Entertaing On A Budget.

How Do?

I do not know about you, but I had such a lovely weekend with my friends it seems a shame to return to work yesterday.

Whilst we were out all the time, it did end up being pretty frugal. I took out £50 for a weekend budget and ended up having a lot left which pleased me.

We were back on Saturday to ThomasLand at Drayton Manor for the little boy to visit. Up early and there for the gates opening at 10.30AM meant we got our money's worth. Closing time was 2.30PM. Only opening 4hrs is a bit of a swindle in my humble opinion, but the 2 yo was shattered and it meant his mum and I could have a quiet 1.5hrs round the shops whilst he slept.

We got in on a 2-for-1 deal, so my half cost £13 including parking, but it is just magical to see the kid's faces. As the main park is still closed and it was another blustery damp day, ThomasLand was quiet and there was little, if no waiting for the rides.  This means the toddlers can be allowed to roam free as there it plenty of space to keep an eye on them. Parents are much more relaxed under such circumstances, and therefore so are the kids.

I learnt my lesson from last time and we took sandwiches and homemade cake to eat. So only bought drinks at total cost of £3.50. I do need to invest in a flask I think.

In fact I only spent £1 whilst we wandered round the shops too.

Having visitors does stretch ones budget, entertaining is not cheap. But, I enjoy doing it and everything does not have to be Cordon Bleu. Am a big fan of home cooking with plentiful portions and tasty sauces. I had planned every meal ahead of schedule.

The homemade pizza went down very well on Friday. (pic to follow later) and I made the Lemon Torte featured on SuperScrimpers last week. It is supposed to feed 8, nope 4 I reckon. My gosh it was so delicious. Especially with a little of an already opened bottle of Bailey poured over. Yum!

Saturday 8AM, I put half of the stewing steak in the slow cooker with mushrooms, onions and a bottle of Guinness. 6 hrs on high then a further 4 on low rendered it so tender a fork made the meat fall apart. Served with a pastry lid, mash and peas, it was pure comfort food after a long day on our feet. (the boy had fish fingers). The meat for that came in at £1.20/portion.

Sunday morning we were out again, so whilst cooking some Pikelets for breakfast I roasted the chicken for lunch too then wrapped it in foil for whilst we were out. Only the veggies to do once we were back.

As expected the Chicken did 2 adults and 1 child's dinner, there is a further 4 more meals there too. Plus Sunday evening after stripping the carcass, I boiled up the bones then added left over potatoes, some stuffing and the remains on the bread sauce. My Sunday lunch soup smells and tastes divine. Frozen now for another day. That means the chicken has done 9 meals, roughly 27p per portion.

I picked up my Avon order yesterday evening at Book Club.

This came to a total of £5.50, but the bath foam will last 3-4months. I could get an alternative brand cheaper, but I do not think it is as indulgent. The hand soap was on special offer for 99P as was the shower gel at the back. They will be kept for when my current ones run out. I only buy these products when there is an incentive to do so. BTW the bath foam was reduced too!

It is back today to the £5 Challenge, I spent £1.09 today so £3.91 to last until Friday.

My savings are still looking pretty healthy, which is good as I am still trying to sort out my new front door.

Frugally yours
Abigail
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