Tag Archives: planning

Sanity Tips for the Single Mother

You’ve got a lot on your plate. If you’re anything like me your mind is going about a thousand miles an hour trying to keep track of this and that and what and when and who and…well you get the point. It’s kind of a mess trying to keep track of everything you have to do day in and day out because there’s no one else there to remind you of what needs to be done. I have felt myself going a little more insane each day, but I have learned a few tricks that have helped keep my sanity … Continue reading →

Family Meetings

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Family meetings are times for families to come together and discuss issues that affect the household. Topics can be about anything, from school, to chores, to vacation planning. You could also hold meetings just as a way to ensure that your family spends time together on a regular basis, with no agenda to the meetings at all. Family meetings are a great way to promote open discussion between yourself and your children. Children whose families engage in regular family meetings are less likely to get into trouble, abuse drugs or alcohol, develop depression, or have poor self-esteem. Any member of … Continue reading →

The Calendar Work

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I recently obtained a dry erase calendar and I’ve re-found the joy of planning things out in a non-digital fashion. While the digital is ideal for a number of things it doesn’t seem that the digital captures doodling very well (at least on non-touch screen) and I need to doodle to plan things out. I had forgotten that fact. While digital alarms, loud pop-up reminders, and a nice everywhere-you-need-it calendar are certainly good things I really need to plot things out in analogue once in a while. This free piece of plastic has really changed the way I think about … Continue reading →

Family Reunion Planning: Planning Activities and Games

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Now that you know why you want to have a reunion, whom you are inviting, your budget, and the type of reunion you will have, you can begin planning activities and games to do during the actual reunion. Icebreakers: Icebreakers are a good way to get your relatives mingling. Some ideas include introducing yourself by saying how you got your name, a game of truth-or-dare, without the dare, or a scavenger hunt to find relatives that have something in common with each other (same color eyes, your cousin, same age, same birth month, etc.). Family Memorabilia: I am assuming that … Continue reading →

Family Reunion Planning: Who to Invite and How

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As I discussed in my last post, there are different types of family reunions you could have-from a small gathering of only a few relatives, to a large event of anyone who shares your last name. The size of your gathering may be dependent on factors, such as the reason for the reunion, your budget, and how many people your venue can accommodate. Start by grabbing a pen and notepad and jotting down a list of everyone you want to invite. Don’t forget to include your relative’s spouses and children. Note which relatives you have addresses or phone numbers for. … Continue reading →

Family Reunion Planning: Types and Themes

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I may have gotten ahead of myself in this family reunion planning series, since technically this post should have come before my post about budget, venue, and food. Considering the type of reunion you will have, and any theme you may want, will help tremendously when determining your reunion budget. TYPES Small, intimate gatherings are probably the easiest and most inexpensive family reunions to plan. These often include just a few of your closest family members, and may be held in celebration of a special event, such as an anniversary, birthday, graduation, baby shower, etc. Medium-sized family reunions can also … Continue reading →

Family Reunion Planning: Budgets, Venues, and Food

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In my last post, I talked about why someone might want to plan a family reunion. This post will discuss planning for the reunion budget, venue (location), and food. Budget Unless you have recently won the lottery, you are probably planning your family reunion on a limited budget. There are a number of websites that offer free budgeting worksheets for party (and reunion) planning. The first thing you need to do when planning a family reunion budget is to make a list of everything you will need to purchase or rent. Some items that may be included on your list … Continue reading →

Family Reunion Planning: Why Have a Family Reunion

According to Genealogy.com, approximately 200,000 families hold family reunions each year. More than half of family reunion coordinators say their primary reason for holding a reunion is to keep in touch with other family members. Another quarter of coordinators hold reunions in an attempt to introduce their children to their family heritage. There are many other reasons why people hold reunions: to celebrate a birthday or anniversary, to get together one last time before someone dies, to carry on a regular tradition of getting together, and more. It is a common occurrence at my family’s funerals to hear someone say … Continue reading →

When Opposites Collide

There are some people in life who like to have everything mapped out to know what they are doing and when. Others like to be spontaneous and just go with the flow, not planning but doing things as the mood takes them. What happens when the two of these meet and fall in love? It can make for interesting times. It might even be one of the character traits that initially attracts one person to another but then come marriage it could turn into a major problem unless you find a way to resolve it. I admit I tend to … Continue reading →

Five Reasons to Stockpile Food

Among frugal living people, there is sometimes the debate about stockpiling food. Critics of stockpiling food point out that the money used on stockpiled food could be put in a bank to earn interest instead of invested in food that might go stale or bad. They may say that with a general income that keeps pace with inflation, there is no sense in stockpiling. Or they say that the stockpile takes up too much room in the home, costing you livable space. All those reasons may be valid, but I still have to say that I am pro stockpiling. Recent … Continue reading →