Posts Tagged ‘christmas’

Do you need to spoil the children at Christmas?

Saturday, January 1st, 2011

This article was kindly provided by Diane from Voucher Freebies

Some mums get upset when they can’t provide their children with sacks of presents when money is tight! They shouldn’t! Children aren’t bothered about having a huge pile of expensive toys! They would much rather have fun and you can have fun with virtually nothing!

When you need to get your presents on a budget then you need to set a budget and stick to it! Look for out great offers like “Three for the price of two”, BOGOF’s and other offers that help save you money.

Don’t go mad buying presents, there’s no need to supply a huge amount of toys at Christmas. Ensure they have an age appropriate book as one present though so you have a story to share with them. Part of the enjoyment of presents at Christmas is the fact that adults make time to spend playing the games with the kids! Ensure you make time for family games at Christmas and perhaps make it a New Year’s Resolution too to spend more time with your children playing fun games!

If you have more than one child, buy them toys they can share and play together. Family board games are a traditional gift idea and one well worth treating them too. You should get a lot of hours of fun from a board game, especially if you can make time to play it each week with them!

For younger children it’s often said they get as much pleasure from playing with the box as they do the toy inside, so why not treat them to a cardboard box. You could wrap the outside in lining paper by pasting it on, and this gives it a clean fresh surface they can colour in with paints or felt tips to turn it into whatever they like! One week it’ll be a space ship and the next it can be a house! You’ll find that you have to ask at shops for cardboard boxes these days but if you ask nicely you’ll find it easy to get a nice size box!

Don’t be afraid of wrapping up clothes as presents either. If they need new socks and vests then wrap them up in paper! The joy of unwrapping presents is tearing off the paper so don’t waste money on expensive paper!

Other cheap gift ideas include colouring books and packs of crayons or pens. These are gifts all children will really love and there’s a lot of great priced books out there. It’s worth a look at the pound shops in your town to see what goodies they have in their stationary department!

There are so many ways you can have a fun Christmas without excessive spending! For more money saving ideas visit Voucher  Freebies.

Christmas Order Dates and Deliverys

Saturday, December 11th, 2010

CHRISTMAS ORDER DATES

Unfortunately due to the adverse weather conditions affecting much of the UK we can no longer guarantee delivery before Christmas for any items.

INSTOCK ITEMS (Ordered Before 12noon):

Tuesday 14 December : Heavy Items / Orders Sent Using Standard Parcels
Monday 20 December : For Items Sent 1st Class
Wednesday 22 December : Orders placed using our ‘Want It Fast’ service
Friday 10 / Monday 13 December : Orders sent to countries within the EU

SPECIAL ORDER ITEMS: Last order dates will vary depending on the item ordered – please contact us if you wish to check.

PERSONALISED ITEMS: All personalised items are subject to a final order date if required before Christmas please contact us to see if we are able to assist

ROYAL MAIL CHRISTMAS DELIVERIES

Royal Mail know that in the run up to the festive season we need to be able to collect parcels that just wont fit through our letter boxes so they are providing lots of extra services in the run up to Christmas to make things easier;

Extra deliveries: In the week leading up to Christmas, they’ll be delivering in the evenings and on Sunday the 19th.

Later opening hours: If you’re out when they try to deliver, its now easier to collect your post from your local Enquiry Office, which will be open later from 13th December. The opening hours will be on your ‘sorry you were out’ card.

More redelivery options: You can arrange redelivery of your Christmas parcels to your home address, a neighbour’s address or your local Post Office®.

TotsCorner Christmas Greetings & Closedown Information

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

Unfortunately the final order date for Christmas Delivery has now passed and TotsCorner will be closed between Thursday 24 December and Monday 28 December – orders for in stock items placed during this time will be despatched on Monday 28 December, please note some special order items will not be despatched until Monday 4 January due to supplier closedowns.

***We would like to take this opportunity to wish all our our customers a very happy holiday season and best wishes for 2010 ***

Sherilyn, Kim and the TotsCorner team

Christmas Posting & Deliveries

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

CHRISTMAS ORDER DATES

INSTOCK ITEMS:
Sunday 20 December : For Items Sent 1st Class
Tuesday 22 December : Orders placed using our ‘Want It Fast’ service

SPECIAL ORDER ITEMS:
Last order dates will vary depending on the item ordered – please contact us if you wish to check.

PERSONALISED ITEMS:
All personalised items are subject to a final order date if required before Christmas please contact us to see if we are able to assist

ROYAL MAIL CHRISTMAS DELIVERIES

Royal Mail know that in the run up to the festive season we need to be able to collect parcels that just wont fit through our letter boxes so they are providing lots of extra services in the run up to Christmas to make things easier;

Extra deliveries: In the week leading up to Christmas, they’ll be delivering in the evenings and on Sunday the 20th.

Later opening hours: If you’re out when they try to deliver, its now easier to collect your post from your local Enquiry Office, which will be open later from 14th December. The opening hours will be on your ‘sorry you were out’ card.

More redelivery options: You can arrange redelivery of your Christmas parcels to your home address, a neighbour’s address or your local Post Office®. And for December only, you can collect from your Post Office® for free.

Earning Extra Money in the Run up to Christmas

Monday, November 16th, 2009

This article was kindly provided by Gemma Johnson Co-founder of Babeecard Logo

Earning Extra Money in the Run up to Christmas

As Christmas approaches, we could all do with a little extra money. Here are some swift and simple ways to boost the family budget over the next few months.

Sell Something

There are lots of opportunities to earn extra income through direct selling.  To find the best direct selling business, do a little research. Ask friends what they are planning to buy for Christmas. Find out what other direct selling companies are operating in your local area. Last year at my daughter’s school everyone was having Body Shop parties and it got to the point where there
was almost no-one who hadn’t been asked to host. Pick something that is different AND make sure that what the company offers is in the right price range for the people you will be targeting.

Earning Online

If you have a computer there are lots of simple ways to make your money go further and earn cash back, commission or affiliate fees. Start by signing up for a cashback site or two, so when you do your Christmas shopping you get a few percentage of what you spent back in your account. Then, look for opportunities to earn online. You can sign up for affiliate schemes where you promote
a link and get a small amount every time one of your friends or contacts shops through that link. If you’re a BaBeeCard member, for example, you earn £5 credit for everyone you get to sign up.

Look for a Job

In the run up to Christmas lots of businesses need extra help. Spend an afternoon going round your local shopping centre and asking about whether they will be hiring extra staff before Christmas. Wear something reasonably smart: you don’t need to wear your interview suit, but look like you are smart and ready to work. Ask to speak to the manager if possible. You may be asked to supply a CV if they have vacancies, or you could be given a form to take away and fill in.  If they will be looking for staff in coming weeks, make a note of when and where they will advertise vacancies. And if you have a CV, revise it with an emphasis on skills that you have which would be useful in a busy store in the run up
to Christmas.

Remember, whatever way you choose to earn some extra money, persistence pays off. If you don’t get the first job you apply for, keep trying. If you go for direct selling, look beyond your friends for party hosts and target groups and offices too. And if you opt for an affiliate scheme, spread the word to as many people as possible to maximise your earnings.

About the Author:

Gemma Johnson Co-founder of BebeeCard
Winner of Mumpreneur of the year 2009 sponsored by WBMN
BaBeeCard Winner of Best Gift Card Award 2009 by Prepaid365.com