• Paddington Movie
    Giveaways

    Paddington Movie Color Me Mine Giveaway

    December 29, 2014 - By 

    By now you must have heard of Paddington Movie soon to be released at theatres. It’s sure to a massive hit with families everywhere. Lucky for my US readers, I have a great little giveaway live today for them to enter. To celebrate the launch of the popular Paddington Movie, Color Me Mine is also hosting an event of its own. It’s a Paddington themed Kids Night Out special event at Color Me Mine! Wear your PJs & Bring Your Teddy Bear! Kids can have fun making friends, playing games and painting! Sorry, no parents allowed! This is a special time for…

  • Giveaways - Health

    Happy New Year Coloring Page Free Printable

    December 27, 2014 - By 

      Can it really be almost 2015? I have no idea where the year went. Any ideas? Anyways, I wanted to be the first to wish you all Happy New Years. This Christmas season I started adding printables and coloring pages here on thrifty momma’s tips so that you can make a little bit of fun at home without needing to spend any money at all. This Happy New Year coloring page is free and you can print it out yourself easily right from the page. Obviously this is intended for the kids in your life. Will your kids be part…

  • IVF funding
    family - Health

    IVF Funding: What’s Happening in 2015? #ohip4ivf #onpoli

    December 25, 2014 - By 

    Usually the holidays roll around and the season itself is cause for sadness among those who are trying to conceive, struggling with infertility. That may be the case still for some people, because infertility is emotionally, physically and financially draining, but this coming year there is good reason to hope and be optimistic and thankful too. So as we close 2014 I thought it was important to take a moment and reflect on what we have accomplished in Ontario and remind people of what’s happening with IVF funding in 2015. So here’s what we know about Ontario’s IVF funding program in…

  • child poverty
    Health

    These are My Weapons Against Child Poverty #WorldVisionGifts #TMMWVC

    December 24, 2014 - By 

    There is a saying in martial arts that my kids repeat over and over each time they grade. My husband knows it too. I am paraphrasing a bit but it’s a little like this – I come to you with empty hands. If I should be forced to use them. These are my weapons: my empty hands. It’s the end of 2014 and so everyone is wrapping up their year with little red bows and packaging it away to start fresh on January 1st. There is beauty and peace in that. We are building our resolutions, hopes and plans. We…

  • 25 Must Have Puzzles
    family

    25 Must Have Puzzles

    December 22, 2014 - By 

    Are you a puzzle fan? We are too. My one daughter and husband love to do puzzles.  25 Must Have Puzzles My youngest daughter is a puzzle fanatic. From the time she was a toddler we would gift her puzzles and she would effortlessly put them together. It was a captivating thing to witness. My youngest child has special needs. She was born with sensory processing disorder and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and she struggles with a lot of things. Reading came slowly, but she gradually caught up. She ran almost before she walked and she still has a lot…

  • close up of christmas decoration hanging on tree
    family

    Free Printable Christmas Tree Coloring Page

    December 19, 2014 - By 

    As Christmas Day inches every closer you might be hunting for things to keep the kids occupied. I have always found coloring to be a simple and calm activity to get kids of all ages engaged in. When I ran a home daycare for a brief period when my kids were small, I often gave the kids crayons and coloring pages to calm them down before and after school. I loved the quietness of coloring. Plus for some of the kids it was their opportunity to just be still and occasionally it gave them a great little chance to just…

  • Parenting

    Investing in RESPs: Saving for my daughter’s education

    December 16, 2014 - By 

    Well, she might not have said that, but it makes sense at Christmas time to boost the RESP contributions. How investing in RESPs helped me save for my daughter’s education I am the daughter of a teacher. In our home, education was valued above all as the ticket to a future, the means to become whatever you wanted. Growing up, we didn’t have much money because my Mom was a single parent, but we studied hard and dreamed and knew university was a way forward. Education was a gift that could last a lifetime. My Mom might not have had…

  • Elf Coloring Sheet
    Printables

    Elf Coloring Sheet Printable

    December 16, 2014 - By 

      More coloring sheets for the kids. Thanks for reading my blog throughout the year. I am happy to share this free Elf Coloring Sheet with you as a thank you! I hope you have a wonderful holiday season! Are your lists ready for Santa? Have you mailed them yet? If not, then don’t forget to stop here for a free Santa’s wish list also. This season I am giving back to my readers with these freebies and I am giving back to everyone else with World Vision Gifts. I love that these gifts help change lives. To read more about…

  • Happy Hanukkah
    Giveaways

    Happy Hanukkah Free Printable Dreidel Coloring Pages

    December 14, 2014 - By 

    Happy Hanukkah! This year I am offering free printable coloring pages for kids on Thrifty Momma’s Tips. Free Printable Dreidel coloring pages are just one way I am giving back to my readers this year. I hope you all have an amazing holiday whatever customs, beliefs and traditions you share with your families. I hope the weekly coloring pages here help make everyone’s holidays easier to manage. When the kids are busy in a constructive way, then everyone’s day ticks along at a much smoother pace. Coloring is a great activity we often used to pass the time on car…

  • santa_wishlist
    Printables

    Free Printable Santa Wish list letter

    December 13, 2014 - By 

    Christmas is fast approaching and we haven’t even made a real list for Santa here yet. So here’s a Santa Wish List letter template for everyone to use this season. Well my kids make lists of so many things all year long, in fact, they might have made a list for Christmas months ago and lost it five times over already. Anyways, I know some of you are likely in the same boat. Frankly my kids are getting a bit too big for this anymore but I still encourage the Christmas spirit. As long as you believe, then I will…