Birthday Shopping Spree

We're just back from Toots' birthday shopping spree.

Her birthday isn't until tomorrow but if Christmas proved anything this year its that she is still a little too young to deal with being bombarded by everything in one day so we're splitting her birthday treats up a little.

She had her birthday shopping spree today (which we did last year and it was a great success). She loves to be in control of her own money for the day. It makes her feel like such a big girl.

We plan on a special breakfast tomorrow morning, then opening the gifts we have for her. She'll receive her Creative Zen and a new outfit from us and our local florist will deliver flowers, then she gets to have a sleepover at Nana's house with a little friend (dodged that bullet).

Sunday will be a quiet morning with her birthday party in the afternoon.

She really enjoyed her little shopping spree this year and did really well, no running off or tantrums. Basically, I gave her £5 and let her hit all the charity, second hand and bric a brac shops in Ards. Ards is a real shoppers town so the majority of things that end up in these shops are practically new or at least in very good condition.

The first stop was ARC bookshop (it has a little bric a brac section through a tiny doorway that nobody seems to know about.

In ARC she managed to get;

A princess wand,

Six books, Beauty and the Beast, The Little red Hen, Alice in Wonderland, Heidi, Monsters Inc and Nutty as a Noodle Stories,

And an Early Learning Centre cashier's till which works perfectly and came complete with a pile of plastic and paper money and two switch cards. The groceries weren't there, but I'll soon sort something out.

And a little set of plastic tools.

All hers for the grand total of £1.

Seriously!

After ARC we went to Oxfam where she picked up;

Three working Power Rangers. They're from different ranges, the blue one speaks and the red and yellow change back and forth between being rangers and being bog standard school kids in spandex but it doesn't seem to bother her.

A wooden snake which happens to be her favourite purchase,

And dear help me if she didn't insist on getting this too...

She declared him to be "beautiful".

Well, I suppose if that's your thing.

She spent another £1 in the second shop.

On the way home she treated herself to an iced lolly and a cream egg.

Of course, she ate the cream egg first.

Still, it was a great way to spend a morning.

When we arrived home I suggested that she could put her change into her purse and take it to Nana's tomorrow for ice cream, but instead she put it into her piggy's bank.

So not only do I have a savvy shopper, I have a savvy saver too.

And yes, she knows full well that Nana will buy her ice cream anyway.

She isn't stupid you know:)