Lovely to see the Royal Mail continues to offer this special postal service to Santa each year. Children who would like to write to Santa, can send him a letter to the following address;

Santa/Father Christmas,
Santa’s Grotto,
Reindeerland,
SAN TA1

To give Santa time to reply, please send all letters by no later than Wednesday 14 December 2011 and remember to include your name, address & attach a first or second class stamp to the envelope.

Good to see letter writing is not completely redundant.  Plenty more Christmas Deals available too!

Liz

To combine a day out with something to eat on Father’s Day, then check these deals out:

• Frankie & Bennys; Dad’s receive main course for free when accompanied with two other eating guests.
• Ask; 2 for 1 on main meals when you download a voucher.

To more deals for days out, why not subscribe to Topdogdays and sign up to our email newsletter.

We’ve got to thank one and all for helping us reach 3000 subscribers today, that’s a lot of people loving a bargain!

For those interested in our stats, we are now averaging 35,000 visitors a month to our site with an anticipated 45,000 visitors expected for the summer peak months.  Not bad for a site that has only been going 18 months!

Just shows that whilst people still want to plan a day out, they do want more bucks for their bang…and that’s where topdogdays can help you out!

Any feedback, good or bad, will always be appreciated..so don’t hold back!

Liz

The Parking Gripe

Most local authorities have now introduced parking charges so that even popping out for a few bits and pieces ends up with a confrontation with a parking machine! All those infuriating tasks; from having the right change, (is it only me that seems to have the world’s supply of fake coins?), to undertaking a quick time and motion study to calculate your length of stay!  To top it all off, I’ve even had to plug in the numerical part of my registration number – who knows that off hand?

Not only is it a hassle but then there is the expense to consider.  Whilst £2.40 here or 70p there doesn’t seem very much, have you ever wondered how much parking is costing you each year? When I calculated my parking expenditure, I was shocked to learn it was costing me around £1500 a year.  Time to take some money saving action!

Money Saving Tips to Reduce Your Parking Spend

There are some simple money saving steps we can all take to reduce unnecessary parking spend and I’m sure there are plenty more ideas out there that are worth sharing too!

Use supermarket car parks: generally supermarkets offer a ‘free’ period of parking time for a minimum spend in store.  Whilst this may mean a slightly longer walk to the high street, (or fat burning exercise as I see it), if you can keep within these time limits it’s a no brainer.  The trick is to ensure you purchase only essential items on the minimum supermarket spend rather than treat yourself to a box of chocolates.  If there is nothing you immediately need, stock up on toilet roll, washing powder etc that will reduce your weekly supermarket shop at a later date.

Free parking tool: have a look at freeparkingspace, an online tool that shows you free parking spaces within a certain radius of your destination.  Whilst national coverage is patchy, it may point you in the right direction and you can search by location or attraction.  More details at online free parking tool checker.

Check out free/reduced parking times: always worth glancing over at the parking fee notice boards in your local area.  It can sometimes be surprising to learn that certain times or days, (particularly Sundays or in the run up to Christmas), offer discounted rates or even free parking.  My local car park offers free parking after 3.30pm and means I can combine it with a library trip for the kids.

Have the correct change: I don’t want to think about the money I have lost over the years by not having the correct change for these pay and display machines!  With no refund options on many of these parking monsters, this is simply lost money!  Ensure you are prepared!

Park & Ride Schemes: these seem to have become less popular with people in our ever busier life schedules. However for me, the combination of free/reduced  parking, (for many, you tend to just pay your fare into a city), plus the hassle free experience of a regular bus service straight to your stop wins every time.  Why not go online and check out where your local park & ride schemes are running.

Public transport can be cheaper: with are so many train deals available for off peak times, particularly if you have invested in a railcard, it can make public transport the cheaper option especially if you plan ahead!  I recently took my daughter to Manchester for the day, (from Stoke), for a total cost of £10.50; I can’t park in Manchester for that let alone the petrol!

Can you add to this list with other ideas to reduce non essential parking charges, we’d love to hear from you!

Liz

A lovely way to share some magic with your children.

Wishing one and all a Happy Christmas.

Liz

Whilst the Scots Pine is great as a Christmas tree, it causes environmental damage to the natural habitat at this county parkand volunteers are welcome to help remove them from the area….plus you get to take one home as a little thank you!

More details available at free Christmas Trees at Avon Valley Country Park.

Liz

2. The winner will be selected at random from the email competion entries received.

3. The competition closes at midnight on 30 November 2010.

4. The winner will be notified by email on 1 December 2010.  The email supplied by the winner for this competition will be used to notify of the winner on 1 December.

5. The decision reached by topdogdays will be final and no alternative prize can be offered.

6. No entries will be considered from any parties connected to topdogdays.com.

6. The family ice skating session will need to be pre-booked by the winner to ensure space is available on the session required.

7. Any other queries regarding this competition entry should be directed to queries@topdogdays.com.

So here’s to another year laiden with deals, discounts and top tips so you don’t have to spend a fortune on a day out.

Cheers everyone!

Liz

A Lego Version of Vue Cinemas

Vue cinemas could hold the answer to a treat on a budget before the kids return to school.  Each weekday morning, Vue cinemas offer tickets for both children and adults for just 95p a ticket!

This weekend’s selection is Where the Wild Things Are, PG.  Movies generally start around 10am but check your local Vue Cinema for listing times.

For more cinema deals and discounted tickets, check out our Insider Guide to the Cinema.

Liz

To qualify for this deal, you will need to purchase a Stagecoach Group Dayrider or Dayrider Plus One ticket that you will find have also been discounted for the summer…deals galore!

For more information about this and other deals around Manchester, go to Manchester United Museum & Tour deal with Stagecoach Buses.

Liz