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By E K Wills The night before Christmas... We recently moved from a house we were bursting out of and into one with a spacious open plan. It felt like all our Christmases came at once! I remember when we took the leap, it had everything I had hoped for (except off street parking and a second shower but who’s keeping tabs?). Enough space for all three children; a rumpus downstairs, even a media room, and a family room, which now makes three areas that require sofas! It felt li

By EK Wills What better way to spend time with friends and family than to get together for an activity? It could be to socialize over drinks, bake with the kids or make Christmas decorations. This time of year is the opportunity to reconnect with community and we’ve been squeezing as much of it in as we can. Christmas Cookies Baking is a great way to get kids off screens and teach them kitchen skills. Plus you get to spend time together with the objective of creating somethin

By EK Wills canoes in Sydney harbour Last weekend we attended our son’s scout Christmas party at the beach. Unusual you might say, but this was the sea scouts and it is water based. We recently moved close to the water but hadn’t had the opportunity to engage in water activities till that day: life has a way of distracting you with work, setting up house and preparing for Christmas. This was the first chance we had to force ourselves to stop and enjoy what we had moved there

By EK Wills Is Santa coming to your house? What if you don’t have a chimney? As we move into December, the Christmas list for each child is growing. Lego is a favourite for our ten year old and the teenaged girls are looking at earrings and clothing: all things they have to choose themselves or they won’t like them. Then we came up with a brainwave. Although it’s been four months since we moved, we’re still working out what we need and where it should go. The big-ticket items

By EK Wills There was a death in the family this week: my 10 year old son’s hermit crab. It lasted only a few months so, to us, this is not a big deal. But, to him, it was his first ‘very own’ pet to look after. It was not our first pet death (remember our chickens from last summer?) but it was his big event. He wondered whether he had done something wrong. Had he not fed it enough? Or kept the tank wet or warm enough? There were two of them and only one died. Why was it the

By EK Wills Many people struggle with finances their whole lives. And many feel they don’t know enough about how to manage their money. It’s too hard and too complicated so why bother? But given how expensive today’s economy is for housing, the idea of owning your own home seems to slip from more people’s grasp at an alarming rate. I grew up in the excess of the 80’s so always thought at a windfall of success would enable the lifestyle I wanted. But the crash that came after

By EK Wills No matter what activity you decide to engage your children in they will not generally thank you. No matter how much you may encourage them to persist, a time will come when they will berate you for not choosing what they later want or that you let them quit something they weren’t prepared to persist with. We recently discovered this phenomena with music. The youngest is learning drums and he has now revealed that he doesn’t like loud noises which would explain why

By EK Wills Not every teen has an eye for design and knows exactly what they want. When my teen came to me unsure of how she wanted to design her bedroom, she was unhappy with everything. She didn’t know what she wanted but it wasn’t what she had. This is not unusual for teenagers so parents are pretty used to dealing with such dilemmas, although not always sure of what to do about it. Luckily, I drew on my previous experience as an art director and designer to suggest creati

By EK Wills money tree I grew up in the excess of the 80’s when everyone expected to become a millionaire. My father was one, so why shouldn’t I? Except the 80’s didn’t last and he wasn’t the Rich Dad that taught you how to do it sensibly and slowly because that was boring. He was a risk taker and a good one. The 80’s were his gold fields and he knew how to reap the rewards. He didn’t need a savings plan but he knew that you needed regular income to service your debt in order

By EK Wills Driving home with my son yesterday, we were listening to the radio and I was struck by how specifically directed it was to my generation. We started talking about how there used to be popular songs, bands and types of music mainly dictated by what we were exposed to as kids. We wondered then what he would listen to as an adult because he also plays in a band. This led to thinking how different it is now because everyone has access to so many forms of media at thei

By E K Wills Holiday time is when you let your guard down and let the kids have some fun. This is particularly true in Australia where they have a long break and the year comes to a close. But sometimes this can backfire when it comes time to going back to school. It means they have to stick to a routine again and may even need to do homework depending on what age and school they go to. In our household, they will need to help out to keep the family unit running smoothly, as

By EK Wills Every child has a favourite colour, and that generates a fun party theme that is both creative and fun for everyone involved in the making. Dress to Impress To really carry off the concept, try to incorporate the chosen colour in as many things as possible. 1. Ask everyone to come in clothes of that colour - parents too! 2. Have all the decorations in that colour – balloons and streamers are easy. 3. Make a simple sign with paper plates – paint each one with a let

By EK Wills Step 1: Where to build your party and who with? A lego party is better when it’s larger than life so consider whether you can buddy up with another child’s birthday to share the load. And hiring a local venue means more space for games (especially if you live in the city) and no mess at home as a bonus. Plus you can pool your lego resources for decorations. Step 2: What materials do you need? To boost your collection of lego, second hand items can be purchased onl

by EK Wills If you make the decision to have an HP party, then you know you are in for a DIY project unless you want to spend a fortune on merchandise. The following checklist shows what you will need and there is further information and downloadable files on the Pinterest Harry Potter Party board. 1. Invitations This is how you set the scene for delving into the wizarding world so it needs to create an impression, right down to the handmade envelope with an H wax seal. Hot g

By EK Wills There are many ways to celebrate with high tea: visit a fancy hotel, hire a caterer or create your own, even just cupcakes in the park. We’ve had a few of these variations and have a few tips on them. Hotel High Tea For tweens, a hotel high tea is very exciting and glamorous. You can get the kids’ menu option for under 12’s at a hotel, which makes it a reasonable cost option as well. There are the logistics of working out numbers since you will have to get the gro

by EK Wills A hearty party for little kids involves pirates. Every birthday party book has pirate ideas but we took it a step further and created a pirate ship in our backyard. All it took was some recycling materials, paint and creativity. Ship Ahoy! We collected lots of cardboard boxes and a couple of tubes, set aside plastic containers as well as plates and gathered up milk crates. Our tree house was the crow’s nest (purposely built), and we designed the ship around the tr

by EK Wills Happy Birthday (Happee Birthdae Harry Potter)cones in cups Who doesn’t like cake? Apparently, one of our children, because not everyone has the same tastes. This provided the opportunity to look at other options for celebrating with candles that does not involve cake. I came up with fruit versions, ice cream substitutes and even a box with goodies inside as just a few cake alternatives. These can also cater to kids that have dietary requirements such as gluten fre

by EK Wills One of the first birthday parties I really went to town on was very craft intensive and a collaborative effort with my almost 4 year old daughter, Coco. We made paper flowers together, baked jam tarts in heart shapes, searched op shops for tea sets and carry baskets: all as part of the party preparation. It was a wonderful opportunity to be creative and spend time together. It actually started with an Alice in Wonderland dress up outfit that my mother-in-law had m

By E K Wills Sitting in the airport to fly back from a short job interstate, I was wondering what I would write about when my eye was caught by a face I recognized. Rob Carlton, an actor, had been in town doing the TV show ‘Wanted’ at the SA Film Corporation. It has taken up residence in the majestic old psychiatric asylum at the site next to where I was working in the current mental health facility. SA Film Corporation and old mental health asylum Rob and I had worked togeth

by EK Wills When your heart skips a beat for a prospective partner, all you care about is your feelings for each other. You probably think a little further to what it would be like to have a baby together and even what sort of parent they would make. But do you both share common goals for the future? Are you both prepared to make sacrifices to achieve those goals? And what are those goals? How many children do you want to have? Do you want to raise your family in the city?