A step too far for a mother's sanity?

So when thinking about M's 3rd birthday party I was 'inspired' to not buy anything to add fuel to the ever expanding party bag fire.  I think I might now be living to regret that!

With one more evening before her birthday lunch I still have to finish off 6 papier mache hot air balloons...what was I thinking!!  Admittedly I have a lovely first evening, leisurely making glue (no animals were harmed in the making of this episode), tearing up newspaper, sticking it onto two balloons.  The second night to do the final four (when I realised how long the blasted things take to dry out) was a slightly less enjoyable time, and now I have one night left and am still hoping they dry in time, I can engineer the baskets and the hanging of the balloons, and that they're going to withstand the excitement of 3 year olds for at least 5 minutes?

The great thing is that lots has been achieved without spending a penny:

• balloons found in the bottom of a drawer
• newspaper from a friend
• glue made with flour and water (see the recipe below if you're interested)
• no paint needed buying as the outer layer is some old IKEA wrapping paper I've had for ages
• pots have been scrounged for the baskets
• and inside we're putting:
• origami animals (instructions from the internet and a library book), 
• chocolate mice (had a giant bag given by a lady this week, who we met at a glass bottle bank and asked for jam jars, so we're now saving them for her, and in turn she gives us a jar of something and brought mice for the kids)
• little notes saying why M likes having them as friends
• and we were going to put in a bulb, and a flower pot (but I don't think the balloon will take the weight...although the honest answer is I think I've timed out)

Balloons Drying

So come back soon to see photos of the final outcome, and if you are mad enough to follow suit, below are some sites that I got inspiration from.  Just be warned that they take at least 3 days to dry (unless you want to crank up the heating, but as we haven't got ours on yet, I figured that would somewhat negate all my effort if I did that), and I'm not 100% convinced that 3 layers is adequate...so start a month in advance to have time to complete :-)


How to Paper Mache - I used the COOK METHOD of glue from this site
Hot Air Balloon - a step-by-step to making a hot air balloon, which I adapted slightly
Papier Mache Balloon - more steps with photos

'Apple'...what springs to mind?

Get free images here

iPad, iPod, Mac...or the commonal garden, edible variety? 

We've just gotten back from a lovely weekend with friends who are old pompey neighbours, now living on an old strip farm outside Wells.  It's simply amazing and will be my city-dwelling children's countryside education.  We fed the chickens, collected eggs, looked at fox dens, saw badger tracks, pulled carrots and spent ages picking apples, and sorting them for storage, eating & cider making.

We've come home with eggs and bags of apples; now need to work out something to do with them.

But what a contrast to our day today on our way home...we stopped in Salisbury to have a day out with the in-laws, and the assault from the shops was madness!  Such a contrast, and I'm sure made more vivid since I haven't been in shops for a couple of weeks, and hadn't realised that Christmas had already arrived this year!  Santas, decorations, endless present ideas, Christmas trees.  (How do you explain all that to an almost 3 year old without making the world sound mad...OK, so I simply told her that the world had gone mad!)

So I've decided to start thinking about Christmas, and discover ways to get back to the simple apples in life, rather than the gadgets and wishlists.  I'm sure the kids will be just as excited by the mystery and fun of the celebrations, as getting a stack of plastic, packaging and stuff.  Generations before us did...let's try and rediscover some of it (it's not child abuse, honest!)

A 3 year old's birthday

Click the balloons for free images

Children's birthdays seem to be full of money in our culture today:

• presents
• party
• entertainment
• venue
• food & drink
• party bags
• party clothes

And having run a children's party venue a number of years ago, I am passionate about not being drawn into the one-upmanship that seems to weigh heavily on many shoulders.

So how to celebrate being 3?

Firstly, my aim is for her to know how precious she is, and how much she is loved, not just by her blood family, but also by many others.

And secondly, it's about fun.

So the plan?

A simple party lunch at home with some of her little friends.

Some time to play together (whilst mummies eat).

Some fun things to give to her friends as they leave, which we'll have had fun making together.

And presents...that's the big question, which I'm unable to answer bravely yet.

We're blessed with so much, as she's certainly not needing anything.  And in the spirit of sharing and recycling things, she gets toys handed down throughout the year.  Do we need to have presents at birthdays (or Christmas...but that's a whole other subject!)  Will she be scarred for life if she doesn't get presents on her birthday?  Can we celebrate throughout the year when we get given things?  How can we mark the day of her birth in a rich and lovely way...

I definitely need to give this more thought and talk with others.  And I fully appreciate that at 3 I can get away with a lot, and probably as she's older and we can discuss things we can make joint decisions...perhaps the challenge is the middle years??  Discuss ;-)

No presents in 2012?

So I've been thinking about what do about presents for friends and family during the year?

Get Creative

It's not unheard of for me to make cakes, sweets, fudge, chutneys, cushions etc, so that's one idea.

 

Gift a Gift

But what I'm really liking the idea of, is gifting people some of my time and 'gifting'.  I could create a little 'tick voucher', returnable with your selected choice of activity for me to do.  Something like this...

Recycled Cards

Between nursery pictures that come home and the store of old cards, there is simply no need to buy a card all year (have no idea who to void postage though (eCards aren't quite the same)).

These things will be more personal, more full of love, more costly in terms of time, but so much more special.  So I hope I can make time to do this and that people will accept it with the love that it will be given.  (And I won't be averse to anyone giving me the same in return :-)

Ideas on the rules of engagement

Check out this blog 

In reality I can't avoid spending any money in 2012, so I've been thinking of some principles to try and work to, and tried to prioritise them.

Double-check do I really need it, and if so can I reduce the amount that I need?

Borrow is it something that someone else has, that I could share/borrow etc?

Recycle is it possible to use something that I or someone else is getting rid of? (Freegle is great for this!)

My experience so far is that I'm more successful with the above if I endeavour to remove the impulse and immediacy of a purchase, and if I talk about it with others and give myself time to think up alternatives and spread the word about what I'm looking for.

When I have to purchase something, I'm going to try and use these as priorities (would be lovely to manage to achieve the top 4 in all purchases of course :-)

1. Previously loved (charity shops, ebay, NCT sales etc)
2. Fair Trade (in my world, humans come first)
3. Organic
4. Local
5. Oh well....I tried and have to give in to what's available

Let's see how I get on...and it's a guide that I'll review as the year goes on.  Any thoughts/comments welcome...

Even terry nappies aren't a problem!

So I've been pondering whether or not to give this a go, and am now feeling that it's a bit of a redundant question to ask.

In the last month I've been wondering how we'll get the following (which we could do with):

Happiness is a terry nappy :-)

• some kind of bike or trailer that will enable me to get to and from work and nursery with me, the kids and all the baggage
• how I can live with out a few new clothes during the year (that I actually like :-)
• how I'm going to replace some terry nappies that are getting holes in
• what I'm going to do about presents (especially for adults) during the year.

And these are the answers that God has supplied:

• someone has (indefinitely) lent us a bike trailer which can hold at least one child and baggage, and fits on my bike!
• I popped into the Rowans Hospice Charity Shop in Southsea and came out with a Boden Skirt for a fiver! (which having looked online, would have cost a minimum of fify quid!!!!)
• I've just had a text from a friend who is getting rid of some terry nappies...could I use them?
• I've had an inspired idea...you'll have to visit soon to see a blog on that...but don't worry friends & family, you'll be getting something :-)

So I've decided to stop pondering, and get going.  God can help us get the things we need and far exceed my limited expectations....WOW....God is Good!