Thanks everyone for your kind words. Ziggy is on chemo now (pills) and is doing well except for a low white count. He has an ear infection and isn't thrilled with the medication he's getting for that or the oral antibiotics he's getting for his low white count, but he's still a big ol' pile of love and eating! =) ... View related article.
I keep a spreadsheet that I update throughout the year. It contains people's names and gift ideas or what I have already bought them.
I also have a box in which I keep all the things I've bought throughout the year to use as Christmas gifts. I get a lot of it at after Christmas sales, but also pick things up here and there at book sales, garage sales/flea markets, and other clearance sales (check Target end caps, especially in the toy section if you're shopping for children). ... View related article.
I'm not sure about other places, but where I live (Pennsylvania, USA), libraries and bookstores have free activities for children (i.e. summer reading clubs, book groups, and other activities). I have also found that most towns/cities have websites where you can search for things that are happening in the community, and there are a lot of free (or really cheap) events. Check the local parks also, because they usually have some free stuff to do (nature walks, etc).
I would suggest doing a search for your town's name in a search engine, and you'll probably come up with the website. They usually have "community calendars" of some sort. Also, your local paper should have recreational listings.
Some other ideas are: - Check out local parks. Some of them have playgrounds, or you can just go for a walk and "discover" nature. - For children, you can let them get wet with the hose in the backyard, or get a cheap sprinkler head and use that hooked to the hose. - For children, again, cut out pictures from old magazines and let children arrange them in a collage on posterboard. - Bake or cook. It passes lots of time. - Volunteer. It can actually be quite fun sometimes.
I am not sure if volunteermatch.com also encompasses Canada, but you can do a search on google for more volunteering websites as well. They also have opportunities for children to volunteer.
I know there are more ideas in this head of mine, but I just can't think of them now! Good Luck =) Jackie ... View related article.
