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Seven ways to celebrate Children’s Day on a budget

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Children’s Day is a commemorative date celebrated annually in Nigeria on May 27 in honour of children. It is a day to commemorate the Declaration of the Rights of the Child by the UN General Assembly on November 20, 1959.

Due to today’s economic climate, it can be challenging to mark occasions as desired. However, celebrating your kids does not have to be expensive to be fun, memorable, and meaningful.

You can create the most memorable Children’s Day on a budget with a little creativity and planning.

Here are some budget-friendly ways to celebrate your kids.

Movie date at home
Movie date does not have to be at the cinema, you can turn your living room into a movie theater.

Select a family-friendly movie, prepare popcorn and snacks, and create a cozy viewing area with blankets and pillows.

To make it even more fun for the kids, you can make DIY movie tickets and make the kids buy them with paper money. This will spice up the movie date.

Picnic
Picnic is another way to celebrate your children in a minimal but memorable way.

You can visit a park around you to organise a mini family picnic. All you need is to pack some inexpensive snacks or have homemade snacks, foods, drinks, and games.

If visiting a park is not feasible, you can enjoy the picnic in your own space — balcony or compound. Spread out a blanket or mats, bring in some games, foods and have a nice time outside your house.

Buy simple gifts
Children love gifts and will be appreciative no matter how small or inexpensive you think it is.

Get budget-friendly toys, and games that can be educative and entertaining as present for your kids to celebrate them on this day. Such gifts include puzzles, colouring books, comic books, and novels.

You can even make or buy customised gifts to add that personal touch. You can print their names or pet names on water bottles, jewelry, pens, or journals/diaries.

Cook together
Involve your children in baking and cooking to make them feel involved and proud of themselves.

You can plan to bake simple pastries with the kids and assign them simple tasks like mixing ingredients and decorating.

It can also be a meal, you can make it special by trying out new recipes, dazzling them with a meal they have not had before. Make them involved in all of the processes.

To keep these memories, you can also set up your camera and record the process.

Volunteer
Aside from celebrating your kids’ awesomeness, Children’s Day can also be used to teach them good values and morals.

You can organise a small visit to the less privileged or care house with your kids in your locality. Encourage your kids to give out some old and new toys, clothes, shoes and snacks.

Making them participate in these simple acts of kindness will help foster empathy and a caring spirit in them.

Sporting activities
Organise a mini sports day for your kids in your available space to have fun and create memories.

You do not have to buy any sporting materials, you can just use what you have in the house. So activities can include board games — snake and ladder, scrabble, sack races, and ball games.

Exploring culture
Children’s Day is also an opportunity to teach your kids history, culture, and art.

You can take them to museums and galleries to make them aware of your cultural and natural heritage.

To make it even more budget-friendly, you can just share traditional Nigerian stories and songs with your children in the comfort of your home.

You can also have a traditional dance party in the house where you introduce them to your cultural songs, dances, and games.

This is a great way to pass down cultural heritage and spend quality time together.

Entertainment

I was pregnant with twins last year but had a miscarriage, says Annie Idibia

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Annie Idibia, the wife of Nigerian singer 2Baba, has revealed that she recently suffered a miscarriage.

In a recent episode of the reality TV series ‘Young, Famous and African,’ Annie disclosed she had the miscarriage while pregnant with twins last year.

The 40-year-old said despite already having two children, losing the pregnancy was “hard” on her.

Annie also said she struggled to open up about her loss to people because she was not comfortable. She added that only her husband and mother were aware of the miscarriage.

“The whole of last year, even in the group, I was not coming out enough. I was pregnant with twins but I had a miscarriage,” she said.

“I wish I had someone in this group to tell me I’m pregnant. I would be having a baby, and then we lost that. It was hard.

“I was not even sure if I could even share this with any of my friends. It is only Innocent and my mom that knew about it.”

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Bayo Akinfemi narrates how he struggled to make it in Hollywood

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Bayo Akinfemi, the Nigerian-born Hollywood star known for his role in the American television sitcom ‘Bob Hearts Abishola’, has recalled his journey to fame.

In a recent interview with Teju Babyface on YouTube, Akinfemi, 55, detailed the struggles that shaped his acting career.

The actor said he relocated to Canada to pursue his passion by enrolling in film school while juggling multiple jobs to make ends meet.

Akinfemi, who played ‘Goodwin Olayiwola’ in the five-season sitcom, revealed that he returned to school in his 40s and had classmates the same age as his children.

“I went to Canada in 1998, my wife was there. We were classmates at the University of Ilorin and we had been dating since then,” he said.

“I joined her in Canada and the first thing I did was to go to film school. I had the opportunity to really pursue my dream. After film school, I started working as a production assistant.

“There was nothing I didn’t do while I was in film school while trying to survive. I drove a taxi at night and worked in construction. I go to school in the morning, drive taxi in the evening, on weekends to work in construction, work in painting— I did all of that.

“There were times when I wanted to go back home. There were frustrating moments where I asked myself if this was a mistake, moments of doubt and regret. I was also getting pressured back home because Nollywood was beginning to develop and a lot of my friends were doing well.

“I was getting calls to come back home but I said no I’m not coming back. I stayed because I began to feel closer to Hollywood and to see that my dream was actually achievable.

“After film school, I was working on movie sets with Jackie Chan, Johnny Q when Denzel shot it in Toronto. Just being exposed to all of that made me feel like I was getting closer to this Hollywood thing.

“Directing is what I wanted to really do, I didn’t want to be an actor anymore. I started making short films and working on all these movie sets. I eventually got an agent who tried to get me into acting and the acting thing just took off.

“When I got to Canada in 1998, I was 29 years old. When I went to film school, I was in school with 19-year-old kids while I was in my early thirties but that was in Toronto.

“When I moved to Los Angeles I went back to school at USC, I was in my 40s in school with kids the same age as my kids. At that point, there was no turning back.”

Akinfemi was born in Ilesa, Osun state. He is an assistant professor of theatre practice at the USC School of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles.

The actor is currently a regular on the series ‘Bob Hearts Abishola’, a CBS/Warner Bros sitcom in its fifth season.

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How God used me to reunite my dad, sister after 47 years – Tonto Dikeh

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Tonto Dikeh, the Nollywood actress, has revealed “how God used” her to reunite her father with her long-lost sister Chinyere after 47 years.

The actress-turned-politician shared her testimony at a recent service at the Streams of Joy International.

Dikeh revealed that the reunion occurred nearly three years ago after she attended a service, where she prayed for her father’s “peace of mind”.

The 39-year-old said two days later, she received a private message on Instagram from a woman claiming to be her sister.

The movie star said after verifying the woman’s identity, she confirmed that she was indeed her sister, whom her father had abandoned 47 years ago.

Dikeh said her father had been carrying the guilt of abandoning his child for decades.

“My testimony is one of love, togetherness, peace, healing of broken hearts. It is a joy, my family,” she said.

“At about 130 weeks ago, I was on New Season Prophetic Prayers and Declarations (NSPPD) in the morning. Papa was praying and declaring and prophesying into people’s lives. I picked up something he said that lost people will be found. I did not lose anybody, but I answered amen.

“And around that same time, I have this amazing man in my life, he is my father. My father is a sweet man. He has lost so much in his life. He has lost his first wife, second wife, lost his brother, father, and mother. He was a broken man.

“I did not know how God was going to use Streams of Joy to bless my father. To give him the peace that he needed in the remaining years of his life.

“Two days after Papa made the declaration, I went into my DM and miraculously saw the email. It says, ‘I think I am your sister.’ I just went back to when I was a child. My father told me a very beautiful and sad story about how he left. I asked her what her name was, and she told me. I asked if her name was Chinyere, and she said yes.

“47 years before my father came back to Nigeria, he had a daughter. He left that lady when she was five to seven months old, and he never went back.

“She never knew who her father was. He never knew what her daughter looked like but had knowledge he had a daughter. God brought both of them together. And I introduced them together and they have been speaking since then.

“My testimony happened 133 weeks ago. I waited so much for this miracle to be perfect. I wanted God to heal his broken heart. I also wanted God to heal my sister because she thought she had a father who hated her.”

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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

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