• days out - Family Life - London

    A day at London Zoo with YouTube Kids

    A couple of weeks ago we were invited to spend the day at ZSL London Zoo thanks to YouTube Kids. Now we love the Zoo so it was easy to say yes and we got to London Zoo nice and early so we could visit our favourite animals. Soon it was time to meet everyone at YouTubeKids. We went to a dedicated party room, filled with games, toys, crafts and tablets where we could find out more about YouTube Kids. It is an App which has recently launched in the UK and Ireland, built with parents and children in mind that makes…

  • competition

    Win a mid century design oilcloth shopping bag from dotcomgiftshop

    A couple of weeks ago I received a lovely email to say I had been chosen by dotcomgiftshop as one of their 10 creative needlecraft blogs. It’s true, I do love a little bit of needlecraft and have a few projects lined up for the New Year. The kind people at dotcomgiftshop sent me a lovely oilcloth bag as a little thank you, as well as a voucher to spend on their site. In the spirit of the festive season I wanted to share the love so am offering the bag as a little giveaway. The bag features a fun,…

  • Christmas - gingerbread - Handmade gifts - Kids crafts - Stamptastic Ambassador - tutorial

    Gingerbread man with candy cane Christmas card

    We’ve made some lovely festive crafts over the last week. The children are so excited about Christmas and I’ve been enjoying watching and listening to their chatter. They are both rehearsing for their Christmas plays at school and it is really funny listening to their interpretation of Christmas. We love making handmade gifts and cards. This year we thought we would try something a little different from a photo card and made a gingerbread man with candy cane Christmas card.   Gingerbread man with candy cane Christmas card I had a few attempts at making a gingerbread man who could…

  • birthday - Christmas - gingerbread - gingerbread house - upcycling

    Monday happy things

    I can’t believe it’s the last day of November already which means it’s time for my weekly Monday Happy Things post, 5 things which have made me happy this week. My beautiful daughter turned 4 on Saturday. She received a great mix of presents including Sylvanian Families, Peppa Pig, Dora and Doc McStuffins. She was given some birthday money and she enjoyed spending it, choosing her own clothes and more toys, Tsum Tsum seem to be her new favourites. I’d love to say we made her cake, but we didn’t. I received my second Happy Paper Club subscription box. I…

  • baking - gingerbread - playing - toy review

    The Snowman and The Snowdog gingerbread biscuits

    I don’t know about you but there are some things that we always have to do at Christmas. One of those is watching The Snowman™ and The Snowdog which will be shown on Channel 4 again this Christmas! Today we’re taking part in a special blog tour for The Snowman and The Snowdog. Originally published in 1978, The Snowman, created and illustrated by Raymond Briggs has become one of the world’s most popular children’s books. Adapted for screen by producer John Coates, the Oscar-nominated animation launched on Channel 4 in its inaugural year in 1982 and has been repeated every Christmas since. …

  • Christmas - homestyle - subscription box

    Live Happy with the Happy Paper Club

    I’ve been feeling rushed off my feet lately. This is a busy time of year for everyone but several things are being squeezed into the next couple of days and I’m looking forward to a break over Christmas. Today a lovely little package landed on my doorstep which definitely cheered me up. I love subscription boxes and the Happy Paper Club is one of the best. Everything is neatly packaged inside a slim cardboard box which should fit through your letterbox. I think this is an important part of subscription boxes as there’s nothing worse than making a special trip…

  • book review - Christmas

    Festive reads for kids

    A couple of weeks ago I smugly told you about our annual Book Advent. I thought we had our book list sorted, everything was wrapped and ready for December 1st. Then I received some lovely festive books in the post to review. They are all serious contenders for our festive book list and now I’m not sure what to do. So, let me tell you a little more about them. The first one is Socks for Santa by Adam & Charlotte Guillain, illustrated by Lee Wildish. This is the fifth instalment of the adventures of George, you may remember be shared…

  • Baker Ross Blogger Network - Christmas - gingerbread - Kids crafts - tutorial

    Paper plate gingerbread wreath

    Yesterday I told you about some of the crafts we had been making with some lovely Christmas craft kits from Baker Ross. They make some great gingerbread products and I couldn’t resist buying more craft supplies for the children. Today Little Sis wanted to make something. Mornings are our time and after we had read books and played My Little Pony we were able to sit down and make something together. Much as I love to think about the things I want to make and take my time over them, my children are happy with quick and easy crafts. I…

  • Baker Ross Blogger Network - Christmas - Kids crafts - Winter

    Do You Want to Build a Snowman?

    Both my children enjoy crafting and as they get a little older they are able to craft independently of me. My 5 year old loves to craft and often asks me for a craft to do between getting home from school and dinner. He’s been steadily working his way through a pile of Christmas craft kits from Baker Ross and I’m going to share the end results with you. We love making sun catchers and my 3 and 5 year old enjoyed the Penguin Stained Glass Effect Hanging Decorations. I don’t think penguins are particularly Christmassy but the decorations were…