Fun Ways to Keep the Kids Entertained This Holiday Season

As the holiday season ramps up towards Christmas, kids’ excitement reaches a boiling point with their anticipation of the gifts they’ll receive and all the fun they’ll get to have. For parents, the challenges are just beginning because when kids have too much time on their hands, they often get bored and restless. When they’re restless, bad things can happen. Therefore, as a parent, you must plan out the activities in an organized manner to avoid this scenario and have a happy holiday season.

Here are a few fun ways to ensure that kids stay entertained and occupied during their vacation time.

Get the Decorations Up

Some children look forward to the trip to go out and buy the Christmas tree. Just picking out the tree is the beginning of Christmas for many kids. Take out the box of decorations that haven't seen the light of day since last year and assign tasks to your son(s) and daughter(s) based on their age and sense of responsibility. Let the kids untangle the Christmas tree lights that will be in knots by now. Another kid can carefully extract the hanging decorations that will string along the walls. The Christmas tree ornaments are also in the box somewhere and a star or Angel for the top of the tree too.

When messing with the Christmas lights, make sure the kids don’t plug them into the power outlet unsupervised. Be gentle when untangling the lights because they’re fragile and easily broken. Also, if you assign a kid to hang up the decorations on the wall, make sure they’re not climbing dangerously on the furniture to do so.

Choosing a Face

Smaller kids may enjoy trying out the RageMaker.net site which has many types of drawn faces based on different emotions from happy to angry to sad or enthusiastic. They can take the faces on the site and try to hand draw them with the parents judging the winner and awarding a prize.

Playing in the Snow

If you’re lucky enough to live in an area that gets plenty of snow each year, then make sure you take advantage of it. Sledding down the hill, building a snowman with a carrot for a nose, or having a snowball fight is all part of the chilly experience.

Make sure the kids are wrapped up warm before they go out. You don’t want any cold fingers and toes leading to them getting a cold, which would really spoil the fun of the holidays.

Cooking a Christmas Meal Together

Learning to cook is a skill that too few adults know by the time they’ve grown up and left home. Getting everyone involved in preparing the Christmas meal is a good time to work as a family unit with the whole family pitching in. Whether that means someone is peeling the potatoes and another older kid is cleaning the vegetables, assign tasks that they can learn from and aim to add new more advanced tasks every year, so older teenagers will eventually be taking the lead. If you add in some of their favorite foods, you’re more likely to get their cooperation too.

Keeping the kids happy and busy during the holiday season avoids them getting up to no good when they’re too idle. Join in with the games they invent or want to try for the first time to encourage their experimentation under your careful supervision. 

Freedom Debt Relief Reveals How One Couple Managed to Save $20,000 For Their Dream Retirement Adventure- and How You Can Too

For most people, the word "retirement" brings to mind feelings of relaxation and rest ... days spent lounging by the pool or playing bingo in a hall of other senior citizens may come to the imagination. However, Freedom Debt Relief has found that some retired couples are looking for more when they finally leave the corporate world. Enter Shirley and Dan Frye, a retired couple that managed to save up $20,000 to take on the ultimate retirement adventure: biking across South America. According to an interview with the Frye couple published by USA Today, their biking tour (which lasted about 5 and a half months and covered over 8,000 miles) took a lifetime of good financial decisions to culminate in a long trip that wouldn't put their financial future or their retirement style in jeopardy. Freedom Debt Relief wants you to be able to save for the future that you want, so we've found the best financial lessons from the Fryes that you can use to start saving for your dreams as well! Whether you want to retire to a tropical island or you're looking to save up to buy a boat or motorcycle, try applying some of these tips to your own life ... and watch your money grow!

Take advantage of company match programs. For years, the Fryes were able to grow their 401(k) plans at rates that they wouldn't be able to on their own by taking advantage of their employer's company match program. Freedom Debt Relief has found that most major employers offer some kind of company matching program for making contributions up to a certain percentage of your income. Consult with your company's human resources department and see how much, if any, your employer is willing to match contributions to your retirement account contributions- and take advantage of it up to the maximum percentage for what's essentially free money!

Devote your money to free yourself from debts. The Fryes paid off their mortgage early by devoting all of their excess cash towards their mortgage payments. Whenever they got a raise or holiday bonus, they would take that money at pay an extra $500 to $1,000 toward their mortgage to pay off their home exceptionally early. While not everyone can put away that much money towards their outstanding debts, Freedom Debt Relief recommends that you prioritize putting as much away as you can to reduce your interest payments, which can help you save money in the long-term.

Travel smarter. If your dream is to see the world like the Frye couple did, Freedom Debt Relief recommends getting on the trail faster by employing smart travel strategies that will help you save along the way. Consider researching the off-season for the country or state that you would like to visit, as accommodation and flights are usually much cheaper than peak rates. Instead of staying in hotels, smart travelers also are now choosing to stay in hostels or AirBnb home shares to reduce the financial burden of their travels. For world travelers, open-jaw flights (in which you fly to multiple countries on a single trip) is also a great way to save if you're interested in visiting the entirety of a single continent.

The best lesson that you can learn from the Fryes? If you want to achieve your dreams, you need to feed your passions and starve the distractions in your life. By taking time to create a reasonable budget, planning ahead to pay down debt, and living modestly, anyone can work towards achieving their dreams- while also building a financially responsible future. 

Transforming the Interior of Your Home

People sometimes say that change is as good as a rest, and this can be the same with your home. If you are starting to get bored with the way that it is looking inside and want to breathe some fresh air back into it, then you may wish to consider one of the many different interior improvements that you can do to transform your home. You can find some inspirational ideas to get you started on the Readers Digest website, and your only limits are your imagination, as well as your budget!

Brand New Floors

One way that you can quickly transform the interior of your home is by updating your flooring, whether it is wood, tile, or carpet. A wooden floor can change the interior of your home quite dramatically, and investing in a quality floor will see it lasting for many years to come. Market Timbers supply quality engineered timber flooring in Melbourne that will transform your home in no time at all. If you have plenty of DIY experience, this may be a job you can tackle yourself, although it is recommended that new floors are installed by qualified professionals.

A Lick Of Paint On The Walls

Another quick method of changing the look of the interior of your home is to decorate the walls. You can use either paint or wallpaper and have your home looking gorgeous quickly. You can also tackle this job yourself if you fancy it, although you may save some money, the amount of time it will take to get it to the required standard would make getting a professional decorator the preferred option. A change of colour in a room can also change its outlook, transforming your home into a warm and welcoming environment for you and your family.

Some New Furniture

A quick way to spruce up the inside of your home is to get some new furniture which matches the décor of your home. As well as getting quality furniture, you can also consider installing built-in furniture which can often help you to utilise dead areas of space within your home. A new comfy chair or sofa in the living room can help to make it a much more inviting place in your home.

Mix It Up A Bit

If your budget is stretched, then the next best thing to do is to change the layout of your rooms. Although this is the least extreme of all of the listed methods, the effects can still be quite substantial. Moving around your furniture is something that can be done quickly and efficiently, and will not cost you any money at all!

Get The Builders In

Of course, if you have the budget available and would prefer to transform your home than move to a new one, you can always get the builders in and build an extension as well as redesign the interior layout of your house. When you choose this method, you can also incorporate a lot of the techniques above and transform your home into a beautiful environment for you and your family to enjoy.

Have Yourself A Quirky Little Christmas

It’s that time of year again…

Are you ready yet?

The decorations are out of the attic, the turkey’s on order and the presents are - almost - bought, wrapped and ready to go.

But every day the children open another door on their advent calendar, the excitement starts all over again, and you have to magic yourself into that ever cheerful Christmas angel. Are you starting to run out of ideas to amuse the children, while you escape for the vital cup of coffee and a few moments for yourself? Need some help? You’re in the right place.

We’ve all done the classic paper chains and snowflakes so why wait until January for something new? Have a quick look below for a bit of inspiration for something different.

‘Grow’ your edible Christmas tree

Are the children begging to put the tree, but you think it’s too early still? Get them to make their own! Pick up a box of ice cream cones from your local supermarket and whip up a bowl of green icing sugar, and let their imagination do the rest. Dolly mixture, smarties, and jelly beans all make fantastic baubles, and you can’t possibly forget the strawberry lace tinsel. A biscuit stuck to the bottom helps them stand, and a chocolate flake inside the cone makes an irresistibly yummy tree trunk. While you’re enjoying that sneaky glass of something special they can be happily building their Christmas tree forest.

Help Santa Scavenger Hunt

Oh no! The delivery sleigh to Santa’s workshop hit a stray shooting star and lost the elves building materials, how are they going to finish the presents in time for Christmas Eve? Well, it just so happens, the crash was in the sky above your house, wasn’t it? Wink wink, nudge nudge… Grab a box from the recycling and take a leisurely walk outside while the children hunt for the missing materials. Who knows what those talented elves could make out of pine cones, bottles, and a few oddly shaped stones? To keep them amused for longer, they could find something beginning with each letter of present, workshop, Santa or whatever else you fancy.  

Christmas Angels

Fancy a change from the Christmas jumper? We’ve all heard of making snow angels, and you’ve probably already made some angels out of empty kitchen roll tubes. Why not let your little angels become real Christmas angels? A basic metal wire can be bent into a basic outline, and pick your preference of fabric to create the rest of the wings. Add two elastic loops for armholes and plenty of glitter, and you’re all done! Why not get involved yourself and pair colorful circle lens with a white dress for a truly angelic look?

They may be simple ideas but let your imagination run wild and go as inventive as you like. Wheel these ideas out again with a little tweak for variety and further fun of games. For example;

1. Instead of edible Christmas trees, experiment with colors and create Santa and elf hats
2. Hide letters around your house which will eventually spell out a Christmas word.
3. Pick a cheap hair band and use it as a base for a halo to complete your angel outfits.

Hopefully, you’re feeling festively full of ideas to entertain the children in the run up to Christmas, and are eager to get started. Have a wonderful Christmas, everybody! UPDATE: Check out: NICO'S QUEST TO RECYCLE: A KID'S GUIDE TO RECYCLING

(Image by Petr)

Making an Informed Career Choice

A post-secondary education entails skills training in an apprenticeship position and a college or university education. It is structured in a way to offer more job opportunities, a better chance for promotion, increased job satisfaction the chance to earn an income throughout your career and the chance to keep studying what interests you. There are numerous post-secondary options such that it is difficult to make a decision on a given career option. It is important to carry out career planning to help you identify your dreams, goals, interests and strengths. This will help you to align dreams, goals, interests and strengths with your career choice making it easier to choose a school and a program.

Deciding What to Study

Keep Academic Options Open

The courses taken as majors in secondary school are important in determining one's career direction. It is important to take majors that will lead to a variety of career options in areas of interest as guided by the goals set. Seek the advice of teachers, parents and counselors to establish the areas of interest that would shape your career. It is important that your career choice is determined by interest, as it is what you may be required to pursue for the rest of the life.

Find the Right Fit

Carry out an assessment of your interests against the abilities and achievement levels. Check the evaluation test results and to determine the ability to pursue a given career field. Talk to student counselors and teachers as well as seek information on school choices on college placement websites. For example, if your child continually struggles with experimentation of issues despite motivation, extra help and hard work, then occupations reliant on experiments, will not be a good fit. A person who likes babysitting kids should consider seeking careers related to pediatric care. 

Have a Realistic Plan

Make a list of realistic potential choices, considering the competition, opportunities and abilities. Choose an area that you are confident and competent in so that you are not overwhelmed by the competition by your peers.  Use online tools like my next move to explore a variety of career options available. For instance, you may have an interest in air transport but may be lacking in the ability to pursue piloting. After much research, you can become an air traffic controller or an in-flight attendant.

Research the Labor Market

Seek information on salaries, job prospects and working conditions on the identified jobs of interest. However, it is risky to choose a career based solely on economic projections and job prospects. This is because unforeseeable events may cause a major impact on the job market, such factors as politics, shifts in the economy, natural disasters or technological advances. Selecting a career based on interests and reasonable job prospects leads to job satisfaction. In addition, this will helps you work in a career that makes you fulfilled and satisfied also enabling you to pursue opportunities of similar interests making you a better employee or employer.