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Be Fabulous and Frugal as you Ring in the New Year

December 29, 2011 | Leave a Comment

Happy New YearDo you want to throw a rockin’ New Years Eve Party but don’t have a lot to spend? No worries! You don’t have to sit on the couch in your PJs and fuzzy slippers and count down to New Year with Ryan Seacrest — unless of course you want to! If you want to have people over are ready to celebrate, then I have some good news for you. I have searched the web to find some fabulous and frugal ideas that can help you throw a memorable New Years Eve Party!

Frugal Invitations

You can get much more frugal than free, am I right? I have found a few free invitation options that you can use to let your guests know that they are invited to the party of the year — or at least in for a fun night with friends.

New Year Invitation

(photo via Evite)

One of my favorite invitation websites in Evite. There several attractive choices for New Years Eve invitations and the best part is they are free! No need to buy invitations, pay postage or hunt down your guests for RSVPs. It can all be done on the Evite website. Easy peasy!!!

New Years Eve Invitations

I also found several free printable cards at the Holiday Crafts and Creations website. These can be printed on fancy or festive paper for a fraction of the price it might cost to buy invites.

But here is my FAVORITE…

I wasn’t able to put the photo up – probably because of copyright restrictions – but you simply MUST trust me when I say these invitations are fabulous!!! Head on over to the Perpetual Party Planner Blog and check out the post on DIY New Year’s Eve Invites.

DIY New Year’s Eve Favors

You can put those empty wrapping paper tubes from Christmas to good use with this craft I found on Holiday Crafts and Creations.

Homemade Party Poppers

Just click on the photo above to visit their site and see the simple step-by-step instructions. Use your imagination and creativity to really have fun with these poppers.

Need Confetti? Have left over wrapping paper from Christmas? PERFECT! Just stick the paper into your shredder for instant streamers or confetti (depending on the type of shredder you have). Or, if you want to keep the kids busy during their Christmas break, have them cut it all by hand. It up to you 🙂

Frugal Food

You can always ask guest to bring their favorite finger food, dessert and/or their own drinks. If you have been couponing then you have probably built up quite a stockpile of goodies. If so, now is the time to tap into that treasure and put on a grand spread for your guests — all for a fraction of the price. Even if you don’t have a well stocked pantry you can still find a lot of great deals and use coupons to save money. Frugal and fabulous!!!

hot spinach dip

(via Allrecipes.com)

One of my very favorite recipe websites is Allrecipes.com. You are sure to find a lot of delicious recipes. They have all kinds of recipes for appetizers, dinners, desserts, and even drinks. Check it out and get creative!!!

Whatever you decide to do, be sure to have fun, be fabulous, stay safe and please do NOT drink and drive!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!

 

Do you have any frugal tips for celebrating New Year’s Eve?

Brian
Brian

Brian is the founder of Kids Ain’t Cheap and is now sharing his journey through parenthood.

 
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Filed Under: Holidays, Money and Finances Tagged With: Decorations, Frugal Party, Invitations, New Years Eve, Party

Happy Birthday Harrison!

February 20, 2011 | 5 Comments

dinosaur-cakeMy oldest son turns 5 tomorrow!  I can’t believe it’s been 5 years since we went into the hospital to have our first baby.  What a crazy whirlwind it has been since then.  I am so grateful and proud of my two little boys.  As with any parent, I have my moments of aggravation but the truth is, my boys are wonderful.  The problems we may run across day to day are normal an minor.  They are very sweet, very well behaved and I love them very much.  They have enriched my life far beyond what I could have expected.

Since his birthday is on a Monday, we had is party and celebrated his 5th birthday today.  Our little house was packed full of family and friends.  His favorite thing to eat is pasta so my wife made stuffed shells and her macaroni and cheese.  I got up early, got my smoker/grill fired up and made ribs.  Between that and the food that everyone else bought, everyone stuffed themselves happy.

A dinosaur cake

As I mentioned in my post about our recent trip to the Philly, Harrison Loves Dinosaurs.   He is completely obsessed with them and his favorite is Tyrannosaurus Rex.  It took a lot of effort but my wife made him an amazing T-Rex cake.  Harrison was blown away, as were the rest of us.

 

He got some really great presents (most of them dinosaur themed) and by the end of the day, him and his brother were exhausted from all the play time and excitement.  I must admit that my wife and I are also exhausted.  Our sparkling clean house is a disaster area after this party but both of us are enjoying some down time on the couch together.  We will will leave the mess until tomorrow.

Have you ever made a theme cake? How did it turn out?

Brian
Brian

Brian is the founder of Kids Ain’t Cheap and is now sharing his journey through parenthood.

 
Email • Google + • Facebook • Twitter

Filed Under: Family Time Tagged With: Birthday, Cake, Party

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Basic Principles Of Good Parenting

Here some basic principles for good parenting:

  1. What You Do Matters: Your kids are watching you. So, be purposeful about what you want to accomplish.
  2. You Can’t be Too Loving: Don’t replace love with material possessions, lowered expectations or leniency.
  3. Be Involved Your Kids Life: Arrange your priorities to focus on what your kid’s needs. Be there mentally and physically.
  4. Adapt Your Parenting: Children grow quickly, so keep pace with your child’s development.
  5. Establish and Set Rules: The rules you set for children will establish the rules they set for themselves later.  Avoid harsh discipline and be consistent.
  6. Explain Your Decisions: What is obvious to you may not be evident to your child. They don’t have the experience you do.
  7. Be Respectful To Your Child: How you treat your child is how they will treat others.  Be polite, respectful and make an effort to pay attention.
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