London Mums Magazine » baby show

We’re a nation of savvy shoppers!

Monica Costa — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 10:41:51 +0000

A new study has revealed that the recession has turned parents in to savvy shoppers. Two thirds of those surveyed admitted becoming more cautious as a result of the economic downturn.

A huge 83% of parents confirmed they were using vouchers and discount codes in a bid to become more savvy. And impulse buys are long gone with 78% admitting they carefully research, try and compare before making a purchase.

93 per cent of parents are worried about their financial situation and as such, the stats reveal 55 per cent of parents did not take a holiday whilst planning for their children. Also 34% had cut down on their weekly food shop and 72 per cent confirmed they had stopped buying as many clothes.

57% admitting they have received hand me downs and 40% said they were buying things from Ebay.

The survey shows 90 per cent of parents spend more on their children than they do themselves and just under a half of respondents shop for their own clothing in budget high street stores to be able to do so.

Melanie Hall, a spokeswoman for leading baby and parenting show The Baby Show (www.thebabyshow.co.uk), who conducted the poll of 1,000 parents said:

“This poll is very insightful and highlights that parents are trying to adapt to these hard times.

The financial pressures on families are huge and parents are trying to make the wisest possible choices.

Parents are taking the time to find out about products, investigating the quality of it and comparing the prices before buying them. This savvy shopping is helping them to save money which can be used for other things such as paying bills.

The Baby Show is the perfect place for parents to come, research buys, trial products and also get some great offers.”

The Baby Show is running from the 24th-26th February 2012 at London ExCeL. To book a ticket log on to www.thebabyshow.co.uk

The post We’re a nation of savvy shoppers! appeared first on London Mums Magazine.

October 2011 Newsletter

Monica Costa — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 10:41:06 +0000

Dear London Mums

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and I would like to share my recent experience to support breast cancer prevention in this piece

http://londonmumsmagazine.com/2011/breast-cancer-prevention

This is certainly one of the busiest months of the year with lots of organising at school, nursery, at home with kids adjusting to the new autumn rhythm (although the weather made us feel like in the summer lately), lots of birthday parties to attend and organise.

The autumn is a very creative time of the year. It is a real pleasure to walk through the park and collect leaves and pine cones, then make things out of them. You will find inspiration to get toys made out of recycled materials in the ‘Get creative’ section online. I know lots of mums are real pros in the ‘junk-turned-to-toys’ business. If you fancy sharing your art & craft tips with London Mums we will give you guest blogger access to post them online. If you are too shy for that, watch this space!

Check how we have made a cute a doll out of junk: MY JUNK DOLL.

October also celebrates National Baking Week from 17th-23rd October. Since London Mums officially supports Harry Potter’s author JK Rowling charity called Lumos we would like to share with you the amazing Chocolate Brownies by Jane Asher – Bake for Lumos! recipe. http://londonmumsmagazine.com/2011/chocolate-brownies-by-jane-asher

You can search for a ‘recipe’ on our site to get baking this month. Don’t forget that schools often have cake sales as part of their fundraising campaigns so this should become a useful resource.

Halloween is getting bigger and bigger and mums are often required to do some face painting during this time of the year. Check our Mums’ DIY guide on Halloween face painting.

If you are looking for Halloween parties across London, just search our events’ calendar.

In the run up to Christmas we get busier and busier, so before you forget, mark your diary with our London Mums Christmas party on 18th November 2011: apart from the fun you will have the chance to get a snap of your kids with Santa in time to prepare personalised Christmas’ cards.

I receive lots of inspirational Mumpreneurs’ stories every day and it’s hard to choose the best. Here are our top ones for October: Emily, from mum to mumpreneur inventor of Bundlebean; Victoria Hatch, the techie star mumpreneur who created Look Bunny Find, the only FREE children’s activity finder on the App Store; award winning artist and founder of Red Ted Art Maggy W. .

For Ski holidays’ tips check the article ‘Making family ski holidays simple and fun’.

For Do’s and Don’ts on sex related to conception read ‘The wrong kind of sex…..?’ by fertility expert Emma Cannon.

COMPETITIONS We have lots of prizes up for grabs. You are a click away from winning!

Don’t forget to submit your snaps for our photography competition with the chance to win 500£ worth in prizes. It’s a great opportunity especially if you are a mumpreneur as the first prize includes a branding workshop to help you create a brand http://londonmumsmagazine.com/2011/photo-comp.

If you are after local activities check under the section ‘Activities’ and look for either your London area or the day of the week. There are lots of new classes you can join locally including ballet for adults , fencing, drama sessions for kids, baby classes where you can meet mums like you. We update these activities’ pages on a daily basis so keep checking or email us if you are after something in particular.

The London Mums playgroup in Putney every Monday from 4,15 to 5,15pm has started and has a few places still available, please email info@londonmumsmagazine.com if you want to register. Our mums love it because they find the sessions ‘therapeutical’ and the kids love the mix of art & craft, music and dance.

I am not a big fan of emails so you won’t receive more than one message per month, but the website is updated on a daily basis so I would suggest to check the landing page regularly to be kept informed on London Mums’ whereabouts in-between newsletters.

Tell your friends that we offer a FREE Gift Bag for every new registration online. RE-REGISTER NOW!

Monica

monica@londonmums.org.uk

Connect with London Mums: Twitter @londonmums and New Facebook Page and our Facebook Group

Help us grow by word-of-mouth: If you find this newsletter useful please forward a copy to your fellow mums across London – let’s get members to over 100,000 London Mums! Thanks.

The post October 2011 Newsletter appeared first on London Mums Magazine.

September 2011 Newsletter

Monica Costa — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 23:14:31 +0000

Dear London Mums

School and nursery are finally starting again and it will feel like going on holiday for us mums! As school preparations get underway check out our ‘back to school’ feature including school essentials, handwriting tips, colouring and being creative, facts on the true cost of school bags, gluten free school lunch ideas and school fundraising tips (for PTA activists). http://londonmumsmagazine.com/2011/back-to-school

As school time approaches I become nostalgic of the new notebooks and books’ smells, colourful school diaries, crayons and pens. And school is so much nicer these days where kids seem to learn while having lots of fun. When I went to primary school in Italy in the Seventies we learnt the ABC by writing pages full of the same letters. Repetition was key in the learning process then. These days intuition seems to play a much bigger role. And the kids are so much more enthusiastic when it comes to school. The teachers seem all so gentle and kind, almost mother-like with our children. As a mum I feel so grateful to my son’s teachers for all they do in the time my son spends at school. A teacher’s job is so tough and carries so much responsibility.

At the end of July we opened up the London Mums website to guest bloggers and we have already received lots of positive feedback on our bloggers’ rants and views: check our mumpreneur’s rant (Are you ready to be a Mumpreneur? By Maria Johnson), our amazing Baby Photographer’s tips about photography but also business and life, and our mummy photographer’s experience with creativity.

Competition time is back and this month there are amazing prizes up for grabs i.e. Crayola products in bundles, a gorgeous Mother’s bag by Rosebud London, 2 ONLY FOOLS AND HORSES COMPLETE ANNIVERSARY DVD BOXSETS, Driver Dan DVDs, tickets for the Baby Show (Earls’ Court) and for the Alternative Family Show. You can enter our competitions to get even more freebies this September!

Also this is the last month time for all of you to over 500£ worth in prizes for our photography competition. Don’t miss this great opportunity especially if you are a mumpreneur. Check why here… (http://londonmumsmagazine.com/2011/photo-comp)

To search for local activities check under the section ‘Activities’ and look for either your London area or the day of the week. There are lots of new classes you can join locally including fencing, drama, baby classes where you can meet mums like you. If you are based in SW London (Putney area) and are looking for a relaxed playgroup, please email info@londonmumsmagazine.com to register for our London Mums playgroup starting again on 26th September at Eddie Catz in Putney. Our mums love it because they find the sessions ‘therapeutical’ and the kids love the mix of art & craft, music and dance.

Similarly if you are after events across London, check our popular events’ calendar. We have added quite a few new events for the coming months including the London Mums Christmas party on 18th November 2011.

Last but not least if you fancy getting fit while having lots of fun, join our mums’ fencing club in SW London http://londonmumsmagazine.com/2011/fencing.

Do not forget to get in touch if you just want to talk to your fellow London Mums. And please please let your friends know about our FREE Gift Bag for every new registration online. RE-REGISTER NOW!

Monica

monica@londonmums.org.uk

Connect with London Mums: Twitter @londonmums and New Facebook Page and our Facebook Group

Help us grow by word-of-mouth: If you find this newsletter useful please forward a copy to your fellow mums across London – let’s get members to over 100,000 London Mums! Thanks.

The post September 2011 Newsletter appeared first on London Mums Magazine.