Guest post by Kizzy

Well after all the lovely weather we have been having recently, our thoughts are turning to summer. This new season brings with it a new set of fashion and make up trends for us to keep on top of. So here is a sneak peak at what is on trend for Summer 2011.

Lets start with hair. The most popular look this summer is going to be the bobbed hair style. This is a great versatile style that suits most face shapes and can be worn at different lengths. Stars such as Jennifer Aniston and Keria Knighetley have been seen sporting their new bobbed hairstyles recently.

Also having a textured style is a must this summer. Textured tousles tresses are a great way to achieve this and are right on trend.

Thinking of putting away your dark red lipsticks till next winter then don’t. Burgundy lips are the colour of this summer. Givenchy and Yves Saint Laurent’s make up artists showed these colours at their spring/summer shows.

If deep reds are not the right colour for your lips, then why not try a fuchsia. Whether it is sheer or matte, this is a great fresh and summery colour that will also go with the on trend purple eyes.

Purple is the in colour for eyes this summer. Teamed up with nude or pale pink lips this colour is great for making a statement on a night out with the girls.

Purple will not suit all skin colours and if you are lucky enough to have have gorgeous live skin tones then green is the colour for you. Rhianna has been spotted sporting fantastic emerald green eyes and no matter what shade of green you choose, with your olive complexion it will look amazing.

Do you like to make a statement with your make up then why not try neon eyes. Stars like Fergie from the Black Eyed peas have been seen wearing great neon orange eye shadow teamed with nude lips. This look is great for turning heads!

In the summer its great to look sun kissed but we need to protect our skin fro the damage the sun can cause. So to achieve this, don’t over do it with the self tan or bronzer, why not keep your complexion creamy by using brown based make up to highlight and accentuate.

These are just a few trends that you will be seeing over the coming summer months. To achieve a look that you are happy with, experiment and have fun!

1. Penny Toss

Provide pennies and bowls, mark a shooting spot on the grass, every penny in the pot wins a prize. [from Having Fun with Kids by Marilee LeBon]

2. Penny a Weed

We did something similar with snails when I was younger! Two pence for a snail though, it’s a dirty job.

3. Peanut Hunt

Buy a pack of monkey nuts, mark some ‘winning’ nuts, and then hide all the nuts. Give prizes to any kids who find winning nuts. [from Having Fun with Kids by Marilee LeBon]

4. Home-made Skittles

5. Face Painting

6. Bingo

7. Happy Sun Craft Project (Easy)

8. Short Tennis

You can buy children’s sets relatively cheaply. Get set up with some strawberries and cream and pretend you’re at Wimbledon.

9. Ripped Newspaper Art Project

10. Bike Rides

Pack a picnic and make it an all day outing.

11. Build Sandcastles

In a sandpit or on a beach, make flags from paper and straws for the top.

12. Make Homemade Birthday Cards

Most superstores have pre-packed sets for a few pounds/dollars, which usually include card, glue, stickers and glitter.

13. Make Chocolate Fondue

14. Day Camp

Set up a tent and provide picnic food, and have a day camp in the back garden

15. Karaoke Competition

Hold a karaoke competition, or go one further and host a ‘stars in their eyes’ final with all the kids imitating pop stars.

16. Blind Taste Test

Blindfold each child in turn and provide a few different foodstuffs, mark down which ones they get right. Provide a small prize for the winner.

17. Play Hide and Seek

18. Ice Cream Picture Activity

19. Egg and Spoon Races

Use the plastic eggs from the toy kitchen, if you have one.

20. Visit a Science Museum

21. Put on a Play

Provide a good story book and get the children to choose parts and act it out.

22. Read-athon

Hold a read-a-thon, see how many books they can read in an alotted time.

23. Play Marble Mania

24. Backyard Cookery Class

Hold a cookery class in your own back garden. Tailor recipes to the appropriate age, but perhaps homemade pizzas, fruit kebabs and fairy cakes would be a good place to start.

25. Visit a Farmers Market

Pick ingredients and make a homemade soup or ratatouille.

26. Sponge Painting

Provide a length of plain wallpaper, some sponges and some paint. Hey presto!

27. Sand Art

28. Colour-in Printouts

There are various sites to get print-outs, just search in google.

29. Stencilling with Doilies


30. Visit the Library

Try and arrange to go during story-telling time.

31. Model with Play-dough

32. Go Swimming

33. Make Chocolate Krispie Cakes

34. Build an Obstacle Course

Build an obstacle course in the back garden and time each other. Use and play equipment you have, ie tubes, climbing frame, bikes, hula hoops, skipping ropes with household items like sheets as scramble nets.

35. Chalk Drawing

Use white chalk on black paper, or the patio as a canvas!

36. Go Bark Rubbing

37. Build Cardboard Robots

38. Jigsaw Puzzles

Do jigsaw puzzles and then try and make your own from card.

39. Water Play

Fill water balloons and pistols for older kids.

40. Make Homemade Musical Instruments

41. Sticker Picture

Provide stickers and plain card, it’s that easy!

42. Make Sock Puppets

43. Fondant Icing Characters

Provide a few different colours of fondant icing (colour with food colouring) and let your children make animals and characters from cartoons.

44. Start a Herb Garden

45. Listen to a Story CD

You can usually borrow these from the library.

46. Make Painted Pasta Jewellery

47. Make an Alphabet Scrapbook

Use a page for each letter and find magazine cut outs of the letter to stick in, great activity for preschoolers.

48. Play Card Games

Uno, snap and pairs can provide a couple of hours of fun.

49. Photography

Buy them a disposable camera to practice taking photos of wildlife and scenery.

50. Summer Scrapbook

Make a scrapbook with photos, pictures and comments on everything you’ve done over the holidays.

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I’m pretty lucky, Erin asks for nothing more than the odd biscuit or grape at the moment. In a few years, it will be a completely different story, “mum, can I have” will be the war cry. The summer holidays will be yet another financial event to be budgeted for.

In the past (dim, and very distant)when we’ve gone abroad I’ve tended to budget by the day. For example I work out a daily budget, multiply it by the amount of days and I know that’s how much spending money to take. Each day I will ‘pay’ myself the daily amount, leftovers are carried over to the following day. Money remaining at the end of the holiday is spent on a special treat, souvenirs for family and ourselves.

I think if I had a few kids of spending age I would be inclined to use a similar system, perhaps worked on a weekly basis instead. With teenagers you could give them the budget and let them learn to budget themselves.

Do you budget for summer? If so, what system do you use?

Photo by flickr user Rafa from Brazil

A couple of other bloggers have written an ABC list for summer inspiration. I did it for Christmas so here’s my Summer edition.

Aeroplane Spotting
Bark Rubbing
Chocolate Krispie Cake Making
Dvd Night
Eating Competition (Dooking for apples or donut on a string?)
Foot Printing
Gardening
Hide & Seek
Ice Biscuits
Jigsaw Puzzles
Kite Flying
Library visit
Make a Mosaic from Old Cards
Nature Walk + Scavenger Hunt
Organize a Football/Rugby/Cricket Tournament
Paint a Canvas
Quiet Time (aah, I think this one is wishful thinking!)
Rounders
Start a Summer Scrapbook
Treasure Hunt
Under the Sea Collage
Visit a Museum
Websites for kids
Xylopohone and other Musical Instruments
Your Turn – Each family member takes a turn at choosing an activity (It’s Y…what else begins with Y!!!!)
Zoo/Petting Farm

Photo by flickr user Steve Sawyer

The Simple Dollar is urging us to have a money free weekend. Spending time rather than money is a lost art for many of us. Living on one (and a bit) income, and being an avid reader of the simple dollar for some time now I have thought a lot about the activities we can do as a family that are free.

Have a DVD Night

Dig out the dvd’s you haven’t watched for a while, use snacks from the house and make your own ‘in-house cinema’.

Teddy Bears Picnic

Younger kids will love to take dolls and teddies on a picnic, all you really need is a blanket and a tea set.

Go Cycling

If you have bikes, go cycling, free and healthy. We don’t have bikes, but I think I might hire one when I go to Centre Parcs.

Visit Your Local Botanical Gardens

Most areas have local gardens that are well kept and free. Sometimes they even have free exhibitions.

Keep an eye out for Freebies

For example, in Scotland, this weekend, all historical sites are FREE entry, also, I just this week I received an invite to a FREE food tasting event.

Paddling/Ball Pool

Most homes with children have an inflatable pool for water or balls. This can provide hours of fun for kids.

Hold a Scavenger Hunt

Gather your kids and all their friends and hold a scavenger hunt. A quick list typed on the computer of about 20 items will suffice. Divide the kids into pairs, older matched with younger works best. Offer a small prize to the winner (something from the house will do).

Become an Entrepreneur

Ignite your kid’s entrepreneurial spirit and get them working. Make rose perfume (water and petal, remember that?), a lemonade stand, make badges/bracelets from those make and do sets from christmas, make slush puppies to sell, hold a toy sale, start a car washing business, kids love trying to make money!

Go to the Beach

Preschoolers love sand and they love water. At the beach there is an abundance of both, FREE.

Reading

Challenge your kids to read a certain amount of books in one weekend.

Visit Your Local Art Gallery or Museum

We have recently visited two modern art galleries and have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Hold a Tournament

This is great for older kids. If you have a computer, hold a gaming tournament. If you are lucky enough to have a pool table or darts board hold a knockout tourney.

Arts & Crafts Afternoon

Lay a large mat on the floor and get the glitter, glue, card etc out.

Make a Den

Provide a group of kids with a few sheets/tarpaulin, and other random items to make a den.

Sports

Encourage the kids to organise a mass game of football or rounders in the park.

Photo by flickr user The Alieness