New Years Eve Prep

After all the Christmas planning, meals and visits you can get to new year eve and want to just flop.

Here are some simple games and ideas to make it all a little easier.

The Night:

PLAN.
Whether throwing a party, being a guest or staying home, spend time sorting out a plan. who will you be with, will you need a taxi? will someone drive? what will you do to entertain the children.

THE ELDERLY.
Try to to forget elderly friends or parents, they may wish to be at home, but not everyone wants to get an early night. Offer to entertain or at least give them a call in the evening to make sure they have everything they need.

CHILDREN.
As keen as they may be to stay up getting them through to midnight can be hard. make sure everyone has an afternoon nap and have plenty of games to keep them occupied.

GAMES.
here are a few of our favourites

• STRIKE A LIGHT How To Play: Two party guests leave the room and together decide upon a word that the rest of the group will try to guess. They then return to the room and start a conversation together based around their chosen word, trying to give clues to what the word is - but without, of course, actually saying the word itself.

When a guest thinks they know what the secret word is, they must say, "I strike a light", then whisper their guess to one of the two original players. If they guess correctly, they can join in the conversation with the two players. If they're wrong, they must carry on until they guess correctly. The game ends when all the players have guessed what the word is.

• THE VICAR'S CAT How To Play: party guests form a circle and the first person begins by describing "the vicar's cat" with an adjective beginning with the letter "A". Each player then takes a turn finding a different adjective to describe "the vicar's cat" starting with "A".

Once everyone in the circle has had a turn, it starts again with the letter "B", and so on. Any player who fails to think of an adjective in ten seconds is out. The game continues through the alphabet until only one player - the winner - is left.

• FRUIT BOWL How To Play: You need an even number of people to play this game. Everyone gets into pairs, and each pair is given the name of a fruit. Someone at random calls out the name of a fruit, at which point the relevant pair must get up and swop places with each other. It starts off simply, but the idea is that as the game progresses, it becomes more complicated, with two or more fruit categories called out at the same time.

• LOOKABOUT How To Play: One person starts the game by showing everyone a small object in the room. Everyone then has to leave while that person hides the object somewhere in the room. When everyone is called back in, they have to search for the object. When they see it, they have to sit down quietly.

The game is more interesting if they don't sit down immediately but pretend to keep looking around for a few more seconds - otherwise it makes it obvious exactly where the object is. The last person to find the object becomes the next person to hide something.

• YOU'RE NEVER FULLY DRESSED WITHOUT A SMILE How To Play: One player is "It", and they're the only person allowed to smile during the game. They then have to try, any which way they can, to make everyone else in the group smile. This can get very silly. The game continues until only one person is left not smiling - and he or she is declared the winner.

• BLINDMAN'S BUFF How To Play: One person is blindfolded while all the other players spread out around the room. The blindfolded person then has to feel their way around the room until they manage to catch someone. They then have to guess who it is they have "caught". If they guess incorrectly, the person is freed and blindman has to keep going until they correctly guess the identity of a person caught.

Once they manage this, someone else is chosen to be blindfolded. It's probably best for you to move any fragile or delicate items out of the way

TV.
there is always some nice New Years Eve TV so whether its a low key event or a party using a TV show that counts down can keep everyone entertained.

Above all have fun!

Cold Weather Safety Tips

Protect Yourself:

-Dress in several layers of lightweight clothing, which will keep you warmer than a single heavy coat.
-Mittens provide more warmth to your hands than gloves. Wear a hat, preferably one that covers your ears.
-Wear waterproof, insulated boots to keep your feet warm and dry and to maintain your footing in ice and snow.
-Take frequent breaks and stay hydrated.
-Seek medical attention immediately if you have symptoms of hypothermia including confusion, dizziness, exhaustion and severe shivering.
-Seek medical attention immediately if you have symptoms of frostbite including numbness, flushed gray, white, blue or yellow skin discoloration, numbness, or waxy feeling skin.

Protect Yourself at Home:

-Be careful with candles – do not use candles for lighting if the power goes out. Use flashlights only.
-Prevent frozen pipes - when the weather is very cold outside, open cabinet doors to let warm air circulate around water pipes. Keep the thermostat set to a consistent temperature.
-Check smoke alarms once a month by pressing the test button and replace batteries as necessary.
-Don’t overload your electrical outlets.
-Don’t forget your pets – bring them indoors. If you can’t bring them inside, provide adequate shelter to keep them warm and make sure they can get to unfrozen water.
-If you plan on using an alternate heating source, never use a stove or oven to heat your home.
Keep a glass or metal fire screen around the fireplace and never leave a fireplace fire unattended.
-If using a space heater, follow the manufacturer’s instructions on how to safely use the heater. Place it on a level, hard, nonflammable surface. Turn the space heater off when you leave the room or go to sleep. Keep children and pets away from your space heater and do not use it to dry wet clothing.

Hints from the Red Cross

Home Safety Tips

The StairSteady team has done some research and come up with a long list of hints and tips to keep you and your property safe:

* Don’t walk around in socks or stockings on non carpeted floors. Try to wear rubber soled, low-heeled shoes when ever possible

* Get rid of small rugs as they are easy to trip up over.

* Make sure all of your carpets are properly fitted and all the edges are properly secured.

* Keep you home well lit using long life energy saving bulbs. Pay particular attention to stairs and walkways.

* Talk to your council, Social Services or local Independent Living Centre about having grab rails installed by steps, stairs, toilets and baths and showers.

* Get an anti slip mat for the bath and shower and replace it when it starts to loose its adherance.

* Avoid having any trailing wires. Try to group appliances next to power sockets if possible or consider having more sockets installed.

* Consider using a cordless phone or mobile to avoid having long telephone wires.

* Be tidy! Pick up anything that falls as soon as possible and think about putting small objects such as magazine racks and bins out of the way or beside large pieces of furniture.

* Wipe up any spills as soon as possible

* Never store heavy items or things you use often in high or hard to reach cupboards.

* Never keep anything on the stairs, keep stairs and walkways clear at all times.

* Take your time when getting up to answer the phone or door. Once you stand up take a second to make sure you don’t feel dizzy.

* Consider using nightlights for your bedroom and route to the bathroom or make sure you always switch the lights on before you walk across a room.

* If you need spectacles make sure you wear them at all times and get your eyes checked regularly.

* If you need a walking aid use it at all times and make sure you have one upstairs and downstairs so you don’t have to carry one on the stairs.

* Write out a plan if you fall so you know what to do as it is often difficult to think after the shock of a fall. You could also consider having a personal alarm system so you can get help if you need it.

* Install smoke detectors/fire alarms in your home. Some fire and rescue services in England offer free home fire risk checks. This involves firefighters visiting your home and offering fire safety advice for you and your household. They may be able to install your smoke alarm for free.

* Ensure your doors have adequate locks. Fit deadlocks to all outside doors and fit a security chain to the front door.

* Close and lock your doors and windows – even if you are only going out for a short time.

* Don’t leave valuables (handbags, keys, mobile phones, etc) in sight thought windows where burglars can see them.

* Remove keys from their locks and ensure they are put away, even if you are at home.

* Ensure that all ground and basement windows are fitted with locks.

* Never leave door keys under a doormat or plant pot outside.

* Use a security marker pen to mark your postcode on your property – this will enable the police to return any stolen property to you. Make an inventory and keep the list in a safe place.

* Light up inside your home – ensure that you have appropriate lighting and set some internal lights on timer switches, it gives the impression that a home is occupied.

* Secure important documents and valuable items in a safe place within your home or deposit them in a bank.

* Check all callers I.D. cards – all official callers from gas, electric, council, repair men etc all have I.D. cards with photographs and with a telephone number on and they should be happy for you to verify their identity.

Stay safe!

Household Hint

To open tight jar lids wrap an elastic band several times around the edge of the lid and it will be much easier to grip and open.

Household Hints and Tips

- To get burned on food off of baking dishes soak over night with warm water and a little fabric softner, rinse the following morning and it will just wash away.

- To improve the look of a scratch on wooden surfaces rub it with a brazil nut.

- To help keep drains flowing properly try 2 tbsp of Bicarbonate Soda and half a cup of vinegar it bubbles up but removes minor blockages, always make sure the pipes are toghtly screwed together first!

Household Hints and Tips

- Don’t put Daffodils in with other cut flowers they release a toxin which kills them.

- Marks left inside cups and mugs from metal cutlery can be removed using either nappy powdered cleaner or toothpaste.

- To bring back the fluffyness in pillows put them in the tuble drier with a new tennis ball on cool for a few minutes.

Household Hints and Tips

- To get rid of cooking smells from your hands rub your hands over a stainless steel spoon under warm running water.

- To get crayon off of walls either warm with a hairdrier and wipe with a damp cloth or spray with WD40 and then wipe over with a damp cloth.

- You can clean your kitchen surfaces with equal parts cider vinegar and water in a spray bottle, it works just as well as cleaners and has no chemicals in.

Rosemary Chicken with Oven Roasted Ratatouille

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 4


Ingredients
1 aubergine , cut into chunky pieces
2 courgettes , sliced into half-moons
3 mixed peppers , deseeded and roughly chopped
2 tsp finely chopped rosemary , plus 4 small sprigs
2 large garlic cloves , crushed
3 tbsp olive oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
250g cherry or baby plum tomatoes , halved
Method
1. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. In a large roasting tin, toss together the aubergine, courgettes and peppers with half the chopped rosemary, half the garlic, 2 tbsp oil and some seasoning. Spread out the vegetables in an even layer, and then roast in the oven for 20 mins.
2. Meanwhile, mix remaining rosemary, garlic and oil together. Slash each of the chicken breasts 4-5 times with a sharp knife, brush over the flavoured oil, season and chill for 15 mins.
3. After veg have cooked for 20 mins, stir in the tomatoes. Make spaces in the roasting tin and nestle the chicken breasts amongst the vegetables. Place a rosemary sprig on top of each chicken breast. Return the tin to the oven for 18-20 mins, until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are lightly caramelised. Serve with some new potatoes, if you like.

Rachaels Comment

I have been making Hints and Tips for the StairSteady website but one particular one recently really struck a chord. Everyone at present seems to be having more money difficulties so I decided to do a piece on saving money. All of the hints and tips I put together in themselves were relatively simple but all together they could make a big difference to your monthly outgoings. Some of the tips were even fun to do!
The money saving tips I found can be broken down into three main themes: Food, Energy and Utilities and Activities. Food is a good one to start with as we all have to eat! I discovered that there are lots of things you can do to reduce your weekly bills. The first idea I came across is make a menu: this seems like quite a time consuming thing to do but once you get into the habit of it before you go shopping then you can save yourself lots of money and wastage. I started by making a list of the meals I regularly make, I was surprised how few dishes actually featured on my list, about 10 in total. I then broke the dishes down into ingredients, store cupboard essentials, fresh vegetables and meat/fish/dairy and bought the store cupboard essentials in larger bags to save money. By making double sized portions of some of the dishes like Bolognese sauce, curry, stews, pies etc and freezing them I was able to use them as my own ready meals when time is short, again saving lots of money. Another way of saving money is to use stores own brand store cupboard essentials such as tinned goods, rice, pasta etc, I found they are often just as good as expensive named brands and are a fraction of the cost, there are a few exceptions as no one in my house would eat home brand beans! Home baked cakes and biscuits also save money and it’s something I can involve my children in, they like to ‘help out’ with the stirring and decorating our treats.
Another fun way to save money on your food bills is to grow your own produce. You don’t need a large garden or big greenhouse to get started, tubs on a patio or window boxes and hanging baskets can still produce good crops of fruit and vegetables. This year we have tried tomatoes, cucumber, courgettes, potatoes, beans, peppers, sweetcorn, cabbages and pumpkins. We also have raspberries, apples and plums growing quite happily outside in tubs. They always seem to taste nicer when you have grown them yourself! Salad leaves, herbs and chillies will all grow on a kitchen windowsill so you can have fresh all year around, if you manage to water them better than us!
Utilities are also a big drain on people’s finances, it is really worth shopping around and making sure you are getting the best deal possible. There are lots of independent sources to look at I tried Which? Online site (http://www.which.co.uk/switch/?m=home&cid=carousel). Often you can get a better deal for taking out multiple utilities with one company, I have got all of my electricity, gas, broadband and telephone with just one company and it seems to be much cheaper than when I had them apart.
Saving energy around the home can also cut down on the amount you spend. Simple measures such as swapping all your bulbs to energy savers can, I found, actually reduce your bills by quite a lot. Always make sure at you turn appliances off when you aren’t using them as leaving them on standby can actually use up to 80% of the energy they use when running. When you replace your white goods always make sure you go for the best energy rating product you can afford, some products now are A++ rated meaning you will save money on your bills, this isn’t always an option for some people though, me included! Another simple tip is to only boil as much water as you need in the kettle, completely filling it each time can waste energy.
I also found that by using vouchers and rewards you can save quite a lot of money on days out and other items. Lots of supermarkets offer a reward scheme for just doing your normal shopping, by using these tokens you can pay for days out, meals, hotels, holidays etc with money you have already spent in store. I have managed to take the whole family out on day trips to Zoo’s, aquariums, activity centres and the cinema for free with my vouchers. They also come in really handy at Christmas for presents! Local and National papers and tourist booklets also quite often have vouchers in making your trip out a little cheaper.
I hope that this will inspire you to just make some small changes to your daily routines and that it saves you money too!