifts are the best ones. An arts and crafts set or plenty of arty supplies will give them a nice quiet activity to enjoy on rainy afternoons and it’s a great excuse to get creative and enjoy getting messy! From paints and glitter to sticky tape, craft paper, googly eyes and tissue paper. You can buy a set or create your own!

Gift Ideas · Kids

Alternative Christmas Gifts for Tweens

JayneLeave a comment

There are members of our family who are easier to buy for each year, and then there are some who are just flat-out difficult every bloody year! This year, much to my surprise, one of the toughest people to buy for has been Sausage. Every other year, she’s been a doddle, but every time someone asks me for ideas of what to get her I struggle, and asking her is usually met with “I’m not really sure”. I guess it’s good that she’s either not a covetous kid, or feels like she has everything she needs, but it doesn’t make it very easy for the whole family to buy for her, so I’ve been trying to think outside the box for gift ideas for her. Here’s some stuff I’ve come up with:

Experience Days

Obviously she’s a bit small for supercar track days or afternoon tea, but there’s been a pretty big surge in experience days for kids, with things like kids paintball taking off. Sausage loves doing crafts and art, so a voucher for a ceramics studio would be the perfect gift for her as it would give her an afternoon of doing something she loves, with something to show as a keepsake at the end of it.

Band T-Shirts

Sausage seems to be one of the only 9-year-old girls on the planet who isn’t obsessed with unicorns this year, but she is finding her identity through music at the moment (her David Meowie t-shirt is probably her most prized possession!) so indulging her self-discovery with some cool band t-shirts would be much appreciated by Sausage.  

Books

Sausage has always had books for Christmas (last year it was Pokemon graphic novels!) and she’s at an age where books are still a cool Christmas gift, as long as we opt for the right ones! I’m thinking of getting her a set of The Hunger Games trilogy as I reckon she’s at an age where she’d really enjoy them.

Stationery

Sausage is 100% my kid when it comes to her love of all things pen-and-paper related. Rarely a day goes by when she can’t be found either drawing pictures or writing stories, and I know she’d love a proper hard-back journal for all of her writing, so we’re planning to find her something really funky.

Jewellery

Last summer, Husband and I bought Sausage a Pandora bracelet for her birthday, which means that charms are always a good option for gifts. She also had her second lobe piercing done and has a bit of a reputation amongst her classmates for wearing some really individual and cool earrings (I think today’s earings were BMO from Adventure Time!), so jewellery is always a really good option for us, even if it’s cheaper stuff which can be used as stocking fillers.

What are you buying your tweens this year?

Gift Ideas · Kids

Gifts To Make Your Kids Think You’re Super Cool

Jayne2 Comments

kids gifts coolOkay, so let me just say that I’m perfectly happy with my role as ‘boring mum’ and I definitely don’t buy my kids gifts to make them like me, but every now and then it IS nice to buy them something to show that I’m not quite dead from the neck up! I’ve been thinking about what we could buy the girls which would show them that we do still have some street cred left (which has probably just been decimated by my own use of the phrase ‘street cred’) and here’s what I came up with:

Concert Tickets

When I was a kid, I didn’t get to go to a concert until I was 13, where I saw Alanis Morissette and The Who, which was pretty cool at the time (although not many of my friends really knew who The Who were!). We’ve been thinking about taking Sausage to her first gig soon and were hoping to take her with us when we see The Cure next month but sadly she was too young, so we’re still on the lookout for the perfect first gig for Sausage.

Heelys

I won’t lie; I watch my younger cousins using Heelys and I imagine all sorts of injuries befalling me if I attempted to use them, which is probably exaclty why the kids all think they’re so cool. Anyone can buy their kids a pair of trainers but super-cool parents buy their kids trainers with WHEELS in them!

Spa Days

Probably more one for the girls, unless you’ve got a boy who loves a bit of pampering, but not much will earn you Mum points by taking your daughters/nieces/cousins to a spa for a day of luxury. I know this is something that Sausage would absolutely love, and there are lots of great deals around so you don’t have to spend a fortune.

Experience Days

There are So many companies who do experience days now, ranging from falconry to Segway rally to recording a CD to so many other things. There’s an experience day out there to suit almost anyone and the photos and memories from a fab new experience will last SO much longer than smellies!

A Subscription

When I was younger, I had a subscription to The Beano and it was the highlight of my week, getting a new comic. These days, subscriptions aren’t limited to magazines or comics; there are SO many monthly box subscriptions from beauty to food to crafts – you can even subscribe to receive STICKERS on a weekly basis, which is something my girls would absolutely love! There’s something so nice about the delayed gratification of a weekly or monthly gift which lasts all year long.

Kids

Educational Gift Ideas For Kids

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Buying kids gifts can be so much fun, whether you’re buying for their birthdays or Christmas. However, it’s even better to buy kids gifts that are educational. This doesn’t mean you need to buy them a big fat textbook for school or anything – that might suck the fun out of gift giving a little. It just means you should try to find gifts that will help kids to develop and use their skills. Here are some gifts that can help them to do just that!

Books

Books are always a brilliant educational gift idea for kids. If you start reading to kids from a young age, they’ll learn to love reading. Reading is beneficial at all stages of life. While they’re young, kids will improve listening and speaking skills. They’ll be better spellers, and have a more inventive imagination. As they grow older, they can use books to escape, or learn more about subjects they are interested in. They might even become keen writers themselves, like most avid readers do! You don’t need to make it clear that the book is educational. Just about any type of book can be educational!

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Tablets/E-readers

Tablets and e-readers aren’t just for playing pointless games. You can easily download books for kids here. Not only that, there are educational apps and games that you can download onto them. A tablet or an e-reader is usually a better gift for older children, as they appreciate how important it is to look after things like this.

Word/Math Games

There are so many word and math games out there. Scrabble for one, is lots of fun and will help kids to improve their vocabulary and spelling. It even incorporates some maths when you take adding up scores into account. Games like Monopoly and Cluedo are a lot of fun and educational too. They’ll be using their math skills in Monopoly, as well as their deduction skills in Cluedo to work out ‘who dunnit’. There are plenty of games that are fun and good for your child’s development!

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A Telescope

A telescope can help your kids to see the stars close up, and learn all about them as they do so. If that’s not their thing, a microscope could help them to see bugs and other fun things close up! You can find more information on gadgets such as this on Hawkin’s bazaar and sites of a similar nature.

Science/Craft Kits

Science and craft kits are great for kids who love to learn already, or make things. You can get science kits that allow kids to do fun things like grow their own crystals. Then there are craft kits that let them make mosaics, jewelry, and lots of other things.

Just about any gift you look at can be educational for kids. Any gift that allows them to use their creativity, motor skills, math skills, language skills…you get the picture! If you have any educational gift suggestions for kids, leave a comment below!