Greetings from a cool and *very* windy Garden Window !
No sooner have my two new scarlet poppies bloomed than we have had our first of many Autumnal gales, and some of the petals have been ripped off already.
They are still glorious splashes of colour in my very green garden :-)
DD1 had a great day in college, has met people she knew from school there and has also made new friends. She has been issued with her free bus pass to enable her to travel the 8 miles each way to College daily.
DD3 had a great day back at school and was delighted to meet up with her classmates again.
Best of all, DD3 and 4 missed each other immensely, and were the best of friends and playmates when they were reunited after school.
Peace and domestic harmony was restored in our household, thanks be to God !
Today DD3 and 4 are going to the little girl next door`s birthday party, to be held after school at the local Rugby club.
It was very kind of the parents to invite them, and they will have a great time, but I actually sat down and thought hard about it.....
It will cost the parents about £6 per child they invite. So it will cost them £12 to invite my daughters.
Because I don`t drive, it will cost me £10 in taxi fares to get my children to the party and back home again. I wouldn`t dream of asking the neighbours for a lift as they won`t have room in their car.
If I go by bus, there is no easy connection or the buses so it could take at least 40 minutes each way for a trip that can be done in 5 minutes by car.
It will take nearly an hour each way to walk, and the children already walk to and
from school each day as it is (about 20 minutes each way) so I know I will have grumpy and tired children before the party starts.
The cost of a present......£6.00 for nice washable felt pens and colouring books.
Another £2.00 for a card and wrapping paper.
So I will be spending £18.00 to take them to a party, and goodness only knows how much the neighbours will be paying to host the party.
Life was so much simpler when children had birthday parties at home, with nice party food made by Mum, games organised by Mum and Dad and it wasn`t all so consumer -orientated . When I was young (ok, stop sniggering !) we hoped to get a slice of birthday cake to take home from a party.
Now, children expect to have party bags, filled with sweets (not just one or two) and a few inexpensive little toys. And they feel hard done by if they don`t get party bags.
How do you "buy out" of this consumer mindset for our children ? If I insist on having parties at home, D3 might well be teased mercilessly about having cheapskate parents.
Perhaps the answer is to have a party at home one year, then have a theme party at the local pool/indoor play hall another year.
To host a party for 20 children at the local pool would cost £161.00 plus the cost of the dreaded party bags which could easily top £30.00 more. That`s £200.00 on a party !
Heck, we spent far less than that on our wedding reception, and we had smoked salmon and champagne , LOL.
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