• lifestyle

    80th Birthday Flowers: The Perfect Gift for a Milestone Celebration

    December 12, 2025 - By 

    Celebrating an 80th Birthday with the Perfect Bouquet  Someone who is turning 80 should get a unique gift. A beautiful bouquet of flowers is a terrific way to show someone how much you care about them. Flowers have always been important, and picking the correct ones for an 80th birthday might make the gift much more special. In this piece, we’ll speak about the best 80th birthday flowers, what they mean, and some creative ways to make your bouquet even better. We’ll also speak about how easy it is to get flowers these days because you can order them online…

  • Snoopy in the City sculpture trail
    Sculpture trails

    Snoopy in the City sculpture trail

    December 10, 2025 - By 

    If you’re looking for something to do with the kids over the Christmas holidays then let me tell you about the free Snoopy in the City sculpture trail. You can download a map from their website and go in search of the sculptures. Snoopy in the City sculpture trail Last weekend we decided to visit the Snoopy in the City sculpture trail, featuring twelve uniquely designed Snoopy lying on his dog house in that classic pose we all know. Each one has been designed by a different artist and they are dotted around the Fleet Street Quarter in London. We’ve…

  • Gingerbread Christmas Jumper biscuit kit from M&S
    Five Happy Things

    Five Happy Things {Week 49/2025}

    December 7, 2025 - By 

    Starting the week by writing the Happy List is something I’ve been doing for the last few years. It’s my chance to sit down and reflect on the little or big things that made me smile in the previous week, as well as to record some of our family adventures. Five Happy Things {Week 49/2025} We started the week with Advent calendars. This year the teens received a Tony’s Chocoloney and Guylian advent calendar which they chose themselves (Little Sis went out and bought herself a second chocolate calendar too!). The husband chose a Joe & Seph’s popcorn calendar and…

  • DIY Maileg mice
    Christmas

    DIY Maileg Christmas costumes

    December 6, 2025 - By 

    Following the success of our Maileg Halloween costumes a few weeks ago, I thought it would be fun to make some Maileg Christmas costumes too. We love our Maileg mice, and at this time of year they are joined by the Maileg reindeer family too. To make your own Maileg Christmas costumes you will need: Cardboard tubes Acrylic paint (white, red, brown) Sharpies (black, orange, white) Glue Scissors/scalpel Pom poms DIY Maileg Christmas costumes We decided to make a few different costumes for our Maileg mice: a Christmas present, a snowman, a gingerbread man, a Christmas pudding and a Christmas…

  • DIY walnut shell wreath
    Christmas - Crafts for adults

    DIY walnut shell wreath

    December 3, 2025 - By 

    I have such a fun little DIY to share today. I made an easy walnut shell wreath to add to our natural Christmas decorations. Read on for our easy tutorial to create your own. DIY walnut shell wreath You will need Whole walnuts (in their shell) Glue gun Plate or similar Ribbon to hang I’ve wanted to craft my own walnut shell wreath for a while. I even had my walnuts ready last year to make one, but time ran away with me. So think year I’ve started December with a make – our own walnut shell wreath decoration. I…

  • Snoopy in the City trail around the Fleet Street Quarter
    Five Happy Things

    Five Happy Things {Week 48/2025}

    November 30, 2025 - By 

    Starting the week by writing the Happy List is something I’ve been doing for the last few years. It’s my chance to sit down and reflect on the little or big things that made me smile in the previous week, as well as to record some of our family adventures. Five Happy Things {Week 48/2025} I finished a Cotton Clara Christmas embroidery hoop I bought a few years ago. I’ve been trying to finish craft kits I have in my stash so was very happy to stitch it. We will be decorating in a few weeks so I will be…

  • Crafts for adults

    What I made November 2025

    November 28, 2025 - By 

    I doubt you will be surprised to read that I’ve been doing a lot of festive crafting this month. I enjoy Christmas crafting but decided not to make any  homemade gifts this year. Work has been busy and I didn’t want to give myself any more stress at this time of year. November was quite a busy month as my teens had a two week half term break, which is why my crafting seems a little less than usual (to me anyway!). What I made November 2025 I thought I would be concentrating on my Pretty Fabrics and Trims Christmas…

  • Nutcracker Trail at Cliveden
    Buckinghamshire

    Nutcracker Trail at Cliveden

    November 27, 2025 - By 

    Last weekend we visited the Nutcracker Trail at Cliveden where scenes from the Nutcracker have been brought to life. Cliveden is one of our local National Trust properties although we hadn’t visited for a while. We wanted to visit the Nutcracker trail, and also get our Pooch Passport stamped (we really want to complete it this winter!). Nutcracker Trail at Cliveden The Nutcracker Trail at Cliveden is a special festive trail and open from the 15th November to the 4th January 2026. The trail is free/included in the price of your ticket. We couldn’t find a paper map of the…

  • homemade mincemeat
    Five Happy Things

    Five Happy Things {Week 47/2025}

    November 23, 2025 - By 

    Starting the week by writing the Happy List is something I’ve been doing for the last few years. It’s my chance to sit down and reflect on the little or big things that made me smile in the previous week, as well as to record some of our family adventures. Five Happy Things {Week 47/2025} I thought I would try making my own mincemeat this year. I usually buy a jar from Waitrose, which always tastes good, but wanted to make my own. I didn’t realise I would need so many ingredients! I mixed all the ingredients together and left…