With Christmas just around the corner, you’re no doubt wracking your brain to think of how you can make the festive season extra special for the kids. But like many people you’re probably also trying to save money wherever you can, and may even be considering cutting back on spending for this Christmas. But there is a way to treat the kids and save money this year.

Make their Christmas special, without breaking the bank

Groupon have a selection of regular deals in London that offer plenty of great ways to entertain the kids at very reasonable prices.

How about taking them to see the latest 3D film at your nearest cinema for just £1? Or paying £9 for £30 worth of tokens to spend at the games arcade? Both of these were recent Groupon deals in London, and are great examples of the fun your family can have and the money you can save.

But to inspire active youngsters who have all the games and technology they need, you have to think outside the box. So why not get them off the sofa and out into the fresh air with Go-Karting sessions or family fun days and theme park tickets? Not only does it offer a break from the usual routine for the kids, but it also gives the whole family a chance to play together and enjoy some quality time discovering new experiences.

How does it work?

As well as great treats and exciting Christmas presents for the kids, Groupon have a great range of deals on everything from spa days to gourmet four course meals and track days. To keep up to date with the latest daily deals, simply sign up to receive email updates or check back to the website frequently.

Groupon team up with local and national businesses to arrange unbeatable deals every day. By promising businesses a certain number of guaranteed customers, Groupon can negotiate substantial discounts on behalf of their users, sometimes as high as 90%.

Once the minimum number of people have signed up to the deal then you can download your voucher and take advantage of the offer. Effectively, this enables people to harness the collective buying power of their city and turn it to their advantage. The result is that even if your budget is tight, you and the kids can discover a side of the city you perhaps didn’t even know existed. As well as receiving fresh inspiration for things to do and perhaps develop a new long-term interest for the kids, you can also access experiences and exclusive locations that you might not otherwise be able to afford.

To make the Christmas Robin tea cosy you will need…

5.5 mm, UK size 5 or US size 9 knitting needles,

50g Brown double knitting wool,

50g Red double knitting wool,

25g White double knitting wool

And scraps of felt for the eyes and beak.

Divide all of the balls of wool into two balls so that the yarn can be used in double thickness but knitted up as a single strand.

The Back
Using double thickness brown yarn cast on 28 stitches and work 38 rows in straight garter stitch (Knit each row)

Leave the stitches on a spare needle until later.

The Front
Using double thickness brown wool, cast on 28 stitches and work 4 rows in garter stitch.

Break the yarn and change to white (again double yarn) Work another 4 rows.

Row 9: Knit 6 stitches with white, Join Red (double yarn) knit in red to last 6 stitches. Knit 6 with white.

Don’t carry the yarn behind the work, instead use separate balls of wool and twist the yarns together when changing colours to avoid leaving holes.

Row 10: K6 white, K16 red, K6 white.

Row 11: K4 white, K20 red, K4 white.

Repeat the last row 21 more times.

Row 33: K5 white, K8 red, K2 white, K8 red, K5 white.

Repeat this row again.

Row 35: K6 White, K6 red, K4 white, K6 red, K6 white.

Repeat this row again.

Work two rows in white.

The Tea Cosy Top
Using brown double yarn proceed to knit across the tea cosy front and then tea cosy back as follows…

Shaping the top Row 1: *K5, K2 tog* repeat to end

Next and every alternate row Knit.

Row 3: *K4, K2 tog* repeat to end.

Row 5: *K3, K2 tog* repeat to end.

Row 7: *K2, K2 tog* repeat to end.

Row 9: *K1, K2 tog* repeat to end.

Row 11: *K2 tog* repeat to end.

Thread the end of the yarn through the remaining stitches and through the loop of the yarn itself and draw up the knitting tightly and Finnish off.

With the front and back right sides together, sew about 9.5cm from the finishing off point down the side seam towards the cast on edge.

At the bottom of each side seam, sew about 3cm upwards. The holes are left for the teapot handle and spout.

From felt cut out two eyes (Approximately 4cm in diameter) and sew into position.

Cut a 5cm long kite shape from black felt and fold the fabric in half along the long edge and over-sew this edge with small stitches. With the seam at the bottom, flatten out to form a slender pointed beak. Sew into place.

Now the rosy robin can keep your rosy lee piping hot all winter.

This novelty Christmas robin tea cosy fits teapots up to 47cm round and up to 17cm high, a medium sized teapot.

You may consider finding gifts or toys for the children to be one of the simplest task for the Christmas, but it is not always true in the sense that the task for selecting the most appropriate and safest toy for the children and kids is not necessarily always that easy. Certainly, there are many due factors to be taken into serious consideration before you make a decision of purchase to avoid any post consonance that may occur after your shopping. Specific concerns for shopping toys for kids include but not limit to the following: safety risk and age appropriateness of toys, general fit of toys to the living environment, acceptability and suitability of toys, toys appeals to kids and children and so forth.

Buying a toy that is age appropriate is a critical consideration when shopping for the children and kids. Age grading is normally located on the toys as reference and a general guideline regarding the age appropriateness of the particular toy. Toys for older children above three years old may pose choking hazard to the younger kids due to the amount of removable, small and loose parts. Where appropriate, larger toys should be evaluated and chosen after considering whether the size of the toy can be a potential choking hazard given that small children and kids tend to put toys into their mouths. Age appropriateness consideration is deemed important because the level of educational factor and its nature of complexity embodied in the toys or games should correspond to children of the particular age group. Complex toys and games may frustrate the younger kids because they are too complicated to manage and play while older kids may find the simpler toys too boring and uninteresting.

The general tendency to purchase Christmas gifts for children and kids would be to choose something that appeal to the children and let the children to make the choices for themselves. While freedom of choice allows the children to enjoy their toys, parents and adults must also have regards for the living environment factor that includes adequacy of storage for toys and the mechanisms of the toys in play. Although insignificant as it seems, the decision in considering these factors is important especially when choosing a toy for children other than your own. Some toys can produce too loud of the noise that may irritate both the parents as well as the neighbours living in close proximity such as nearby apartment buildings. As a considerate individual, we should also evaluate if the outdoor or indoor items may be inappropriate for the child and the family in light of the size of their living room and yard compound, location of residence and so forth. An item too large not only creates concern about where to accommodate the gift, sometimes it may render the gift totally useless if they cannot be used as a result of the limitations of environment mentioned above. The golden rule in the shopping process for Christmas gift would be to settle with smaller items producing little or no loud noise.

It is equally paramount when shopping for Christmas gifts for children and kids to regard for the personal principle and acceptability of the gifts by the parents of the child. There are types of toys that are subject to objection and restriction to play from the parents due to their beliefs that either these items may promote violence or illegitimate in educating their children or other ethical disposition attached to these classes of toys. If you are not aware of these considerations of these parents, it would be best to avoid purchasing such toys that may provoke dissent.

The process of Christmas shopping for the kids and children would have been made easier if you talk to their parents before making the actual purchases. By talking to the parents, you can appreciate what kinds of toys really excite and interest the child and at times, you may get helpful information about the specific range of toys that the kids have been anticipating for the coming Christmas. There is no point at all if the gift that you have bought is something he or she already has and most likely the toys will be stash away almost immediately. Never is there a better choice than to call up the parents to let them know that you are trying to get a gift and you may be surprise to get several suggestions from them which make your shopping much easier and stress-free for the season.

1. Halo Cotton Sleepsack Light Pink

• Price: $19.99
• Average Customer Review: 5 stars
• Product Description: “The HALO SleepSack Wearable Blanket is the only blanket on the market this customized to fit a range of sizes to ensure safety for all infants. Its design is making consumers rethink the idea of a baby blanket. This is the safest, yet softest blanket on the market. It is made of 100% flame resistant cotton. The SleepSack from HALO is sleeveless to reduce the risk of baby rebreathing into the sleeve. It reduces the risk of overheating and is easy to slip on to a sleeping child. The Sack design means that baby will never kick a blanket off or, even worse, put it up over his mouth and nose causing the airflow to be disrupted. An inverted zipper allows the parent to change the diaper with ease and also prevents the child from scratching his chin or even unzipping the SleepSack.”
• Manufacturer Recommended Age: infant

2. Infantino Activity Triangle

• Price: $17.95
• Average Customer Review: 5 stars
• Product Description: “Every baby loves surprises and this toy is full of them. This colorful toy entertains from every angle with zippy buttons, rattling beads, spinning shapes and a twirling mirror so baby can check out that adorable smile.”
• Manufacturer Recommended Age: 6 months & up

3. Read-To-Me Tot Tower

• Price: $18.99
• Average Customer Review: 5 stars
• Product Description: “These Read To Me Tot Tower Blocks are delightfully illustrated by well known book illustrator Saxton Freymann. These 10 nesting/stacking Read To Me Tot Tower blocks depict many objects, words and colors. The blocks are made to stack, tumble and nest. Heavy paper over board makes for edges that are not harmful to children but are extremely sturdy blocks.”
• Manufacturer Recommended Age: 6 months & up

Children are really excited when Christmas is nearing and feel so elated at the fact that they would get lovely gifts and presents from their parents and loved ones. As a parent our head goes reeling as to what exactly would be the best gift for our dear child. We would like them to be really excited, thrilled and the sheer joy on those little faces is worth all the effort spent.

They just wait for Santa to leave their precious Christmas gift and the curiosity and surprise is awesome. Those are moments that money could never buy. Try to make this a memorable one for your child by gifting him or her something really special, something they probably have never thought of but you are sure they would love it. They should look back when they are parents and think of their gifts as the sweetest memories.

Be very selective while choosing the best gift for your darling. It could mean the world to him or her. Think of some surprising idea that could really excite the child and remain as a precious memory. For example if your kid is a fairy tale reader and loves the characters you may try an exotic princess dress for Christmas or a Prince costume for your young prince.

There are so many varieties available with different story lines and they will never want to take it off. In case you have a little astronomer at home try some of these home planetarium sets being sold where you can explore the stars, galaxies and constellations in the comfort of your home and also launch a meteor. These special Christmas gifts will really delight your little one.

If you have a little girl doll lover you may get her one of her favorite American Girls or a latest Barbie or probably a Bitty Baby… doll list is seemingly endless. You may try some latest car toy models or some latest video games for your adventurous son. Anything Hannah Montana has become crazy these days so you may want to check out on the latest electric guitar or other fun stuff coming with her name.

These are just some of the toys available, there are millions others. You are the one that knows best what your child likes and your child’s taste, only remember there is probably everything you ever dreamt of in today’s market which we didn’t have when we were kids. Also remember there are some things that money cant buy, a home made cake baked together with your children, cookies eaten together, a hand painted mug specially written by you for your kids, a lovely dress stitched by you for your princess’ best doll, the list is endless. In spit of all the money you spend if baby knows that mummy took that extra effort to give her the best Christmas gift she will beam with joy…you can see that smile and you’ll cherish it for life.

You’re probably well aware of Astrology and horoscopes but have you heard of Numerology?

Numerology is the science, psychology & philosophy of numbers.

It is a scientific fact that all life and indeed inanimate objects give off vibrations. The Universe is full of vibrational frequencies & energy & so are we.

At a very basic level everything in the Universe is Mathematical. We could not, in fact live without numbers- they create order where there is chaos.

Think of your day to day life.

Where would we be without time? (Measured in numbers), how could we communicate over distance? (Phone numbers) How could someone find which house we lived in? (House numbers). How old are you? (Age is only a number!)

Numerology is a very ancient science, made respectable in the 6th century BC by Pythagoras who, along with his Pythagoreans allocated numerical values to the letters of the alphabet. That’s a very unusual and novel Christmas gift idea!

This, in turn enabled sense to be made of the vibrational quality of each & everyone’s names as well as their dates of birth.

Coming back to the modern age, Numerology charts/reports are now written that give amazingly accurate insights to personality traits, karmic lessons, health indications, name analysis and predictions for the future.

There are some excellent websites offering such charts, but be careful to choose your Numerologist wisely as true Numerologists will hand calculate & interpret your details whereas other supposed Numerologists just click a button and let some super duper computer software churn out identical reports for everybody.

Prices vary from Numerologist to Numerologist, so take your time and thoroughly read what’s on offer before buying.

At Christmas time, one year forecast charts are very popular and make a very personal & unusual Christmas gift, one that will always be referred to and remembered.

1. Garmin n黺i 350 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator. Considered as a revolutionary device that gives you more than you can ask for, this GPS Navigator offers you precise directions, instant routing, and 320×240 color touch screen display. This also has 1 year warranty.

2. Garmin n黺i 270 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator. This GPS Navigator offers an extensive full coverage of US and Europe maps. What is so good with this navigator is it does not give you the hassle of a flip-up antenna and also has a map date of internal memory.

3. Garmin n黺i 360 3.5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Text-To-Speech. Pre-loaded with the latest NAvteq-driven maps for US, Hawaii, Canada, and Puerto Rico, this navigator also gives you real-time traffic and weather information enough to keep you going for as long as weeks.

4. Garmin n黺i 660 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator. Also known as your Personal Travel Assistant, this widescreen Bluetooth portable navigator satisfies your cravings for fun and adventure. It gives you as much as 6 million points of interest like hotels and restaurants.

5. TomTom ONE Refurbished Third Edition Portable GPS Automobile Navigator. Equipped with 1 GB Internal Memory, this portable navigator also provides windshield mount adhesive disk for mount, USB car charger, USB cable, and warranty card. Moreover, this device also has high sensitivity GPS chipset.

6. Garmin StreetPilot c580 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with MSN Direct. Driving and talking on the phone, this navigator has a Bluetooth wireless technology for hands-free calling. It also has an MP3 player and voice feature saying aloud the street names.

7. GARMIN 010-00522-00 Streetpilot C550 GPS Receiver. Simple but very efficient, this navigator gives you multitudes of options to give you a smooth ride towards your destination. This device can also instantly calculate routes to any destination and gives accurate voice-prompted directions.

8. Garmin n黺i 680 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator (Factory Refurbished). Excellent for Christmas, this GPS Navigator is already loaded with complete Navteq maps for North America. It also accepts custom points of interest.

9. TomTom GO 720 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator (Factory Refurbished). A highly personalized GPS navigator, this is an unbelievable purchase because you can record your own voice to give you directions. It also has 4.3 inch widescreen and is compatible with an RDS-TMC Traffic Receiver.

10. Garmin n黺i 370 3.5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Text-To-Speech, North American and European Maps. Weighing only 5 ounces and very handy, this GPS navigator gives you alerts for traffic-related tie-ups and even includes currency and measurement converters.

So if you think you are all set for a long trip this holiday, just before you buckle up, make sure you read first our Top 10 Portable Vehicle GPS Christmas Gifts for 2008 to give you the maximum fun and excitement this Christmas season.

Capital One cash back & travel insurance credit card – pays 4% cash back on all purchases for the first three months. Enough time to earn cash the maximum cash back on all your Christmas shopping! You will also receive FREE annual family travel insurance if you pay for a holiday on the card, so if you’re planning a Christmas break this could be the card for you.

Transferring your balance?

If you’re still feeling the pinch of recent interest rate rises and need to switch your debt to another 0 per cent card here are some of the best around today;

Barclaycard offers 0 per cent on balance transfers for 14 months with a 2.5% fee of the amount transferred. 14.9% Typical APR.

Next, Virgin has 0 per cent on offer for 15 months but their balance transfer fee is 2.98% of the amount transferred. 15.9% Typical APR.

Halifax One Special is again a fantastic offering of 0 per cent on balance transfers for 12 months, Typical APR is 15.9%. However this has a 3% balance transfer fee.

If you’re able to pay off your balance every month then cash back cards are probably the easiest way to get something back for all your spending.

Thinking of a loan?

If you have something more extravagant in mind this Christmas then a personal loan could be the ideal way to make your Christmas dreams come true!

Unsecured personal loans can be used for any purpose you like from financing a car, dream holiday or home improvements to just splashing out on the latest LCD TV or games console for your kids.

Unsecured loans are usually available from ?00 to ?5,000 and are not like secured loans which use your house as security on the loan should you default on payments.

If you already have credit card debt an unsecured loan could also be an ideal solution if you want to consolidate all the debt into one easily manageable monthly payment. Instead of receiving monthly statements from all your creditors and having to ensure payments are sent to these creditors you could take out an unsecured loan large enough to pay off all the outstanding credit card debts. This way you only make one payment to the unsecured loan provider every month and more often than not personal loans have much lower APRs than credit cards.

Here, in no particular order, are websites offering Christmas sheet music.

Sheetmusicplus.com

This site has been around forever! And it’s the largest sheet music site online period. It’s usually the number one destination for online shoppers, but let’s look at it and see what it has to offer. The first thing you see is sheet music by Vince Guiraldi. He wrote a Charlie Brown Christmas. The search results are sorted by best selling first. You can then check by price, by alphabet, and by new releases.

Virtualsheetmusic.com

The next site I visited, virtualsheetmusic.com was completely different. Here the first thing you see is a folio titled “Christmas Carols.” The navigation is confusing and prices aren’t clearly displayed.

Musicnotes.com

This one is an eye-opener! The first thing you see when you enter their Christmas sheet music page is something called “The Christmas Store.” You then see categories of sheet music organized by instrument and by Christmas collections. Very nice!

8notes.com

Now we move on to 8notes.com. The first thing you notice when you enter this site is that much of the Christmas sheet music is free! And that’s a good thing. There’s a section for those who wish to puchase a subscription to all the sheet music on their site – which is quite substantial. It looks like they have 7 pages of free sheet music here. Of course, if you can find what you want for free, it doesn’t make sense to buy it. This site is a real winner and deserves to be looked at.

Well, that’s my foray into the Christmas sheet music world. My advice? Take your time, look around, and choose the free sites first before paying anything.

Here are a few gift ideas kids can give to their loved ones that won’t break the bank.

1.Personalized Christmas ornaments, handmade or purchased and then personalized with beads, glitter, names etc
2.Gardening gloves with a mini-plant or flower seeds packet
3.Home-made holiday cookies in a holiday tin with the recipe
4.Homemade cookie mix in a jar with instructions for baking
5.Note cards or stationery, pen. Add a book of stamps if the gift is for a far away relative or pen-pal.
6.Set of dish towels, dish cloths or potholders or kitchen utensils tied with a ribbon
7.Magazines tied together with a pretty ribbon
8.Mini coffee packet (makes a full-pot) in a cup with home-made chocolate dipped spoons
9.$5.00 gift certificate for a local ice-cream parlor or coffeehouse
10.Disposable camera or rolls of film with a mini-photo album
11.Decorate an inexpensive stocking and fill it with goodies
12.A framed piece artwork created and signed by them
13.Holiday placemats with napkins and napkin holders
14.Birdseed hearts or bird seed pine cone for the nature lover or birds
15.Doggie biscuits or cat toy for a pet lover or 4-legged friends
16.A set of napkin rings or placemats
17.A couple of small candles and small bag of potpourri
18.Coupon books-your child could offer to clean their room, wash dishes, take out trash, dust furniture, water plants, mow lawn or fold clothes or even hugs and kisses. These also make great stocking stuffers.
19.A 2-3 pack condiment/oil set tied with ribbon
20.Movie night snack pack-buy a bowl, 2 bags of popcorn, 2 candy bars, 2 pops, add candies, few napkins
21.Color family snapshot-enlarge at office store, signed with best wished and framed. Great far away relatives.
22.Soup kit-get a basic dried soup kit and bread mix, add 2 soup bowls
23.Fruit basket-just buy an inexpensive basket, fruit and decorate
24.Chocolate candy bars tied w/decorative ribbon
25.Recycled books or a journal for the book reader or writer

?Yvonne Thompson, Assistance For You, All rights reserved. Permission is granted to use this article, as long as the entire article is posted and the “About the Author Bio” section, including all links, remain intact.