Family Travel Games

If you've ever spent a long time in a vehicle with children then you've probably had to come up with some quick, creative ideas on how to keep them occupied. I have spent countless hours playing travel games with children. Here are a few of the family travel games that I have found perfect for passing the time.

Travel Scavenger Hunt
Make a list of things you might see as you're travelling (this will vary depending on your location). Some good examples would be... an airplane flying overhead, a lamb, a cyclist, an ambulance, a yield sign, litter, a train, etc. Make a list for everyone or play the game as a group. If children are playing individually, the first person to call out an item gets to check it off their list. If the item appears another time at a different location on your route another child may call it and check it off of their list. Whoever gets all of their items first or whoever has the most items when you reach your destination wins.

Travel Bingo
Make up some blank bingo cars and purchase some automobile, street sign, animal or any combination of applicable stickers to put in the blank spaces. Just be sure that any stickers you buy are of items you might see in your travels. Have the children choose and place one sticker in each square (kids love stickers, so even that part is fun). As you're driving children call out and check off any items on their card that they see along the road. The first one to get a full diagonal, horizontal, or vertical line checked off wins. In a pinch, children can draw their own bingo card on a piece of paper and either write in or draw items they might see on their trip.

Category Cards
Buy a package of blank index cards and either write one category name or draw one category picture on each card. You should make up at least sixteen cards. Categories should reflect things you might see on your travels. Be creative with your ideas and the possibilities are limitless. Some good examples would be... street signs, emergency vehicles, transportation, animals, restaurants, sports, etc. When the cards are complete, shuffle them and turn them upside down. When traveling, the first player must draw a card and find something that fits the category picked. When an item is found the next card is picked up and an applicable item is found. All players take turns until all cards are used up. Cards can then be reshuffled and the game can continue, however, if a 'car' was found for the vehicle category on the first round, a different vehicle (eg. truck, train) must be found on the next round. Play for fun or set a time limit for each item and score a point only for items found in the given time.

Licence Plate Spell
Have each child choose a different 5 letter word. When driving each player must find the first letter of their word on a licence plate. When the first letter has been found, they must find the second letter of their word on a different licence plate. This continues till someone completes their word. Then, players choose new words and start again. The player who completes the most words first by the end of the trip wins.

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Dear Affiliate Manager, Women Are From Venus

Question: My target market is women, and Im having a hard time getting them to promote my products. They just seem unmotivated. I dont get it. Does my affiliate program stink or am I recruiting bad affiliates?

Dear Affiliate Manager:

This just goes back to basic psychology. Women and men value different things.

Car salesmen are taught this in their training. When a husband and wife walk into a car showroom, the car salesman will face the husband when he talks about things like horsepower and engine stuff. Then, hell turn to the wife and talk about safety and color options. Is this condescending? Yes. But, its also effective. My eyes glaze over when it comes to horsepower, but I want to know what Im going to look like in my car! Sunroof? Radio? Now were talking.

So, what does this have to do with your affiliate program? Simple. Although I cant speak for all women, obviously, I can tell you the things I value in an affiliate program.

Quality. I value my newsletter subscribers and am building a relationship with them. (According to recent studies, women go online to find relationships and support.) If your product or service is junk, then you could offer me 99% commission with a 99% conversion rate and Im still not going to sell it to my visitors.

Affordability. I cant promote a product that I, myself, would not buy. If youre overpriced for what you offer, I can not promote your products to my subscribers.

Dollars and Cents. Of course money is a factor. Its just not the #1 factor, as you may be surprised to know. 20% commission vs. 40% -- Im not as concerned about that as I am the other items in this list.

Tools: Yes, tools. This is really big, and so few affiliate managers get it. I think Ive finally pinpointed why this is such a big thing (at least for me). This scenario happens way too often: I find a product I am really excited about and I eagerly sign up for their affiliate program. I log in so I can start telling everyone I know about this great product or service. I cant wait to see what they have in the links section. Will there be articles, or a rebrandable e-book maybe? Or even an informative video? Its like Christmas morning what will I find? And, then the affiliate section opens and theres one measly link and a button.

My initial gut reaction is Theyre not even trying! And now, I dont feel valued or motivated in the least bit. You just succeeded in turning your biggest fan into someone who stuck a lousy button on her page and knows its not going to sell at all.

I know what youre thinking. Its the affiliates job to sell. Yes, youre right. As an affiliate, I know that writing reviews and recommendations is the best way to sell a product. No doubt about it. All Im saying is that youve got to give us at least an indicator that youre interested in building a working relationship.

Is it hokey to want a relationship with an Affiliate Manager? Yes. It is. But, I can tell you that any affiliate program where I get some attention and appreciation is going to get a lot more loyalty from me than an Affiliate Manager who sits on the couch drinking beer and watching football while Im running around working my butt off... (Hmmm.... did I say that?)

So, yes, women are from Venus. You can decide to embrace it and reap the rewards, or ignore it and wonder why your affiliates arent motivated. Its your choice. As an affiliate, Im challenging you to embrace this information and run with it.

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Energy Bills Soar - Again!

Second price rise announcement in less than a week as EDF Energy follows ScottishPower
14.7% increase in gas prices and 4.7% for electricity from 13th March 2006
Fifth increase in gas prices, totalling 60%, by EDF Energy since 2004
Customers to pay an extra 84 a year for energy bills, taking the average annual energy bill from 778 to 862

EDF Energy has today become the second major supplier to announce that it is increasing its prices this year, with rises of 14.7% for gas and 4.7% for electricity, according to independent switching and comparison service uSwitch.com. This comes after EDF Energy increased their prices for gas by 25% and for electricity by 19% in 2005.

EDF Energy, whose brands include London Energy, Seeboard Energy and SWEB Energy, is raising its prices for the fifth time since January 2004, and just over six months after their last price rise announcement. Todays announcement will affect over 4.7 million people in the UK, who will see their gas bills rise by 69 and electricity bills by 15. The average annual energy bill for EDF Energy customers is set to increase from 778 to 862.

The increases will come into effect on 13th March 2006.

However, 300,000 EDF Energy customers who are already on capped or fixed plans will be unaffected by the increases. In addition, the internet-based tariff is to remain unchanged, and will continue to be one of the most competitive deals available from any of the Big 6 suppliers

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