My husband and I has always been working all our lives. Having a daughter, we know we need to ensure that in between the busy days, we still get to spend quality with her no matter what. I am sharing you some of the things we usually do indoor or outdoor to have fun and create a wonderful bonding memory with my family.
1. Cook a Special Dish at Home
Of course you know what's your husband/partner's favorite dish and more often than not, we also can cook them. If not, you can actually research a little bit online, watch youtube channels, read blogs and re-create them as your own. My husband enjoys pretty much anything I cook and I get compliments from him all the time. So on a free time and budgeted days, I cook for them. Its full of love!
2. Watch a movie at Home
We only watch movies in cinemas if its like the big ones! But most of the time, my husband just download it from http://thepiratebay.se/. I like watching at home because I get to sit, lie and raise my feet as I want it. We can also watch it with subtitle! Oh yes, I want it with it so I could understand each word. So after downloading the movie, he gets the subtitles at http://subscene.com/. Just copy the movie title as it is on the downloaded file and paste it on the search bar and the subtitle will show in all other languages as well! Best of all, we can pause it if the daughter wants some kisses or is just up for a tantrum. So throw that movie marathon and cook/order food to munch in!
3. Dance at Home through YouTube
My daughter loves dancing and singing! She have memorized almost all the commercials on TV. I know, TV is bad for children. But don't worry we will make sure to only let her watch educational or kids's friendly shows. And I promise to discipline her when she reaches 4. But for now, I let her enjoy life! Oh yes, we play various Dance Central uploads on YouTube and we dance with it or my daughter will (which happens most of the time). For me, this is a great way to exercise her confidence and to make her feel that we support her and she is doing great. I am always proud of her dance moves and singing voice. I know she will develop that talent in the future if we are to nurture it right.
4. Check in at a Hotel
It doesn't have to be the expensive ones. It can always be the hotel nearby which is cheap, but please not motels. This is one of our favorites get-away. When it is just too stressful either with work or if we just want to spend a little time together in a different ambiance, we book a hotel. Most of the time, we stay overnight and have food trip all night long! We like staying an a hotel because it has very comfortable beds, nice bath tubs and showers, carpeted floor, 24/7 room service and best of all, the little one can clutter all she wants and I am not the one to clean it up! Wuhoo!!! We usually book cheap hotels at http://www.agoda.com/ and http://www.metrodeal.com/. We recently got a hotel room for 1,300php for an overnight stay at Tune Hotel in Timog.Try it!
5. Maximize Amenities Together
If you are living in a condo, you definitely have a playground or a swimming pool. A subdivision has a wide, secured walkways and even park or club house. Some even has a gym, basketball courts or tennis courts. These amenities are a great way to enjoy quality time with your loved ones. Nothing compares that of a child's giggles while running. This is also a great exercise, a little run or swim will make a difference if done daily. Plus, you actually paid for these benefits so might as well maximize it!
6. Visit Relatives
If you already moved out of your parents' house to start a family, I know you might have a Dad or Mom or even Titos and Titas or Lolos and Lolas that you missed badly. Why don't you pay them a visit and bring food or even cook? I am sure this will greatly be appreciated. This will also make you feel good being with the people you grew up with. Their cooking and stories are always comforting. My daughter grew up in Manila and my family is in Rizal so we visit them just once in a while. I want to make sure that she is comfortable with the rest of her relatives as she grows so I make sure that we do this at least once a month.
7. Be Your Silly, Lazy Selves Once in a While
I just love to cuddle and kiss and eat chips with my husband and the little one all day! We do this during free time, bad weather or if we are just too lazy to get up to even take a shower. Its nice to know that I can just watch my daughter being silly over a TV show or throw all her toys and just adore how beautiful she is. Its incomparable to be just the lazy-mom all day, skip the dress, and just lay there to savor all the squeeze of love, kisses and hugs from these amazing people. These days, I feel more whole and fulfilled.
8. Go to Church Together
When you put God at the center of your life, you will never go wrong. His love for us is always unconditional. Going to church is a great way to spend quality time with your own family as you grow together in knowing God. Some church offers Sunday school for toddlers and its amazing to see kids praising God in an early age. This is a great foundation in anyone's life especially to your kids and if you have different religious view with your husband. You will be able to walk him through what you believe in and vice versa in some cases.
"Your children needs your presence, not your presents". It is important to know that money isn't always the source of happiness. Although, you can buy food from money and food makes us happy, it doesn't mean that if we are on a tight budget, quality time is not possible. In this time of technology, our family, especially our children would appreciate the personal touch and a genuine time you make for them instead of the money-driven activities like shopping. I love shopping, dont get me wrong. But we have to prioritize our priorities and ensure that we still are on the budget all the time.
How about you? How do you spend quality time with your family on a tight budget? Let us know what you think and dont forget to share!
Thank you ladies!
Love, Gelai
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