… Ok, so I’m only half serious as fortunately, this rather cool voucher book has plenty of discounts on mum-friendly ‘activities’ (e.g. spas and booze), meaning no need to compromise the family funds for a good time to be had by all!

We’d used a similar book back in Shanghai and been surprised at how many discounts were available on stuff we actually wanted (as opposed to the shady “RMB3 off if you spend RMB10k on colonic irrigation” deals we’d come to know and hate), so when the lovely people at Smart Mama offered to send me a book of vouchers to review, I gladly took them up on the offer.

The idea is simple – buy the book for $488 here with the code ‘lovesmartmama’ and you’ll receive a whopping $250,000-worth of vouchers that last up until the end of the year. You can also pick it up at book shops around town, but this will set you back $788, which, frankly, seems at odds with the whole concept of using coupons to save dosh. (So just use the interweb, eh?).

The book is broadly categorised into “Kids” and “Women” sections, with sub-sections that include not immediately apparent headings like “Flourish” and “Smile”, but also, cheeringly, “Eat” and “Imbibe” (air-punch!).  Of course, there will be some vouchers that don’t work for you, but there is plenty here to love, such as buy-one-get-one free deals on kids yoga classes, horse riding lessons, ice-skating and a whole shedload more cool stuff. If you prefer your kids classes to be strictly educational, rather than, y’know, plain old fun, then you’ve got Mandarin, Phonics, English and Music lessons to satisfy your inner Tiger Parent.

Aside from the classes, I was excited to spot soft play vouchers, art-jamming and kids’ haircuts at Magic Mirror (review coming up soon!). Mums also score highly, with loads of excellent pampering deals from known spas and salons, fitness studios, bars and restaurants, meaning my nails should remain flawlessly manicured and my nights out fully planned, right up until the New Year at this rate!

Another good thing about the Smart Mama book is the fact that it inspires you to try something a bit different, which can only be a good thing in my opinion, as we all know how easy it is to fall into the easy option when you’ve got kids. The range of activities is huge, and the discounts are, for the main, hefty enough to get you outside of your comfort zone and taking a chance on something new.

I’m looking forward to seeing the 2015 edition, and keeping everything crossed that Smart Mama will add Discoveryland and Ryze to the stable of discounts!

Available via www.smarterconcepts.com.hk