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Thursday, May 7, 2009

Frugal Family Fun - Toy Swap

For the past couple of weeks, I have talked about a Trash to Treasure party over at Happy to be at Home. The party entailed a group of ladies bringing unneeded items in good condition from their home to the host's house in which the other ladies could "shop." We were all able to leave the party with new, free treasures that suited our families. I listed several ideas and variations for the Trash to Treasure party in the articles at Happy to be at Home, but it got me thinking about how this party would tie into the Frugal Family Fun series perfectly.

If you know a few families with children about the same age as yours, consider a toy or book swap. You could invite them over for a BBQ or potluck and have them bring their outgrown or unused toys. This would work best with older children who understand the "trade" concept, though the party could be conducted without children present if toddler toys are involved.

A Toy Swap is a great way to spend time with friends and family while decluttering our homes of unneeded items and acquiring new treasures for free.

A Mommy Secret: If you have younger children, place some of the new toys out of sight for a while. When your children are having "one of those" days and just need a distraction or if you want to have a reward on hand for the unexpected accomplishments, you can pull out one of the "new" free toys.

You can find more frugal or family tips at:
Frugal Friday hosted by Life as Mom
Family Friday by Homemaker Barbie

Labels: Frugal Family Fun Series, frugality, fun with the kids, Mommy Secrets

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Thursday, May 07, 2009 2 Comments

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Clean Out the Fridge - Ideas for Leftovers

This week I have been writing about what to do with all your "stuff" when you are Spring Cleaning. The refrigerator certainly needs our attention when we are cleaning and I'm guessing a fraction of what is in the fridge needs to head straight to the garbage. If you have any edible leftovers remaining, you can stretch them into a new meal with just a little creativity.

First and easiest, rewarm the leftovers, but create a buffet. Let the family choose, as if it were a restaurant. The younger children love this, but don't forget to give your restaurant a name. If you have small children and especially if they do not like leftovers, create a quick menu in which they can select their own dinner. My children loved the menu idea when they were younger, especially when mom sported the folded towel draped over one arm as their server.

If you have eggs, possibly a little meat, some veggies and cheese, you can make a quiche. If you're doubting the men in your life will be receptive to quiche, you can call it "Ham and Egg Dinner Pie" or a "Chicken and Spinach Bake." You get the drift... You can make the quiche with either a homemade or store-bought crust, though the store-bought will be quicker. Provided you have a little creativity and a few necessary ingredients, you should be able to find a quiche recipe that will work.

If you routinely have small amounts of leftover meat (ground beef, ham or sausage are the best) you can start a bag in your freezer to collect pizza toppings. When I have ground beef or chicken, I sometimes turn the pizza into a barbecue or cheeseburger pizza. I mix in a little barbecue sauce with the pizza sauce and top it with shredded cheddar instead of mozzarella.

If you have an assortment of noodles or rice, veggies, and even a little meat, you can turn it into a soup. Just grab some stock, choosing an appropriate one based on the meat you have on hand, and rewarm in a pot. Add a few suitable fresh ingredients to stretch it into a big enough meal for your family. Depending on which foods you have left from a Mexican dinner, you might be able to create a taco soup. A minestrone can be created with leftover pasta and beans. The veggies, rice and noodles can also be good ways to stretch canned soup when your time is limited.

If you have chicken and veggies, you could mix up some dumplings from a baking mix or even from scratch, and allow to cook until done on top of the chicken soup. In addition to stretching the meal, the dumplings will be helpful in thickening the soup.

Betty Crocker has a series of recipes using Bisquick called Impossible Pies that are also great for using miscellaneous leftovers. While the recipes call for specific amounts of the veggies and meat, I'm certain that you could do a little substituting if you are comfortable in the kitchen. However, there are so many recipes for the Impossible Pies that you may not need to substitute.

I hope this helps you find some new ideas to spice up your leftovers. Using food before it goes to waste works for me. You will find more Works for Me Wednesday Tips at We Are THAT Family.

If you enjoyed this post, please check my main page tomorrow or subscribe to the RSS feed (top right) for more "Spring Clean Out" posts.

Labels: cleaning, Everything Egg, food, frugality, fun with the kids, tips, Works for Me Wednesday

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Tuesday, April 28, 2009 5 Comments

Friday, April 24, 2009

How to Introduce the Arts for Free

Each week I have been providing potential ideas for frugal family fun. I'm talking about Spring this week at Just Doing My Best and Spring is the perfect time to introduce the arts to your children for free.

Spring is recital season and larger schools often publish the recital schedule in newspapers and online in hopes for a large audience. If you live near a university, the options are endless. I live near one and have seen advertisements for free performances by the various music ensembles at the School of Music, all for free! I remember going to one such recital as a child and it was just a small concert on a small stage, but with the same amount of decorum and talent as one might expect from a professional concert. Remember, these are professionals in training so the quality will be fantastic. I've seen advertisements for string orchestras, brass ensembles, small concert ensembles, and even vocal recitals at the schools.

Other ideas that might be a little closer to home:

It may not be free, but many times, the local high schools put on an end of the year play with a title that even small children would even recognize. Wizard of Oz and Annie are popular ones that schools perform and children would love.

In a nearby town, the small city is funding a professional theatre company to come in to the town's amphitheatre and perform a few plays for the city's residents, all for free. This is a good time of year to scour your town's paper and websites to see if anything similar is happening.

Lastly, this is not free either, but if you think your child might be interested in dance or taking music lessons, many places offer summer lessons and day camps. These are wonderful ways for your children to experience their interest without you having to make a commitment for more than a summer. This is especially great if you or your child are unsure of how long the interest will last or to gain some first-hand experience with the studio before committing. We tried out a dance company this way and found it was a perfect fit for our daughter and then signed up for the following fall.

Do you have any ideas for introducing the arts to children inexpensively or for free?

This post is linked to:
Frugal Friday by Life as Mom

Labels: Frugal Family Fun Series, fun with the kids

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Friday, April 24, 2009 3 Comments

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Dinner Conversation - Part 2

Last week, I shared with you how we learn about the children's day while gathered around the dinner table. I promised you another conversation idea this week. This week's idea will not only make the meal time more fun, but will also give you an interesting glimpse into your children's developing personalities.

A while back I found a book called Kidchat Too! and fell in love with it. This book is intended to spark conversations by offering fun and unusual questions. We have had some enlightening and funny discussions that also taught me things about my children (and husband) that I never knew. Some of the questions are lighthearted while others are a little deeper. One example that we used is, "What do you think will be the hardest part of being an adult one day?" Another question children enjoy is, "If a soda company asked you to come up with a new flavor of soda, what would it be?"

I also found a great printable list of questions at Listplanit.com. At a restaurant recently, I asked one of the questions from the Listplanit.com list and the children had so much fun with it that they asked if I had anymore questions!

Since this week I am discussing Spring, I should mention that this dinner conversation idea can be even better by pulling your patio set out of storage taking dinner outside. Have fun!

Whimsical conversation starters work for our family and you can find more Works for Me Wednesday tips at We Are That Family.

Labels: fun with the kids, Mommy Secrets, Spring, teens/pre-teens, Works for Me Wednesday

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Tuesday, April 21, 2009 3 Comments

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Frugal Family Fun - More Than Just Coloring Easter Eggs

This weekend, if you have children, chances are you will be one of many who will have stained fingers from coloring Easter Eggs. As part of the weekly Frugal Family Fun series, I would like to provide you with some ideas to make coloring the eggs even more special and unique than the egg stands and stickers that come in the flat boxes. Having said that, I just purchased the flat-box coloring kit and will be using it with some of the ideas listed here.

Decorating Easter Eggs can be as simple or elaborate as you prefer. Most of the ideas listed will use supplies you probably already have at home. With a quick web search, you will find ideas for the elaborate projects.

Wrap the egg in rubber bands before setting in dye cup. We've tried this one before and it works very well.
Add some vegetable oil to the dye for a shiny effect - This is a new one we will be trying this year.
Use crayons, light or white will look good with darker dyes. You will see the dye will not be absorbed where the crayon was used. This works best when the egg is still warm enough for the wax from the crayon to soften and melt on the egg as you color.
If you are feeling especially creative, pull out some paintbrushes and acrylic paints and let your imagination run wild. (If you will be eating the eggs, please don't forget to ensure that the paints are non-toxic.)
If you are interested in natural methods for dying the eggs, check out Blissfully Domestic's article, Coloring Easter Eggs Naturally.

Does your family dye Easter eggs using another technique?

This post is linked to:

Frugal Friday by Life as Mom.

Labels: Everything Egg, Frugal Family Fun Series, fun with the kids, holiday ideas

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Thursday, April 09, 2009 2 Comments

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Frugal Family Fun - Family Games

Now that my children are in their pre-teen years, games are becoming even more fun to play. I no longer strategically let the children win, but rather fight to win so I can maintain my mom credibility. If you have competitive sons or daughters, you know what I mean.

Games are one of the most frugal activities for the family. We usually have several in our closets that could be dusted off or can sometimes find gently used ones in used bookstores and consignment shops. Even if you buy a new game, games are relatively inexpensive and can be played over and over.

If you are in the market for a new, high quality, low price game, keep reading because two lucky readers will win one from Out of the Box Publications. My children and I played two of their games- My Word and Easy Come Easy Go - over Spring Break. We loved them! In fact, I'm hoping to add a few more of their games to our collection.

Easy Come Easy Go is for intended for ages 8-adult. The concept reminds me of Yahtzee, except easier to play, especially for younger children. The rules were easy to follow and the time needed to play the game was very reasonable. As busy parents, it's sometimes hard to carve out 1-2 hours for longer games, but this one was only 30 minutes. My daughter thought it was a "fun game and liked the pictures on the prize cards." She also liked the pace and strategy. My son enjoyed it, though he did not have any glowing compliments.

I was most impressed with the quality of the game. The best part of Easy Come Easy Go, was the cushioned cup for the dice. The shaking and rolling of the dice was not loud and annoying. The prize cards are made of a thick cardboard that would ensure years of play. I was surprised to see this game is less than $10.

The next one we reviewed was My Word. This game is intended for ages 7-adult and also took about 30 minutes to play. The dealer lays down letter cards one at a time and all of the players search for words from the cards that the dealer is laying down. The player who sees a word first, shouts it out and keeps those cards. The player with the most cards, wins. This was our unanimous favorite and I will let my children's comments on the game give you an idea about our opinion.

"It makes you think."
"It's educational and you have to look really fast and pay attention."
"You have to have quick reflexes and it's good for spelling."
"It was really, really cool and fun."

My Word has easy to follow rules and is suited well to multi-level players. It comes in a compact tin box that makes it perfect for travel. This is the kind of game I would want on a rainy day, if stuck in a hotel room or camper. I noticed that they even have free printable score sheets for this game on their website. This game is also less than $10.

We enjoyed our time playing games together and Out Of the Box Publications would like you to enjoy family game time also.

If you would like to win either, Easy Come Easy Go or My Word, complete any or all of the options below. Each option will gain you a separate entry.

Go to the Out of the Box Publications site and see which game is your favorite. They offer MANY and some of them are great for educators and homeschoolers. Come back here and leave a comment telling me which you liked the best.

Leave a comment telling me how your family enjoys Frugal Family Fun.

Either follow me on the sidebar or subscribe to the RSS feed (top right corner) and leave a comment telling me that you did.

Blog about this giveaway, linking back to Just Doing My Best. Come back here and leave me a comment that you blogged with your URL, so I can visit you too.

Comments will close at 3 pm on Friday, April 10. Two winners will be chosen by a random number generator. Be sure to leave an email so I can contact you or a new winner will be chosen.

Good luck!

Because of the high quality, high educational value, and low prices, games by Out of the Box Publications are the newest addition to Just My Best Picks.

This post is linked to:

Frugal Fridays by Life As Mom.

Freebies 4 Mom

Labels: Frugal Family Fun Series, fun with the kids, Giveaway, Just My Best Picks - product reviews

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Thursday, April 02, 2009 23 Comments

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Frugal Family Fun - Holding Down the Fort

With part of the country snowed in, another fraction enduring long bouts of non-stop rain, and yet another starting Spring Break, this seems like the perfect week to stay home for the next idea in the Frugal Family Fun series.

I'm going to offer an old but favorite stand-by for kid fun, including ideas on how to make it even more memorable.

You will need:

Lots of blankets

clothes pins (to hold blankets together)

flash lights

an out of the way area of main room, i.e. corner of the family room, dining room, etc.

a movie and snacks

When we are cooped up inside, my children love to build a fort. It does not happen often, so when it does, it's a no-holds barred, all-consuming construction zone.

We have dining room that we do not use daily, so one day last winter, I cleared off the top of the table, and let the kids rule the room. They enclosed all four sides of the table with blankets and used blanket-covered chairs to create rooms and tunnels reaching clear to the perimeter of the room. They had a mansion complete with bedrooms and dual entrances.

When lunch time came, they understandably did not want to leave their mansion, so they opened a couple of "windows" and ate in their new abode. As the day wound down, and after a full day of building and tweaking their hide-out, they were excited to hear that they could leave it up for the next day...and the next day. They have also been known to have a sleep-over in their fort, with the obligatory movies, snacks, and flashlights.

While the children will enjoy the memories, I heard a friendship forming as they worked together as a team. Priceless lessons and memories for free.

Here's a Mommy Secret: If your children are old enough to not need constant supervision and enjoy this type of play, chances are they will be so consumed with this activity that you can tackle that unread book or home improvement project that has gone undone because little ones are underfoot.

This post is linked to:
Frugal Friday by Life as Mom

Labels: Frugal Family Fun Series, fun with the kids, Mommy Secrets, Ultimate Blog Party

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Thursday, March 26, 2009 5 Comments

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Report Card Freebies

My children are excited about their upcoming report cards. Since they are excited and not worried, that means this mom is relieved and excited too.

We do not pay per grade earned, but I did want them to enjoy some benefits of their hard work so I did some research hoping to find companies who are willing to reward hard-working students.

I found these offers and they were verified online:
Chuck E. Cheese - free tokens based on grades earned
IBC Bakery Outlets - a snack cake for the child and loaf of bread for the parents.

These could not be verified at corporate websites, so you will want to check your local store:
Krispy Kreme - free donut
Graeters - free ice cream

Are you familiar with any report card incentives?

Find Free Clipart at School Clip Art

Labels: freebie, fun with the kids

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Wednesday, March 25, 2009 3 Comments

Friday, March 20, 2009

Frugal Family Fun - A New Twist on Playgrounds

In celebration of the Ultimate Blog Party, this is the kick-off to my Frugal Family Fun series. You will see posts weekly, probably near the weekends, with ideas for enjoying your family without spending much, if any, of your family's hard-earned money.

My children and I had a fantastic evening at the town's playground a few nights ago. (Stay with me here, it gets better than just a plain ole playground.) They enjoyed it and we stayed about 20 minutes or so. When I asked if they were ready to leave, of course they shouted an emphatic "no," but when I told them we were going to another playground, their eyes lit up and they raced for the vehicle. That night, we covered 4 playgrounds (though some were attempts due to construction) all within 20 minutes of our home.

This completely free idea will be used again this summer when we venture into our closest city to find more playgrounds. We will pack a lunch and make a day of seeing how many playgrounds we can fit into a day. If you try this, don't forget about church and school playgrounds in addition to the city playgrounds.

If you liked this post, be sure to check out Just Doing My Best's homepage for more tips, goodies and a give-away.

This post has been linked to:

Frugal Fridays at Life as Mom
Finer Things Friday at The Finer Things in Life, because isn't playing with our children just about as good as it gets?
Finding Freedom at Cents to Get Debt-Free
Works for Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family

Labels: Friday's Frugal Tip of the Day, frugality, fun with the kids, Ultimate Blog Party, Works for Me Wednesday

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Friday, March 20, 2009 14 Comments

Monday, March 2, 2009

Tiring of Winter?

If you need a few ideas to help you enjoy what's left of winter, check out my article Enjoy Free Winter Fun Before Its Too Late at Happy to be at Home.

Labels: frugality, fun with the kids, writing on other sites

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Monday, March 02, 2009 0 Comments

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Plan Ahead for Some Frugal Summer Fun

Believe it or not, summer is just around the corner. Now is the time to start saving plastic bowls from butter, yogurt, whipped topping and anything else that you can envision as a fun outdoor tool or toy.

I'm sure your children can find many uses for the plastic dishes, but some ideas are the sand box, at the beach, for mud pies, and chalk paint. OK, so chalk paint might be new to you. My daughter created it and has played with it the last two summers. Watch for a post from her later this spring detailing her creation.

Just stash a small box somewhere out of the way to collect these bowls and old plastic containers. Your children will love it!

Labels: frugality, fun with the kids, plan ahead

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Tuesday, February 24, 2009 2 Comments

Monday, February 16, 2009

Celebrate President's Day with This Edible Craft

Are your children home from school today or do you homeschool? If so, this is a great edible craft to make in honor of President's Day.

Grab a bag of pretzel rods and peanut butter and summon your inner architect. Your children can build their own log cabins with these two simple supplies. Just use the pretzel rods as logs and use the peanut butter to hold the "logs" together.

There is no right or wrong, so get creative and have fun!

We plan to make one later so there are no pics to show yet, but if you try this, please leave a comment on how it turned out or post a picture of it on your blog and come back and let me know. Have fun!

Labels: fun with the kids, holiday ideas

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Monday, February 16, 2009 2 Comments

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Frugal and Free Valentine Ideas for the Kids

Whether you have procrastinated in planning anything fun for your kids this Valentine's Day or if you are too cash-strapped to consider much, let these ideas serve as a spring board to finding something that works for your family. Most of the time, children do not care WHAT you did, but rather that you simply DID.

Serve red food all day. My kids loved this when they were younger. For breakfast you could serve toast with strawberry jelly (cut into a heart shape of course), bacon strips, red grapes, and strawberry (or at least pink colored) milk. For lunch, you could serve tomato soup, red pepper strips (see pic under post title) and apple wedges with peanut butter. For dinner, you could have pasta with marinara sauce, salad with tomatoes and maybe even a red dressing like Catalina. Don't forget the candles; kids like them too. What is in your pantry? One of the keys to frugality is being creative and using what you already have.

Look in your Christmas decor and birthday supply boxes to see if you can come up with any appropriately colored plates, napkins, etc. Anything different from an average day will be great. Don't forget to stock up on the plain colored partyware when it is on clearance after Valentine's Day. Depending on the colors, they can be used for birthdays, 4th of July, and Christmas.

Wear lots of red. This is especially good for the younger children, let them see how much red they can wear. It's ok if they don't match today!

Let them have a lunch date with their "friends." Suggest they bring their most treasured doll or stuffed animal to the table for a meal. When my children were younger, they loved setting a place for one of their dolls or animals and then sharing a meal with them.

Gather lots of white, red and pink paper. Cut out an abundance of hearts and teach them to do the same. Then, rather than instructing them to make the classical butterflies and mice from hearts, let them create creatures on their own. Provide them with white supplies like cotton balls, coffee filters and Q-Tips. You may be surprised at what they create.

Use the library - venture out for some Valentine books and don't forget to look in the video/ DVD section for some Valentine-themed children's movies.

If you try any of these ideas or have any to share with me, please leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you!

For more frugal Valentine craft ideas, you can visit Money Saving Mom.

For more homemaking tips, visit my main page.

Labels: frugality, fun with the kids, holiday ideas, tips

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Thursday, February 12, 2009 0 Comments

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Snow paint

We had a major ice storm but at least we got some snow too. The kids were excited to see the snow but I think they planned to go out and play regardless of what was on the ground. Here are some ice covered trees in our backyard.

We made snow paint and the kids just loved it, especially DD who decorated the railing on the deck. She did a great job decorating her snowman (snow pile) but I couldn't get those pics.

Just add a few drops of one color into a bottle and fill with water. It's that simple! This is sold online for about $20 but we made it for $4.

I posted a Snow Cream recipe a couple of days ago here.

What frugal ideas does your family have for fun in the snow?

Labels: fun with the kids

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Thursday, January 29, 2009 2 Comments

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Fun in the Snow

Our part of the country has been slammed by winter weather and we were getting rather excited about the 4-6 inches of predicted snow. See my sidebar for the reasons why we love winter.

So, I was all geared up for some fun in the snow with my kids. I have a new snow activity prepared (stayed tuned for that one) and we were going to make snowcream. Unfortunately, we got only a tad bit of snow, but we can now measure the accumulating ice. In fact, I just watched a tree branch fall under the weight. Freezing rain is expected to continue which does not bode well for our winter recipe, so I'm providing this for those of you lucky enough to get snow rather than ice.

Snow Cream

1 gallon snow

1 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups milk

Mix together and enjoy.

Enjoy some for us and come back tomorrow to see our other snow activity. The question now, will the freezing rain change to snow? Can we use our other activity or will we ice skate on the driveway?

Labels: fun with the kids, recipes

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Tuesday, January 27, 2009 0 Comments

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