We all try to get the best to our children but more and more I realize that sometimes spending more does not necessarily means getting the best for our money.

This article aims to share a lesson we learned that cost us some money. We hope it may help you to save some.

As a Mom I just love to take pictures of my children. They are gorgeous to me. I am sure yours are gorgeous too. The memories are priceless. I was buying some disposable cameras and taking several pictures of my children. Then I would develop and keep the ones I really liked. My husband kept insisting in buying a digital camera, which initially I was reluctant to make a big investment. After he took the time to explain that despite the almost $ 500 dollars for a good digital camera (today our camera is less that $ 300) at the long run we would save a lot of money. Usually I would run from 3 to 5 disposable cameras a month. It is actually not a lot, only 120 pictures you can take. With the development all together would cost from $ 15 to $ 25 dollars each. This was around $ 45 to $ 125 a month. Since I have my digital camera, I take as much pictures as I want. No worries about expending money. I just delete the ones I do not like and keep the ones I like. When I have a picture I really love I just print it in our high resolution printer and frame it. I have then saved and organized by year and events. It is easy and cool to show to relatives and friends in our 17” monitor. Every year we save a back up on a CD or external hard drive to be on the safe side.

We have a canon s40 which is good camera. There are several others with good features in the market. You are free to choose. Consider this a good advice from a Mom who realized how much I have paid for little service with regular cameras. Digital cameras are the way to go. I already saved on the money I paid for it. 2 years latter I can not live without my digital camera. By the way it also let me record great videos up to 3 minutes. They are just adorable.

About the Author:
Barbara De Oliveira
http://www.lulu-baby.com

Christmas is about so much more than presents and parties, and yet, each year, that is the focus that we as a society place on it. Christmas has become a stress for some, and financial hardship for others. Where there used to be a holiday, to celebrate Family, we have some how lost touch with our roots, and a meaningful soulful Christmas.

Following is a list of of Ideas that cost little or no money, that you can do with your family this Christmas for a more meaningful Christmas. Set aside some time, and lets all get back to the basics of Christmas. Take this list, and let each family member choose one, and then set aside an evening, for each activity, you will be surprised and amazed how much this will Change your and your families outlook on Christmas.

1. Make a popcorn Garland
2. Make garland with construction paper
3. Watch Christmas shows together with hot chocolate and popcorn
4. Make decorating the the tree a family event, serve hot chocolate and play Christmas music
5. Make your own Christmas cards to send to people
6. Go Christmas shopping at the the Dollar Store and donate to a charity for Christmas gifts
7. Donate clothes or toys for needy children
8. Make a snowman
9. Have a snowball fight
10. Make a ginger bread house out of graham crackers and what ever you have in the house
11. Paint Christmassy pictures on the windows with washable paint
12. Make a game out of hunting around the house, for things to make Christmas decorations out of
13. Build a fire, and have a slumber party with your kids
14. Bake and decorate cookies
15. Have a wrapping party
16. Plan to share a plate of goodies with any elderly or young parents in the neighborhood
17. Go caroling
18. Go for a drive and see who wins for the best lights in town — make an award for the winner and present it to them
19. Attend a live Nativity
20. Take a special drive at night to enjoy others Christmas lights
21. Invite your children’s friends over to make cards or gifts for their parents
22. Go collect pine cones and use them to make ornaments
23. Make bird treat with peanut butter and birdseed
24. Sing Christmas carols
25. Have the kids write and act out a Christmas play
26. Go to the library and borrow Christmas videos and books
27. Have a game night
28. Take a walk or drive around a neighborhood that has their houses all lit up and decorated
29. Shovel the snow for your elderly neighbors
30. Read one Christmas short story each night before bed
31. Write Christmas letter to all the relatives with the kids all telling what they have been up to in their own words
32. Go sledding (a personal favorite) and come back to the house for hot cider and hot chocolate (we do this and invite the kid’s friends to join us)
33. Take a picture of the kids in front of the Christmas tree, and make it a yearly tradition
34. Visit the local nursing home and present some of the residents with homemade Christmas cards
35. Do a random act of kindness for a neighbor that you know is sick or feeling down, like take them a plate of cookies or some homemade ornaments
36. Attend a church service together
37. Invite an older person/couple for a holiday meal
38. Have a campout night, and sleep in sleeping bags under your lighted Christmas tree or some Christmas lights
39. Make up a Christmas scavenger hunt
40. Watch the all the videos or home movies of Christmas, or look at all the photos from Christmas
41. Make some ornaments
42. Color some Christmas pages together
43. Share a favorite Christmas memory
44. Help your local church/library/community center organize a special holiday reading of Twas the Night Before Christmas, A Christmas Carol, etc. Invite seniors/families. Maybe get a local store to donate some cookies or cocoa.
45. Have a birthday celebration, complete with cake, and birthday decorations
46. We make a video of ourselves decorating the tree, making cookies, singing Christmas carols and telling the Christmas story, then we make copies of it for all the far off relatives (beats a humdrum letter)
47. Volunteer as a family for the local shelter or nursing home
48. Have your kids make Christmas cards or snowflakes and take them to the local nursing home
49. Organize your scout troop or Sunday school or home school group and go caroling at a nursing home
50. Scout or youth group could also offer to paint the windows of local businesses for the holiday with washable paint
51. Ask the local supermarket if your youth group or older kids can help carry groceries out for senior citizens. Those turkeys are heavy to pick up and put in the car!
52. Help sort food for a food pantry that does food baskets for the holiday
53. Make paper snowflakes to decorate your windows
54. Organize or volunteer to work in a Christmas wrap booth that gives the proceeds to charity
55. Volunteer as food servers at shelters that provide Christmas/Thanksgiving dinners
56. Light up your walkway/driveway with handmade luminaries
57. Collect pine boughs and pine cones and make wreaths – can be shared at nursing homes or with elderly ones nearby
58. We decorate our stocking each year. I buy the ones from the Dollar Store, and whatever we wish to decorate with. Last year we used sticky foam shapes, this year we used glitter glue pens
59. Get out your old records – or borrow your parents – and listen to the golden oldie Christmas songs from your youth, and share the memories of Christmas past with your children
60. Learn about different cultures celebrate Christmas…. and about what they did years ago.
61. Sing silly Christmas songs with your kiddos… (Grandma Got Ran Over By a Reindeer)
62. Find an angel tree and have your kids help pick out a toy for the needy child’s name on the angel tree
63. Make a manger scene out of playdough or clay or even construction paper, whatever is handy
64. Create a calendar that the kids can mark off the days until Christmas.
65. Have a “Christmas Past, Present and Future” evening/afternoon. Get out your photo albums/scrapbooks and talk about Christmas Past, remembering those who are no longer here to share it with us; for Christmas Present, discuss what one thing makes Christmas special for each person; for Christmas Future, talk about your hopes and dreams for the coming years ahead.
66. Make Christmas gifts for your family’s pet and other relative’s pets
67. Take a little Christmas tree and decorate it with your pet’s toys and set it in the living room with your bigger tree – just for the pets! Wrap up some treats and place them under the pet’s tree, too, like a small can of some fancy cat food or a package of doggie treats. (Hopefully the dog won’t tear it apart to get at it until Christmas day.
68. Let the kids make their own stockings out of felt and stocking “packages” out of paper grocery sacks to put gifts for others in.
69. Gingerbread people made out of brown grocery sacks are very cute, too and inexpensive and make great tags on presents and ornaments for a tree or wreath. You could glue on google eyes and a small candy cane to the gingerbread people, too and make them even more dimensional and if using two sides, you can tape or glue them together and stuff them with cotton balls to fill them out if you want to make them puffy.
70. Let your child decorate their bedroom door for Christmas. A wreath with some small trinkets on it is charming on every door inside the house, too.
71. Make snowmen out of styrofoam ball ornaments or styro balls or old Christmas bulbs (the breakable kind) in 2 sizes (one larger and one smaller glued together), paint white or glue on cottonballs or fake snow and add glitter. Use google eyes or dots punched out of a paper punch for eyes, Orange pipe cleaner twisted to a carrot shape for the nose, little buttons or Mini M & M’s or small pom poms can be buttons or even the gold top of a paper fastener clip. Also can use yarn for eyes, smile, eyebrows or braid yarn for a scarf. Use your imagination and whatever you have around the house, toothpicks or tree branches for arms, etc. An old sweater and flannel shirt can provide scarves and hats, mittens for all the snowmen and snowwomen which can be grouped together under a tree branch from outside. Provide all the scrap materials you have and let the kids have a great time making them.
72. Make some snow globes with old jars.
73. Create a God Can for family members here is how — use a tall odd shaped can, the one I found was a solid gold color, was maybe 6 inches tall and semi squared with a rounded bubble shaped lid. (Found it at Dollar Tree last year)

This is what I attached.

God Can
When your worries get too heavy
Follow this little plan
Just write it on a little note
And drop it in this can
You know that any problem
That you place in Our Lord’s hands
Will soon be taken care of
Because we can’t but God Can!

About the Author:
Patty Getz is the owner, and editor, of Totally Frugal, and Old Fashioned Families, and loves to spend her time with family, in the kitchen, and Teaching others, how to have a more fullfilling life. Webmaster and owner of www.totallyfrugal.com. Send comments to mailto: totallyfrugal@totallyfrugal.com This article may be reprinted, provided the byline and contents are not Changed in any way.

One of the best parts of having a grandparent’s day is the time that you are able to spend with your grandchildren. Many grandparents wish that they had more time to spend with their grandchildren. Granted, your day will likely fly by quickly and feel as if it weren’t nearly long enough, you should cherish the extended time that you do have with your grandchildren. In fact, you should take steps to make the most out of it.

When it comes to having a grandparent’s day, many grandparents wonder what they should do. Of course, your planned activities should depend on your grandchildren and their ages. With that in mind, you will always find that you have an unlimited number of options. For instance, children of all ages love playing at the park, taking a trip to the zoo, or going on a shopping adventure. Depending on the age of your grandchildren, you may want to let them help you plan the day’s activities.

When having a grandparent’s day with your grandchildren, it is important that you are prepared. This will involve having all needed supplies on hand. If your grandchild is a newborn or an infant, these supplies may include diapers, baby wipes, a change of clothes, a bottle or sippy cup, milk, or baby formula. Although your son or daughter will likely supply you with these items, you may want to first make a trip to your local grocery store. As a grandparent, there is nothing wrong with being prepared, especially for extended visits.

As outlined above, it is important that you have all needed supplies, such as diapers and food or baby formula. With that in mind, you will also want to make sure that you have a camera or camcorder on hand. Depending on your family, a grandparent’s day may only happen once every few months. During this time, your grandchildren will grow and change in more ways that you could ever have imagined. That is why you should take steps to document the memories that you create along the way and what better time to do so than on a grandparent’s day?

The above mentioned tips are just a few of the many that can help to ensure that your next grandparent’s day is a success. As a reminder, be sure to obtain the proper contact information from your son or daughter, for emergencies purposes.

When you first bring home your Bouncing New Baby, you will surely feel you want to watch over her and be with her much of the time, especially if you are a first time parent. Newborn babies are fascinating even if they are not yours; when they are your own, that special feeling takes off into the stratosphere. You may feel tempted to hold them, watch them and chat to them the whole time; even when they are asleep you will enjoy standing silently over them and observe them in their slumbers.

Those first few days are a magical time, but then a transformation may take place. For the first few nights, the night feed may be a novelty, and you may even feel “great, she’s awake, I can see her again”. But then sleep interruption may start to irritate you rather than be a signal for pleasure; tiredness begins to take a hold as your sleep is disturbed so often. Night feeds, cholic, bringing up her milk; all can contribute to an interrupted night. Insufficient sleep mixed with aggravation can start to eat away at that feeling of wonder you had when your baby first came home.

Your baby has not changed; but you have. She is the same gorgeous baby you brought home from hospital. Her simple life is evolving only very slowly to her; it is yours that is changing most rapidly. Those rapid changes, maybe mixed with a new level of tiredness you have not felt before, represent the first exertion of pressure on that very special relationship – you and your baby.

Then there is day time. The old day to day pressures are still there; the need to rush around to the shops, worrying about money, wondering how to deal with work, job and baby; the car not starting, the leak in the pipe under the sink, the washing machine seizing up under the constant use. The days spent wishing you could get a good night’s sleep, wishing you were back at work earning more money, and being with your work colleagues. The time you spend thinking: “where’s my life gone? I have no control anymore. That baby is my jailer in the day time and tormentor at night.”

Stop! That is a train of thought you must either not board, or at least get off at the first station. It is a train fuelled by self pity, and heading down the track to unhappiness for you, your partner, and your baby. You are the only one who controls your life; you choose between the track to contentment and joy, or to discontent and misery.

Remember, that baby loves you more than anyone else ever has, unless you have had a baby before. Her devotion, her admiration, and her dependence are total. It is for you to decide whether that is something to cause resentment in you, or the overwhelming joy that it should. That little miracle of a baby is the biggest responsibility you have ever had, but she can also be the source of the greatest pleasure and joy.

Compare your baby’s devotion with your work colleagues you miss; in 10 years time you will probably have lost contact with most or all of them. Your workplace is like a busy junction where people cross over. Your work? If you are employed, your bosses will ditch you as soon as they need to if they see a “better” alternative. Your car, your washing machine, your leaking pipe; do you really think they are important compared to that unique and potentially wonderful relationship that is in your arms, the relationship with your baby?

You make the choices; you take the actions. You have experienced in the first few days with baby at home that there can be sheer joy and excitement; wonderment and appreciation. The baby loves you to bits; you can love her to bits too, and put the exterior trivia in their rightful place. Or, the baby loves you to bits and you can wallow in resentment because she’s interrupting your life, demanding attention when you have a leaking pipe or a car that won’t start.

In black and white, on paper, it’s a simple choice; but how can you make that choice and achieve the right balance in your life? Think about it quietly for a while; somewhere on your own. Think of the pleasure the baby gives you in those precious moments when you do not feel stressed. Then, make a conscious decision to perpetuate those moments; to make each moment you have with your baby, infant and child a moment when you and she are there simply for each other.

As your baby grows, there will be countless moments of development that can bring you a lot of pleasure and pride; learning to walk, getting out of her crib, her kisses and cuddles, her first word and every new word thereafter; her expressions, mimicry, her laughter and her first attempt to dance to the music on the radio; her attempts to control and manipulate you, and learning to use her charm to get her own way. All can be moments of intense pleasure, if you allow them to be.

Such developments you can allow to merge into the noisy background of life’s trivia, and miss the joy they can bring you. In so doing you are increasing the chances of an unhappy baby, and an unhappy you. Or, you can make each moment you spend with your baby one for you to enjoy to the full, shutting out life’s trivia for those times you are sharing with your offspring. In so doing you would increase the chances of a happy baby and a happy you. 

You make the choices; you take the actions. For your own sake and the baby’s, spend as much time with your baby as you can, and set out to enjoy it to the full. Shut out the trivia that are trying to spoil your unique relationship, and your life will be considerably better for it.

It is not always possible, but try to organise the trivia around your time with baby. The more you give her precedence, and willingly, the more happy you will both be. Enjoy every single moment of watching her development. It is something that cannot be repeated. 

About the Author:
This baby care article was written by Roy Thomsitt, owner author of the Bouncing New Baby website. Ably assisted by his baby daughter, he is also responsible for the Baby Blog.