Creative Christian Mama

God bless all Mothers

Miriam Dunning

4 Best European Road Trips To Do as a Family

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If you are looking to take your kids on a  real adventure for next year’s vacation, why not consider the prospect of a european road trip. Throughout this continent you will find some fun and spectacular routes which can help you to explore somewhere new, and give your kids a great time as you explore. There are many routes which you can choose from and here are my 4 picks for the best in Europe.

Paris to Berlin

My kids loved the road trip which we went on last year which took us from the heart of Paris to the historic and exciting city of Berlin. we took 2 weeks out to make the trip and started off with a trip to EuroDisney to keep the kids happy. My children loved Paris, more than I expected and although we only had 2 days in the city, we managed to tick off all of the key attractions. The drive is great because there are plenty of places to stop from medieval Bacharach to the exiting Leipzig, before finishing the trip with 4 days in Berlin.

Bilbao to Bordeaux

For kids who love adventure, this is a great road trip choice. Start of in Bilbao with its beautiful beaches and water sports, before cutting through the rugged Pyrenees maintains to Pamplona, a historic town with a lot of charm. Beach lovers can then move on to Biarritz with its cool beaches and excellent surf, before finalizing the trip in the northern region of Bordeaux.

Bucharest to Vienna

If your kids are a little bit older, they will love this cultural discovery thorough Eastern Europe. Starting from Bucharest, you will head northward through the Carpathian Mountains to Transylvania. Kids will love the stop off at Bran Castle, the one-time home of Dracula himself. Next, head up to the old cities of Sibu and Brasov before heading to the famous archaeological site of Timisoara. Finally, fish the trip in Budapest, where kids will love the thermal springs and the medieval vibe of the city.

Athens Loop

My kids loved the Greek road trip which we took a few years ago and I would recommend it for kids of all ages. Begin your trip in Athens and head south along the coast roads which offer stunning views of the sea. Stop off in Sounion where you can watch the sunsetting at the Temple of Poseidon, head through the mysterious mountains to the north until you reach Mycenae which is home to many of Homer’s great characters. From here you will have many options but we decided to go straight for Olympia, where the ancient Greek athletes plied their trade. Finally, you will return to Athens to enjoy the rest of your vacation. This is the perfect road trip for those who love the sun and the sea, as well as those who enjoy Greek mythology. The road trip should take between 5 and 10 days, depending on how much time you have available.

How To Trim Off Needless Costs of Car Ownership

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Just buying a car can be expensive enough, without the monthly costs of actually running it. For anyone looking at ways in which they can save money each month, trimming down the costs of running your car are very important as these can often be the biggest spends. Now, there are some areas which you cannot trim, unless you have an emergency, such as if you have taken out finance on your car. If you do have finance and you are struggling with payments, contact the lender to see if you can renegotiate the terms. Other than the finance, there are many ways in which you can trim down on monthly costs.

Gas

Gas in the car is one of your biggest monthly expenditures but there are many ways in which you can manage things to ensure that you bring the costs down to a minimum.

  • Driving Style – If you are an erratic driver who drives at high speeds, brakes late and over-rev the car, you are using a huge amount of gas in doing so. Drive safely to minimize how much gas you are using.
  • Car Pooling – Car pooling to work or using it for the school run is an eco-friendly and cost effective way of reducing how much money you spend on gas each month.
  • Cheap Fuel – If you shop around your local gas stations, you will see that the price of gas varies greatly, find the cheapest and make sure that you use it.

Washing

Throwing $10 per week to get your car cleaned may not seem like much but you can easily save this $500 per year if you do it yourself. Car washing is not hard and you don’t need any high tech equipment to be able to do it. Spend a couple of hours on a weekend, giving you car the love and car that it needs, and save yourself plenty of money in the mean time.

Check-Ups

There is little worse than having something go wrong with your car, especially if you are not financially ready for it. In order to minimize the risk of something going wrong, make sure that you take the car to the garage for check-ups, before long journeys, and before a harsh winter. Mechanics can spot potential problems and if you nip them in the bud early, you can greatly reduce the chance of your car breaking down.

Gadgets

There are all manner of gadgets out there on the market which you can put inside your car from tech items, to air fresheners, and everything in between. The key here is to simply ask yourself whether you really need such an item in your car. Usually the answer to this question will be no and you can avoid getting sucked in to buying things which you don’t need, if you follow the 10 second rule. When you see something which you want to buy, hold it in your hand for 10 seconds and think about whether or not your need it, nine times out of ten, the answer will be no.

Be vigilant about how much you are spending on your car, and you can reduce it in no time.

5 Smart Phone Apps That Are Integral For Your Teen’s Safety

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Smartphones and tablets, when mixed with teenagers, can be a dangerous mix and as parents it is up to us to carefully manage what are young ones are doing online. There is so much danger attached to teenagers using smartphones from using them when driving, using them to browse things that parents won’t be happy about and even the possibility of befriending unscrupulous people. The point of all this, is that parents need to be on the front foot when it comes to protecting our teens. It is hard to strike a balance between Orwellian and caring, but that is what you need to do, and here are 5 apps to help you do it.

WhatsApp

As far as messaging services to stay in touch with your child go, WhatsApp is most definitely the best and both you and your child should have it downloaded. WhatsApp allows you to send text messages, voce messages and video messages, as well as giving you the chance to call them via voice or video. When a message has been sent you will see 2 ticks and when the recipient sees it you will see 2 blue ticks, you can also use the messenger to see when your child was last active.

Qustodio

This is a comprehensive dashboard which will help you to manage all of your child’s online activity, from what they browse, and which social media accounts they use. This is a great app if you are worried about what your child is looking at online, and who they are speaking to. It isn’t nice to snoop on your child, but it is far better to do so if you can help avoid any problems.

Mobsafety Ranger Browser

There is a huge amount of things online which you won’t want your teenager to see and for this, you can use the Ranger Browser from Mobsafety. This is a free app which allows you to see what your child has been looking at online, as well as giving you the chance to filter their searches by putting certain topics on a black or white list.

Canary – Teen Safety

Driving and using your phone is illegal, but that doesn’t stop many teens each year from doing it, and involving themselves in an accident. You can help to minimize this by downloading Canary, and app which sends you alerts when your child is not driving safely. If your child uses their phone whilst driving, you’ll also receive alerts should they drive too fast, too late or in locations that are off-limits.

Ignore No More

Kids can easily ignore your calls when you need to get in touch with them but this doesn’t have to be the way. Ignore No More is a great app which allows you to remotely lock your child’s phone, until they return your call. Your teenager won’t be ignoring you for long once you have blocked access to their social media accounts!