Thrifty is the Word!

This is a competition post, in association with fromspendingtosaving and whichoffshore and it is on a subject we are very, very fond of at The Parent Game, saving money! Fromspendingtosaving is a brilliant new blog, by the writer of Northern Mum, charting one family's all-too-familiar road to solvency, surviving on one income. It's a story most of us know all too well and we all do what we can to make the best of it. It's all about imagination I think, when it comes to a thrifty life with children. We've all heard the older generation telling us how they managed to entertain the children with next to nothing but their imaginations and the great outdoors, but things were different then.

Homemade Bird Cake

I don't know why, because it still feels like the depths of an Antarctic winter to me, but our nesting box already has residents! No babies to show you yet, but above is a picture of the blue tits we had in 2009! The new arrivals this year look a little familiar and I'm pretty sure they're the same coaltits we had last year, but anyway, they were queueing up eagerly in the tree for breakfast this morning. We have had nesting birds for the last few years and the children love it. The first year we had them, they flew the nest and made their way into the world, only for the local children to keep bringing them back to us! Two little girls even knocked on our front door and asked if they could have one! It's always good to get children involved in nature and show them how precious and wonderful our world can be, but it doesn't have to cost a lot! Today, I bring you... a bird supper, on a budget!