Blog : Little Lilypad Co

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The Little Lilypad is a lifestyle blog mostly written by a mum to two beautiful, cheeky and entertaining daughters. It is sometimes written by the Man on the Pad or by one of our baby bloggers. Occasionally we accept guest posts too. There is frequently talk of sustainable living, saving money, lifestyle and travel. It is hopefully helpful, sometimes funny and always honest.
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Category: Views & Ramblings

  1. Finding funds for family festivities

    Posted on

    There are 70 sleeps till Christmas. Ooops I did it again, I mentioned the C word before November! There has been a rule in my family that we don't mention Christmas until after my brothers birthday in November. He used to get really upset with any of us that started talking about Christmas before his birthday and when I say he used to, I am still only referring to last year!

    So we have to do stealth Christmas preparation prior to November and I have been having a clear out of the bedrooms in readiness for the arrival of Father Christmas. Unfortunately for my other half, this also meant I was clearing out anything that gathered dust on a regular basis .... it is a good job that he doesn't sit in the same place for very long.

    Christmas

    So I went through all the children's old clothes, toys and our somewhat amazing dvd collection and on the recommendation of a friend, decided to do a car boot sale. I did not relish getting up at 5am in the morning but we did laugh at us bartering over 50 pence. Whilst I was determined that we were not coming home with a car full of stuff, I didn't want to give everything away for pennies as the profits of our little Sunday morning venture was going towards our family festivities. Unfortunately with music and movies so easily downloadable these days, the dvd collection remained one of the only things remaining on our little pasting table, so the minute I got home I got the app on my phone for Music Magpie. Doing a car boot sale and selling all our dvd's was never going to make us rich but it was a definitely a unique way to declutter and in the end we had a giggle doing it. 

    The only person who wasn't laughing was my eldest daughter, who was not amused at me clearing out her room .... especially when I told her that if we didn't declutter her room Father Christmas wouldn't be coming to her because he would think she had too much stuff! Well, it was the only way ......

    Image courtesy of digitalart at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

    Disclaimer : Whilst we received recompence for this post, it is based on personal experience only and is not in any way affiliated.

     

  2. UNICEF - Charity doesn't always begin at home

    Posted on

    Family is at the heart of the Little Lilypad Co and I remember as a child being told that "charity begins at home" but what about all those children whose home is not like mine or yours?

    There are countless charities across the globe and each and every one of them deserves support and recognition but we were approached this month by UNICEF to share their work. UNICEF is the world’s leading organisation working for children and child rights. They work in more than 190 countries with families, local communities, business partners and governments, to help every child reach their full potential.

    With everything that's going on in the world today, it's important we support international charities like UNICEF. Over two million refugees have fled the crisis in Syria, half of them children. They urgently need our help.
     
    If you would like to make a donation, you can go direct to their donate page. 
     
    Disclaimer :  We received no financial compensation for this post only the warm fuzzy feeling of doing something good today!
     

  3. Ideas for family time for the New Year

    Posted on

    I am looking outside my window and it is raining. My hands are wrapped around a hot cup of tea as I am cold and it feels like it has been raining for weeks.

    When rain stops play!

    I read a news report this week that said by November, the winter will have taken a grip and we should expect the coldest winter in 100 years! Now if that is not an excuse to hibernate, I don't know what is? It is also an excuse to buy a whole new winter wardrobe but shhhh, we won't say too much about that out loud.

    So I suspect we should take advantage of the autumn leaves (that are no so crunchy after all this rain) and get outside before the cold snap really takes hold .... although I suspect the children will have me outside making snowmen when it finally does snow. It doesn't really matter what the weather is like outside as ultimately there are always things we can do as a family.

    I am a secret control freak and love to plan everything, even those things that may "look" spontaneous are usually executed with precision planning, so I am already thinking about what family new year breaks to consider. Christmas is always magical in our house, so going somewhere like Butlins for New Year would be fabulous as it caters for everyone. (there is also up to 40% off at the moment, which appeals to my family budgeting heart). It sounds exciting to have a huge confetti blast at midnight in the Skyline Pavilion, which is then followed by a fantastic fireworks display on New Year’s Day (our British weather permitting of course .... let's hope the rain has stopped by then). 

     fireworks

    So today might be dull and cold outside but looking at exciting family choices for New Year has added a little sparkle to my day!

    Butlins-logo-1

     

  4. Godparents : How important are your choices?

    Posted on

    The choice of godparent is always a difficult one. Whether you are religeous in any way or not at all, this choice is whom you are trusting the care of your child if the unspeakable happens and you are not around anymore.

    Godparent  

    Noun
    A person who presents a child at baptism and responds on the child's behalf, promising to take responsibility for the child. The secular view of a godparent tends to be an individual chosen by the parents to take an interest in the child's upbringing and personal development
     
    Synonyms
    godfather - sponsor - godmother

    In some countries, god-parents are carefully selected by the parents to strengthen familial, political and business ties. thereby obligating these god-parents to help out. 

    Some cultures have stated that the refusal to accept the invitation to become a god-parent will bring bad luck. Thus, this is being capitalized upon by many families who engage up to twenty pairs (or sometimes even more) of god-parents on baptisms and weddings, wherein they expect tons of gifts in kind or cash to make up for their celebration expenses but ultimately being asked to be a god parent is a huge honour.

    There is huge speculation about who Prince George's godparents will be and sources have said the couple chose childhood friends because they want to give George a sense of “stability and normality. William and Kate have named their childhood friends as Prince George's godparents which is a break from royal tradition and will probably raise some eyebrows but I salute them. The choice of godparents is a difficult one without the press speculation and whole world having an opinion.

    So whilst I wish them every happiness and the honour bestowed on Prince George's godparents is a big one but I hope that they never actually have to step up to their obligations.