TheBoyandMe

When you're looking into booking your next holiday, you'll probably be offered the option of selecting all inclusive. Two things here – firstly, you'll almost certainly see the price of your holiday increase in comparison to a self catering, bed and breakfast or half board selection.

Secondly, don't necessarily let that price increase put you off. Going all inclusive can be a way of saving money on your holiday if you calculate that cost against what you'll be likely to spend on food and drink across the duration of your trip – whether that be one week or two weeks.

'An all inclusive' holiday means you can really put your feet up and relax, knowing you have paid for your food and drinks upfront – and they can be great value' state online travel agents Travel Republic.

All inclusive options can vary from hotel to hotel, so it's always advisable to check specific details to confirm what is and isn't included before you book. Typically though, you can expect breakfast, lunch and dinner to be covered, and at least some soft and alcoholic drinks. Some all inclusive deals will also include snacks during the day.

Of course, you'll pay for all of this up front when you book your holiday and so your bank account may feel the pinch at the time. But if you work out how much you're likely to spend on three meals a day per person going on the holiday, plus drinks, and then compare this with the extra money you've paid to upgrade to all inclusive, you might be pleasantly surprised. As the Travel Magazine says in this article: 'With an all inclusive holiday you get to enjoy the benefit of literally leaving your wallet in your hotel room.'

It's certainly a nice feeling knowing that you don't have to worry about budgeting for basics like food when you're away. In fact, there's a good chance the only money you'll need to spend will be on nice extras such as gifts, extra activities and excursions.

All inclusive can be especially good for families on holiday. Not only does it cover food and drink, it also means that hotels offering all inclusive options have entertainment included too. 'With mini discos and games now on most hotels' night-time agendas, you can sit back and enjoy a cocktail while they (the kids) run riot with new friends,' says bounty.com.

It's not completely about saving money, though. Having a stress free holiday is important and knowing that your children will be fed when they're hungry, without the worry of finding a restaurant with space when little tummies are rumbling, makes life very easy indeed. The flexibility of many all inclusive options allows kids to eat lunch whenever they want, within reason. For example, if your teenage son is playing football when the rest of the family want to eat, he can sit down an hour later when the sports club has finished.

And, if you have a fussy eater it really doesn't matter if they try a meal and don't like it, because there is usually plenty more on offer to eat instead; all inclusive options are often buffet-style meals. There is a vast choice and limitless portions!

Everyone has an opinion and all inclusive comes down to choice. Some holidaymakers may prefer to dine somewhere different every day but others will love the convenience and value of all inclusive.

When it comes to junior ISAs, a small amount goes a long way if it is regularly contributed and withheld until your little one is ready to receive the money. If you start when they are born, you could have a nice little nest egg to gift to your child once they come of age and start looking to put deposits down on houses and pay University fees.

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It's been way too long since I blogged, still trying to find my mojo with a busy job and homelife, and balancing how much of my son's life I share; his digital footprint is something that I am very aware of as he gets older.

However, there are two things that I do every year to celebrate The Boy turning another year older; video him answering the same set of questions, and a collage of his favourite things. Ashamedly, I seemed to have not done the photo last year, but I'm not missing it again!

 

Here are his previous collages aged three years old, four years old, five years old, and aged six.

There is nothing better for decorating a family home than children's crafts that you helped them make. Not only is making unique crafts with your children some excellent bonding time, but it can help build up their creative and problem-solving skills which will serve them well throughout their lives. Therefore, this is something that you will want to start doing with your children if you have not already begun to do so. To help you with this, you will want to take a look at some of the following suggestions that you and your children could easily make use of.

Customized Bedding

When it comes to custom bedding, you can make an entire set or simply focus on one piece to customize that can be added to your current bedding selection. Is Father’s Day or mom’s birthday coming up? Help your kids go through some photos of the fun times that they have had and pick the best ones to have uploaded to a company that can create custom bed sheets, pillows, comforters, or anything else that you can think of.

If you know how to sew a quilt or want to use this as the time to figure it out, you and your kids could take t-shirts that you bought from all of your vacations together and use those for the various quilt patches.

Make Some Windchimes

You and your children can make various wind chimes that you can set up all over your porch, on the outside of the windows of the house, around the garage, or spread throughout your yard. The options are endless.

If you and the children have collected driftwood over the years from a nearby river or from when you went on vacation, you can use those along with shells and make very rustic or beach-themed windchimes. If you do not want to use the seashells that you collected while on vacation, or you simply do not have any, you can easily find bags of them at your local craft stores.

Canvas Artwork

Head to your local craft store, or a large department store with a suitable crafting department, and pick up some blank canvases. They come in a variety of sizes, so you should have no trouble finding some canvases that will fit nicely on the walls of your home.

Then you need some quality paint in a variety of colors and various sizes of paintbrushes. Take all of the supplies outside with the children on a nice sunny day and let them have a blast creating their own art masterpieces. Once they are dried, you can hang them all throughout the house.

Custom Coffee Mugs

There are a few different ways to do this. You can upload pictures or drawings of your children and have a company print those onto the coffee mugs of your choice. The chikdren can have a lot of fun picking out the best photos or drawing something extra special for the mugs.

If you want to create custom coffee mugs with a more hands-on approach, you will want to purchase plain white coffee mugs. Purchasing non-toxic paint and brand new paint brushes. While you might want to get a variety of sizes, make sure that you are also getting very thin brushes for any small details that they want to create on the mug.

As you can see, there are many different crafts that you can do with your children that you can then have up on display around the house. Pick one. Pick two. Or pick all of these and any others that you come across. You and the children will have a great deal of fun making wonderful memories and décor for your home.