Springtime = Babies!

It's Spring!

Everywhere I Look, Folks Are Announcing Pregnancies!

Babies, Babies, Everywhere!

Here Are Some Of My Ideas For Frugal and Maybe Untraditional But Awesome Gifts

*Especially Good Ideas For When It Is Not a First Child.. What do You Gift When There are Plenty of Hand Me Downs?

It seems like every time I turn around these days, a friend or family member is announcing a bundle of joy on the way!  Guess Spring is that time of year! The time for babies.  On a budget? Want to give thoughtful gifts that might not be what you would view as a traditional baby gift? I have a few ideas!

1. Drugstore deals for Diapers can be plentiful. You can get a pack of diapers for $6 pretty easily if you clip a coupon and find a sale. BUT! Don't buy Newborn. Some babies wont finish a full pack of Newborn sized diapers before they outgrow them, and the hospital might provide enough of this size.

2.  Give a Pizza or other deliverable food Certificate.  The new parents will LOVE not having to worry about a meal or two!

3.  This sounds odd, but gift paper plates. I find these on clearance all the time (usually after a holiday or season) for about 35c a pack. (I love Target!)  I have a cabinet full of paper plates and napkins of various designs, styles, etc.  No one wants to do dishes when they have a newborn to cuddle! I never accepted offers of friends who wanted to come clean my house for me when I had a newborn. I am not sure why, but I didn't. A few packs of paper plates to keep the sink clean from the start? That I accepted!

4.  Does the new baby have older siblings? Gift the parents with things that will keep these kids busy! Cheap Dvds $5 or under, activity sets, books, etc. 

5.  CALL the new parents and offer to pick up siblings for a special outing.. library time, trip to the park or movies, whatever.

6.  Drop off food. Don't stay, just drop off food and leave.  (Unless profusely invited in...)  Call and ask if they have freezer space. Then you can make meals and freeze them. Now, the parents have easy to defrost and heat up meals that are more nutritional than microwave meals!

7.  Gift the new parents with a gift certificate for a lawn service. Even being able to call in just once to get the yard mowed could really be a big help!

8.  Consider paying for a month of Netflix or such for the new parents. They will be tired and enjoy a diversion where they can stay in jammies!

9. Always scope out the clearance areas in baby sections of stores. (yes, you can use coupons too!)

10.  Dry Cleaning Certificate.. again, not having to do laundry would be nice.

11. Maid Service Certificate... ditto.

12.  Are you good friends with the parents? Why not make them a mix cd/mp3 album of their favorite music that might be baby friendly too?  They can play soothing music for the baby, and enjoy their favorite groups at the same time. This is much easier to listen to when you are sleep deprived than the standard baby music fare. Just pick their favorite groups and find the "calm" songs and put them all on one album.  Even Mike Doughty has some soothing music! 

13.  Gift them with a Shutterfly.com certificate or some other Portrait Studio certificate.

14.  Start a mail campaign.  Send the new parents a card (anonymously or otherwise) every week.  Make it funny. Or cute. Stuff about new parenthood and babies and sleep deprivation, whatever. Give their spirits a lift, make them chuckle, or be inspirational. Having a new baby is wonderful and difficult at the same time.

15.  Gift a Diaper Wreath, or a a lovely flower wreath for the hospital door.  Or, instead of flowers, consider sending a baby sock rose bouquet! This is lovely and practical!  Diaper cakes rock, too!  Full of useful items.  You can find items like this on a budget going through Ebay, or checking out La Petite Pidge on Facebook.  La Petite Pidge will custom make items according to budget needs. (lapetitepidge@gmail.com also)



Keep an eye on Groupon and Living Social for deals where you can get service certificates cheaply. 

Consider going in with another friend or two to buy the couple something they really might want or need for the new baby.

The main thing is to be creative and frugal.  That $20 outfit might be just adorable.. but the baby might wear it once, spit up on it, and ruin it.  Plus, I kind of loved picking out most of my kids' clothes. Mainly because as soon as I knew what I was having, I would start looking for sales and stock up.  Baby clothes as gifst are lovely, don't get me wrong. But if you already have 20 onesies in that size, and your baby hits a growth spurt, you might not get $20 worth of wear out of the thoughtful and lovely gift.  $20 on a gift card to Starbucks? That is a thoughtful gift that keeps on giving! New parents need coffee and might not splurge on Starbucks for themselves if they are knee deep in paying for other needs like Pampers, etc. 

If someone would have brought me a pack of paper plates, juice boxes, fruit snacks, crayons, coloring books, a Dvd or two, and a certificate for a FREE PIZZA, I would have flipped my lid and been soo excited. My kids would have been entertained, I would not have had to worry about dishes, snacks or dinner! THAT is a frugal and AWESOME gift you can coupon for. You could easily put together something like this for less than $25!  Actually, this is a great idea for my next birthday, too! :)

Take the Family to the Movies on the Cheap!

Going to the Movies These Days is Not Cheap

Here are Some Ideas on How to Save on a Fun Family Trip to the Theater

Taking my family of 5 to the movies can take quite a bite out of our monthly budget.  5 tickets and popcorn can run us $80!  We could buy a bunch of movies for home less than that. And, with the growing popularity of services such as Netflix for about $10 a month, it hardly seems worth the cost to go to the theater. However, sometimes, you just have to go see it on the big screen.  The question is, how can you save money when you go to the movies?

I have some ideas:

1.  Check out various companies that offer rewards for buying their products.  Kelloggs is pretty good about offering point codes on specially marked cereal boxes, etc.  You then enter these points into your online account and redeem for Concession Cash or Movie Tickets. Check to see if your theater participates.  When you can coupon and get Kelloggs for 75 cents-$1.50 a box, this can really be a great deal.  I worked these deals a few months ago and spent about $9 out of pocket for more than $35 worth of movie tickets, concession cash, and got about 7 boxes of Kelloggs too!  Go HERE for current information about this promotion. This deal must be done by June, so go check it out today.
2. PopTarts by Kelloggs has a similar promotion. You get points for trying new flavors. Codes are on specially marked boxes. We love Pop Tarts, so this was an easy deal to do.  Go HERE for more info. This promotion ends in September.
3. Save time and make sure you get your ticket before they sell out. Check out Fandango for discount movie ticket promotions too!  Go HERE  to see if there are any current promotions that would work for you.  Also, Google Fandango Discount Code any time before you buy and see if you can get an even better deal.
4. Months ago, Groupon had a hot deal: $4 for a movie ticket on Fandango.  You could only purchase one per account. I got one on my account, and my husband got one on his. They expire this month, so we are looking at taking the kids to the movies for Valentine's Day.  This deal is gone, but the point is to keep an eye out for these deals.
5. Check out your movie theater's website for deals, offers, or coupons.  Regal even has a customer loyalty program. Go HERE to see Regal's site. OR, google your theater for their site. 
6. Pampers Gifts to Grow Program sometimes has Movie rewards you can redeem. Like THIS one for free popcorn.
7. Heck, even My Coke Rewards has gotten in on the Movie rewards scene. Go HERE for an example.
8. Check sites like Ebay for coupons and passes.
9. EMAIL the corporate entity that owns your local theater. Tell them about an experience you had there, be complimentary. Tell them about your family's budget and love of the movies. Who knows, they might send you some vouchers for tickets or concession!
10. Not a couponer? Maybe try taking the extra time to coupon for a couple weeks. PAY YOURSELF in a jar or "excursion fund" the amount you save off your budget by using coupons. When you have enough money, go to the movies.
11. Keep blogs like mine, Couponing To Disney, and Totally Target on your Facebook wall. Every now and then, you will see some good coupons for the movies show up! 
12. If all else fails, go to the first showing of the day for the cheapest tickets. Buy the big expensive popcorn and get tons of napkins to divvy it up! These tubs usually come with a refill.  When you have a large group, this is the most economical way to get popcorn.  Share a drink... get the large and ask for some water cups so you can divide it up.  A friend of mine takes donut holes (the kind  that come in a large plastic cup from Krispy Kreme) to the movies with her. They fit right in the cup holder. I am not endorsing sneaking food in... I do it sometimes. But I worked at a theater and know the real money for the theater comes from concessions, not the tickets. Crazy, right? Those movie actors have to get paid somehow.. lol. But really. To sneak food in or not has to be a personal decision!).  *I did enjoy those donut holes at the movies though! Shameful as it was!! :) 
13. *You can go to special family showing events. These are often during the summertime and usually on a weekday. They show an old movie, family friendly, for like $1 a person. Some theaters show movies for $3 a person, but that includes a teeny popcorn and drink. Ask your theater about this. I tried it one time and was a bit discouraged. It was really crowded with tons of field trip students.  Every area is different, so give it a try if you like.

You can take your family to the movies. It may take a little effort and creativity. But you can do it.  I think we paid $2 out of pocket last time we went. We had enough Kelloggs Concession Cash and tickets to pay for tickets, popcorn, and drinks. My husband had to buy his candy, so that is why it was $2. 

Know a way to go to the movies on the cheap? Let us know!

*As always, pay attention to the fine print on all the programs and coupons,etc.