Frugal Family: Countdown to School's Out

Yesterday morning, my next-door neighbor mentioned that her daughter, a 3^rd grader, had counted the number of remaining school days.  Seniors aside, the last day of school is June 21^st. Twenty-eight days and it’s officially over!

This tally doesn’t include the weekends, of course. But we all know that school will be out for the summer before we know it. And we need to be prepared.

Projects abound the last few months of school. Now is the time to make sure that there is enough poster board on hand.  Get some at Staples or at CVS.  Check the household  inventory for shoe boxes. Someone always needs one.  Get some white t-shirts at K-Mart, and wash and dry them now. You’ll be ready for teachers’ tie dye requests and ahead of the game when the day camp sends home a note announcing next-day garment coloring.

If you have girls in your house, buy some bandanas. I am not sure why, but my daughters are always asking for bandanas. At first it was a Girl Scout thing—they are needed on  campouts to keep one’s hair out of the fire—but now they have become part of sports team  "psyches” and indespensible when fashioning quick costumes.

School parties are on the horizon. If you stock up on juice boxes, individually packaged treats, brownie mix, cake mix, and frosting, you can easily volunteer to contribute to a party without making a special trip to the store. If you are likely to be asked to provide something for a teacher appreciation luncheon, buy the ingredients for something that is quick and easy to prepare and have them on hand.

Field trips and Field Days are coming. Be ready when your children need to brown-bag it to outings. Make sure you’ve got the makings of lunches that will work on these days. Scope out sales on sunscreen and insect repellant, and stock up. Locate the floppy hats and baseball caps and keep them handy.  Make sure everyone has sneakers, flip flops, sunglasses and bathing suits that fit. They’re going to need them.

Ensure that you have enough checks on hand in order  to pay for these fun events.

Many people need to be thanked. Get going on the gifts.  If your kids are on sports teams, there are likely coaches’ gifts to buy.  If your children are in elementary school, room parents or other kind souls will soon be collecting money to fund teacher thank-you gifts.  My advice: Go to the bank and withdraw a bunch of cash, all in $10 bills. Put it in an envelope and carry it in your handbag or brief case. If you are the kind soul, make a note of who has paid as you collect.  That way you won’t waste time asking for a contribution from someone who’s already made one.  Stock up on thank-you cards to use in the event that your gift is a solo effort.

It’s best to stay local when shopping.  Acton has many restaurants and stores that
offer gift certificates that make nice thank you presents.  If necessary, I enlist a “spy” to find out what will be a hit with a teacher or coach.

Remember that appointments and reservations need to be made far in advance.  During the busy spring season, hair and nail salons are buzzing. Proms, graduations, religious celebrations and weddings are all occasions that inspire us to look our best. It’s necessary to call ahead to make appointments that fit your schedule.  This is especially important if you want a specific stylist.

Going out for a celebratory dinner?  Make a reservation and avoid waiting on the big day.

The camera should be handy at all times. Carry it with you so you don’t miss any irreplaceable photo opportunities.