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Bargain Baby Supplies

January 22nd, 2010

Its time again for one of Asda’s Baby and Toddler Events - these popular events bring together some great savings for mums.
The event runs in store and online from the 19th Jan – 6th Feb 2010 but is usually repeated later in the year.

Some of the best buys include:

Johnson’s baby toiletries from only £1 each, Nappies from £8.00 f0r a mega box and deals on baby wipes.  There are some great deals on baby essential buys such as a microwave bottle steriliser, car seats and dummies.  There are even potties for toilet training at only £1 so you can buy one for each bathroom and an extra for grandmas too !

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Christmas on a budget

December 9th, 2009

Christmas is never an easy time of year to be saving money however we have some great ideas to help you save a few ££s this year.   Feel free to add your ideas in the comments.

pompom_christmas_tree1) Homemade Christmas cards are lovely especially if you have children, they can draw a picture, stick on some stickers and cover everything in glitter.  Try ebay for blank cards from only 10p each.  There are lots of ideas for you to try at Activity Village or have a look around the house for craft bits and pieces to use up.

2)  Christmas decorations can also be fun to make, an old favourite that is easy to make is Paper Snowflakes.  The site  Paper Snowflakes  has all the information you could ever need about making your own snowflakes with hundreds of patterns – take a look and you could have a great display in no time.

paper lanterns3)  Paper Lanterns are another fun make for the house.  You can make two lanterns out of one A4-sized sheet of paper. You could use coloured paper, but it is much more fun to take white paper and decorate your own.   Next cut the paper in half lengthways and cut a strip off the end and put it aside to make the handle. Fold in half again lengthways and make evenly spaced cuts in the paper along the folded edge to about 1cm or ½” form the edge, then unfold the paper.

cutting paper lanterns

If you want to decorate your lanterns with glitter, sequins or shiny stickers this would be the time to go for it!  Finally roll it into a cylinder. You can staple, glue or sticky tape it in place, and finally attach the handle to either side. The finished lanterns could be hung on a Christmas tree separately or stapled to a string to form a garland.

gift tags4)  Gift tags are another thing you can make quite cheaply and give the  personal touch.  There are lots of examples to download here and some home-made examples here.

What ever you decide to create have a very Merry Christmas!

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Go Go Hamsters

November 4th, 2009

Go Go Hamsters

Now I am not the biggest fan of buying the “latest” toy as they often seem to be overpriced, plastic and with limited appeal.

The latest toy for 2009 seems to be the go go hamsters. Now my daughters have seen them advertised and think they are a great idea but then they do seem to like anything shown on TV !!  This time however I thought I would take a look and see what all the fuss was about.

“New Go GO Hamsters are set to take the interactive toy market by storm. Go Go Hamsters are not your standard plush hamster toys, Go Go Hamsters interact with their surroundings and come equipped with some technological wizardry which allows them to talk and navigate around your home. GO GO Hamsters are also very lovable, cute and come in four different colours and characters.”

Now all this sounds great I hear you say, but how much are they?  £30, £40 no they are only £10 each. 

go go fun setNow to me this sounds very reasonable, maybe even a bargain!  They problem is the accessories, there are lots of fab things to buy from skateboards, cars and carriers so this is probably where they make their money.

So if you want to give a fun presents, that doesn’t cost the earth you had better get your skates on as they are selling out fast.   The last time I checked there were still some hamsters at Tesco Direct but no funhouses to be had anywhere!

Update 10th November – There are still a few chunk’s left at Play.com

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Bonfire Night

November 4th, 2009

guy fawkes night

Bonfire Night calls for some warming food and can easily be done on a budget. 

Firstly find out the details of your nearest local bonfire display – try this list from the Telegraph  or check out your local newspaper.  Most displays are free so wrap up warm and set off for some fun.  You will save £££s on fireworks and have a safe adn spectacular display to watch.

When you get back have some warming food prepared such as chilli hot dogs – see recipe below, soup or baked potates.  Finish off with hot chocolate and marshmallows and you are done! 

Enjoy your night!

Chilli for Chilli Dogs
Enough for 4-6 hot dogs
2 tbsp sunflower oil 
250g minced beef
1 clove of garlic
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 level tsp mild chilli powder
200g tin or 1/2 a 400g tin of tomatoes 
Salt
Heat a frying pan for about 3 minutes over a moderate heat. Add the oil then, when it’s hot, tip in the mince and break it up in the pan. Keep frying and turning it for about 2-3 minutes until it has browned then tip away the excess fat. Add the tomato paste and mix well with the meat then add the garlic and chilli powder. Stir and mix well. Tip the the tomatoes, breaking down any whole tomatoes with a fork. Season with salt and simmer for about 15 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before using.

image by freeimageslive.co.uk – fmanto

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Free Letter from Santa

October 26th, 2009

SANTAS CHECKLIST

Well it’s not quite free, you do need to attach a stamp when sending it!

Santa is extremely busy at the North Pole, making sure all the presents, including yours, are ready and wrapped for Christmas Eve.

It’s a very exciting time for all; Rudolph and Santa can’t wait to land at your home with all your gifts. Rudolph is especially looking forward to eating the carrots you kindly leave and maybe a mince pie for Santa…

With the postal strikes this year I would suggest you send the letter as soon as possibe!  You can send it to the following address:

Santa/Father Christmas,
Santa’s Grotto,
Reindeerland,
SAN TA1

In your letter please write clearly your name and address and attach either a 1st or 2nd class stamp to the envelope.  Some of the Royal Mail helpers will make sure santa sends a letter back.

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Online Shopping Comparison Engines

October 6th, 2009

shopping cartOnline Shopping Comparison Engines may seem confusing but they make shopping online easier and more cost effective.  You can search for the best deals around from just one site.

 

There are lots to choose from but today we are going to take a closer look at Kelkoo as it is one of the more established sites and is easy to navigate.

There are a wide range of categories including baby and nursery and flights. You can either search by the category or if you know exactly what you want you can type in the name. Once you are in the right area you can refine your search by price or by more specific categories.

 

nintendo dsSo if we are looking for DS for our kids christmas we can type in “Nintendo DS” but this gives us alomst 10000 results!! We can then refine it by typing in “Nintendo DS Console” and then clicking on the game console category on the right and we only have 194 results left! You can then sort by most popular or ascending price to find the best deal for you.

 

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Save the planet and your cash

September 24th, 2009

Energy Saving HouseThere is lots of talk at the moment about our carbon footpring and being green however Saving Enenrgy can also save you money. Follow our top tips for painless ways to save energy.

  1. Turn your heating down by 1 degree. 
  2. Is your water too hot? Your cylinder thermostat should be set at 60°C/140°F.
  3. Wash your clothes at 30 degrees or lower.  Now if you have very mucky kids I would suggest buying some pre-wash stain remover or you will just end upwashing things twice!
  4. If possible, fill up the washing machine, tumble dryer or dishwasher: one full load uses less energy than two half loads.
  5. Shower rather than take a bath.
  6. Hang clothes out to dry instead of using the tumble dryer.
  7. Check your tyre pressure so that less fuel is used.
  8. Clear all your clutter out of the car and the boot so you burn less fuel.
  9. Turn off appliances and lights when not in use.
  10. Use an energy comparison site like Uswitch to ensure you are not paying too much for your energy.

 

 

EST_logoFind out what grants may be available to make your home more energy saving.   There are grants available for loft and cavity wall insulation for many homes.   Check the Energy Saving Trust to see if you can save.

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