Feeding the Hungry Hordes: How to Save Money When Your Child’s Friends Come to Eat
When your kid’s friends come by for a visit, do you worry that they’re going to eat you out of house and home? Watching a group of kids make their way through your refrigerator and pantry can often leave you feeling your home has been invaded by locusts. You don’t want to seem like the “mean” mom in the neighborhood, but shopping for an entire mob of youngsters can kill your grocery budget in a hurry.
Before you start looking for ways to beef up your grocery budget, you should know that there are other alternatives to spending a fortune at the grocery store. Try one, or all, of these solutions and find one that works for you and your family.
Limit drinks to water. The kids will, of course, get thirsty as they play throughout the day. But you don’t have to serve Kool-Aid or soda when the kiddies get parched. Good old-fashioned tap water is cold, refreshing, and inexpensive.
Don’t let the kids snack unsupervised. The last thing you need is to realize that your child and his friends have eaten the appetizers you prepped in the refrigerator for tonight’s guests. And goodness knows that kids sometimes need help with the idea of portion control. When snack time strikes at your house, being on hand to divvy out the munchies will ensure that the kids eating what you intended for them to eat.
Plan snacks ahead of time and stock up on inexpensive ones when they’re on sale. For instance, if you see a good price on those little packages of crackers with peanut butter, go ahead and buy an extra box or two. Planning ahead allows you to find foods you can afford to share with the entire neighborhood.
Organize snack time with your child’s playmates’ families. Parents organize play dates and carpools. Why shouldn’t they coordinate snack times, as well? When the kids are traveling from house to house (maybe during the summer months), each family could agree to provide and serve afternoon snacks on a particular day. Now, no one family will feel the burden of feeding all of the kids every day.
Filed under: Personal Finance
Try limiting your choice of foods to less sweet/sugary ones. If you stuff them with lots of sweets, they will tend to eat more!
Introduce healthier snacks as they tend to be less expensive.
Sam
Fix My Personal Finance
http://fixmypersonalfinance.com/
This post has been included in the 141st Festival of Frugality at Almost Frugal, going live September 2, 2008. Please link back to the festival when you get a chance!
What an interesting topic. Yes, it can get it the skin sometimes, neighbors’ children munching and eating away at our house. So thanks for the helpful tips, I’ll be sure to use them.
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