The ultimate last-minute Christmas present

With Christmas only days away and the UK still recovering from snow disruptions people up and down the country are panicking about what to buy loved ones. Well, Westfield Shopping Centres may have the answer with their Westfield gift card as it’s still available to order online and pick up in store.

Looking for a business partner for 2011? Try your grandparents or your parents – if they are retired!

business with parents
Retired parents and gransparents can make great business partners

Being retired often means that your parents have more time than income, so turning a joint hobby into a business will not only help to boost their income, but yours, too.

And the great thing is that because they are retired, they will have more time available than you – if you are juggling work and the children – so they can keep things ticking over while you are not available.

If your parents are not computer savvy, then get them on a course – there a free computer courses for silver surfers these days – speak to their local library or college for IT courses for over 65s!

Apart from enjoying what you do, the start up costs of a hobby-centered business can be quite low, because you will already have most of the materials already.

Breastfeeding at work – the last office taboo-b?

mother breast feeding her baby
Even working mums want to give their baby the best start in life with breastfeeding

No matter how soon women decide to go back to work after having a baby – this could be after two weeks or an extended maternity leave of over 52 weeks – mothers may feel they are faced with a difficult dilemma should they want to continue breastfeeding.

For some women, continuing to breastfeed once back at work can be a good way of coping with being separated from the baby for the first time. Women shouldn’t worry about continuing to breastfeed when returning to work as there are certain rights that are laid down by law.

Options for breastfeeding at work

There are several options in which mothers can breastfeed when back at work. Depending on where the baby is being cared for, women may be able to visit the baby at their childcare during the working day.

Calling all dads: Channel 4 wants to give you the ultimate childcare challenge

dad playing with child channel 4 series
Are you up for the Channel 4 challenge?

Channel 4 is making a new documentary series which aims to show how important men are in children’s upbringing. It will explore why so few men choose to work in nurseries and look at men who want to be better fathers themselves, but have no idea about what it takes.

Currently, only 2% of people working in childcare are men. Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, made a keynote speech in June 2010, in which he highlighted this issue.

The Channel 4 series hopes to empower a nation of men to spend more time with their own kids and even inspire some to consider the childcare profession.

The idea of the show is to select four men who live in or close to LONDON to work in a rea-life nursery for three weeks, under the careful supervision of the nursery staff. The men will be carefully selected and undergo extensive checks.

Mumpreneur launches afterschool care website for working mums

afterschool care
Finding afterschool care to meet your family's needs just got easier

Mumpreneur Nicky Grant has launched www.afterschoolcare.co.uk, a web-based venture that seeks to match working mothers with enthusiastic and experienced child carer providers.

As well as nannies, nursery nurses and teachers, the site also attracts students, part-time workers and grandmothers with a wealth of  experience raising children – and a bit of time to spare.

After School Care was set up by Nicky in Buckinghamshire in response to her own experience, and research, indicating that working women with school-aged children don’t want to employ a full-time nanny and are increasingly looking for part-time care before and after school.

“The credit crunch has meant that everyone has had to look again at cutting costs and a lot of mothers who work and have school aged children no longer want to pay for fulltime childcare,” says Nicky.

Dresssing for the office party: how to choose the perfect little black dress

office christmas party
Don't let what you are wearing stop you from enjoying your Christmas party

It’s that time of year again when the office Christmas party start taking over the workplace calendar. If you’re stuck for what to wear – or can’t find something that suits your body type, here are some tips to help you choose a dress that will help you let your hair down a little and actually enjoy your Christmas party (and there’s a video at the end, too, to help you choose the perfect little black dress!):

1. Bingo wing syndrome
Select outfits with half or three-quarter sleeves or wear a shrug, so that unflattering underarms remain unnoticed. For hiding really bad bingo wings, use a little pinched on shoulder with some ruffly fabric, avoid big puffball sleeves.

2. Thick neck syndrome
A v-neck black dress helps to divert attention away from the neck and elongates the body.

Using Facebook for business – don’t miss out on this FREE opportunity

The internet is all abuzz with Facebook and these days everyone is making a beeline for creating their own fan pages to let the world know about their business.

If you aren’t using Facebook to showcase your brand, or to increase your website’s traffic or sales then you really are missing out…and it’s FREE!

This ebook will show you how to get started, and if you’ve already made a start, but haven’t seen any success for your effort, you’ll learn some great tips on making money on Facebook.

If you’re a business mum with minimal or zero marketing and promotion budget, you can start promoting your business on Facebook today for FREE, and start reaping the benefits today.

Product review: must-have products for new working mums

Product review: must-have products for new working mums

We get several requests form manuafacturers to review their products, and a lot of them are not always of any great benefit to working mums in particular.

However, evey so often we get products that can make a working mum’s life a whole lot easier. Here are the latest findings.

yoomi bottle
The Yoomi Bottle

Yoomi – the Feeding Bottle and Warmer in One

Every mother knows the military precision involved when planning to travel with a young baby. Nappies, check…wipes, check…nappy cream, check…clean bottles, check…flask with warm water, check, bottle warmer, check…my bag is busting just thinking about it.

How to find a good web designer

Now you have a business idea, how do you find a good web designer, who won’t rip you off, or leave you with a website that breaks down all the time, or one that you can’t update without going back to him all the time, and paying out even more money?