10 Frugal Ways to Show Them You Care

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10 Frugal Ways to Show Them You Care

 

Who says love has to be expensive? With a little creativity, you can

show your love in ways that don't break the bank and create special

memories together.

 

Compliment Family Members Everyday

How often do we find ourselves reminding our loved ones of all of

their faults? Get into the habit of saying something nice about each

member of your family on a daily basis. Kids, and spouses, need this

reassurance, and it will help you to focus on the positive rather

than the negative. There will be days when finding something to

compliment may be really difficult. Save the generic compliments for

these days, such as " Wow, you've got such strong arms " or " Your hair

looks very nice today. "

 

Surprise Them with Love Notes

....in their lunches or coat pockets. This can be so much fun! I like

to stick notes to the fruit in my husband's lunch, such as " You are

the apple of my eye " or " You drive me bananas! " He enjoyed the notes,

although he was a little embarrassed to discover them in front of his

coworkers.

 

Magnetic Messages

You can also leave funny notes on the refrigerator with magnetic

letters. We bought some to teach my youngest child his ABC's, but

soon found the entire family leaving silly notes to each other on the

fridge. This is another great way to compliment your family as well,

you can leave " Dad is great " on the refrigerator, but watch out-some

kids like to " edit " these messages (I recently came home to find " Mom

is not great " and " Beau eats bugs " on my refrigerator.)

 

Establish a Family Night

Set aside one night a week to do something special with your family.

It might be going out somewhere, but it can also be something as

simple as watching a moving together at home and eating popcorn. Take

the phone off of the hook and keep the focus on the family. Other fun

activities you might try include playing board games together,

cooking a special meal together, going through old photos, singing

and dancing, playing musical instruments, whatever you

like.

 

Birth Stories

Tell your kids the stories of their births. Take out some baby

pictures and tell them what they were like at a young age. Sharing

these memories with your children is precious, and may even trigger

some long forgotten stories. We recently discovered some old pictures

and videotapes of my oldest son as a baby, when we lived overseas.

Watching the tapes and going through the pictures, I felt like I had

my " baby " back. Sharing these stories is also a great way to deal

with jealousy -- when I find my older two getting annoyed at my

youngest child, I recall some of the things they did at the same age.

They really enjoy the stories, and it makes them feel special.

 

Love Pizza

Whenever someone in our family has a birthday, gets good grades, (or

a promotion!), we celebrate with a " Love Pizza " . Just make your

favorite pizza crust, shaping it into a heart. Add the sauce and

cheese, and cut the pepperoni with kitchen shears into letters to

make a special message. I like to write " I love you " or " Happy

Birthday " on our love pizzas. I've also tried making the words out of

green peppers, but the pepperoni seems to be the most popular at our

house.

 

Hugs

No child is too old for hugs. Sometimes we assume that older kids

don't need or want to be touched, but they may need hugs the most.

Make yourself openly available for hugs and kisses from kids of any

age, and keep that shoulder ready for them to cry on. Just knowing

they can come to you is half of the battle!

 

Read with Them

Every night we have a family reading time at our house. Sometimes the

kids read to us, sometimes we read to them. Together we have

discovered some fantastic books, as well as each other. Chapter books

such as Willy Wonka, the Wizard of Oz, Harry Potter, Frankenstein,

all work well. It's fun because we can't wait until the following

night to read the next chapter. We've also read " Green Eggs and Ham "

forwards, backwards, and as many different characters. Sometimes

we'll even put aside the books and make up our own stories.

 

Talk to Them

It sounds so easy, and it is. Share your day with your kids and

spouse. " Unplug " them from the TV, video games and, yes, even the

computer. Ask them how their day was, share your day with them, and

make yourself available to answer their questions, no matter how

silly those questions may seem. Laugh with them, counsel them, be

there for them.

 

Get Them Involved

....in something you normally do. These are great opportunities for

learning and sharing. Even the mundane things, such as cooking,

cleaning, laundry, and yard work can become fun when done together.

Doing these things may take longer at first, but you are teaching

your kids skills they will need to be independent one day. The most

important thing is to be consistent and make it fun. Turn on some

music, tell some jokes, and talk about your day. You may rediscover

your child over a load of laundry or a stack of dirty dishes.