• Our homemade Sylvanian Families advent calendar
    Advent crafts - crafts - Friends of Sylvanian Families

    Our homemade Sylvanian Families advent calendar

    November 22, 2017 - By 

    Every year (since having children) Advent seems to get bigger and bigger. I buy both the children chocolate Advent calendars to count down the days until Christmas but in the run up to December 1st I can’t help buy more and more advent calendars! I will be writing a little more about them another day, but today I wanted to share the homemade Sylvanian Families advent calendar I’ve made for them to open. Our homemade Sylvanian Families advent calendar Over the past few weeks I’ve been collecting vintage Sylvanian Families items, mainly from eBay. I’ve managed to buy a pretty big collection…

  • Advent candle wreath craft for kids to make
    Advent crafts - Bostik Family Craft Bloggers Network - crafts - Toilet roll crafts

    Advent candle wreath craft for kids

    November 20, 2017 - By 

    We have a strict no-Christmas rule in our house in November. My daughter celebrates her birthday at the end of the month and we try not to do any Christmassy things before the end of the month. This doesn’t stop me planning but it makes sure we all focus on her and her birthday. This year we slipped a quick and easy Advent craft in over the weekend whilst she was out 🙂 Equipment to make an Advent candle wreath craft for kids Cardboard tube Shiny craft paper Bostik White Glu Embroidery hoop Pipe cleaners and ribbons Red craft foam…

  • Wooden Advent tree {Ikea hack}
    Advent crafts - Christmas - crafts - upcycling

    Wooden Advent tree {Ikea hack}

    November 30, 2016 - By 

    Earlier in the summer I attended a tablescaping event as part of the Ikea Autumn/Winter press show. I saw some great Christmas products and knew I would be going to buy some in store. We went to Ikea in October and I was so happy to see they had set up their Christmas displays. I bought quite a few new decorations, a gingerbread house and a lovely wooden tree. The tree was quite a simple design with 28 branches, each with a small hole at the end to hang a decoration. I thought this would make a great wooden Advent…

  • An Advent calendar of picture books for little readers
    Advent crafts - book review - Christmas

    An Advent calendar of picture books for little readers

    November 17, 2016 - By 

    Every November I like to plan our annual Book Advent. I started this Christmas tradition a few years ago and the children love it. On the 1st December quite a few things happen so I have to be super organised at this time of year. Advent traditions Most importantly our Elf arrives all the way from the North Pole. This is another tradition we started a few years ago. I know not everyone likes the Elf on a Shelf but my children do so he’ll be coming back again this year and making sure my children behave themselves in the…

  • Advent crafts - Christmas - crafts - upcycling

    Our homemade wooden sleigh {Book Advent planning}

    November 15, 2016 - By 

    Last year I really wanted a way to display our Book Advent. A pile of 24 books takes up quite a lot of room but I wanted them to be accessible and not look out of place amongst the Christmas decorations. In previous years I’ve experimented with wrapping them up. One year they were covered in simple brown paper and string, this year they are wrapped in festive red and white paper. You can add numbers to each packet or let your children have a lucky dip every day. Anyway, we had a wooden crate made with plywood which I…

  • Christmas Countdown for kids
    Advent crafts - Christmas - Crafts for kids

    Homemade Christmas Countdown for kids

    November 23, 2015 - By 

    One thing I love about my children is they have no concept of time yet. My 3 year old struggles with the concept of more than one day in the past or the future. My 5 year old has a better understanding, thanks to monthly calendars which we have around the house. My children are really excited about Christmas, and keep asking how many sleeps, so I thought it was about time we made our own Christmas Countdown. Visual is perfect for their age so we made a simple and colourful countdown. Supplies to make a Homemade Christmas Countdown for…

  • Advent crafts - book review - Christmas

    How to create a Book Advent

    November 14, 2015 - By 

    A few evenings ago I was having a very rare night out and we were discussing Christmas. Someone asked if we had any special Christmas traditions and I’m not sure I realised until then that we have lots. Perhaps having young children helps, but I want to make Christmas a magical time for all of us and create some special memories. My Christmas preparations start early as Advent marks the beginning of Christmas for our family. I bring out the Advent Box and set up the Book Advent tower in the lounge. I’m not sure how I heard about a…

  • Advent crafts - book review - Christmas

    Book Advent 2014

    December 21, 2014 - By 

    My children take a real pleasure from books and I love that they are excited by our Book Advent. A Book Advent is a Christmas themed book-a-day during December, much better for you than chocolate! This year we’ve had a whopping 29 books, so nearly 1 for every day of December. We’ve taken out some from last year and passed them to our local charity shop. We’ve also picked up a few more along the way. This year we have stored our Advent books in a Children’s Cardboard Bedside Table Kit from The Cardboard Man. It comes as flatpack but…

  • Advent crafts - Christmas - Lego

    Our Advent Box

    November 27, 2014 - By 

    I’m really looking forward to December 1st as for me, that’s when Christmas really starts. The Christmas shopping is done, food ordered and planned which means we can look forward to the children’s Christmas concerts, making some lovely decorations and visiting Father Christmas in his grotto. Every year we celebrate Advent with Advent calendars and a book Advent. This year I have introduced an Advent Box Crate to open on December 1st. It’s packed full of goodies for us all to enjoy in the run up to Christmas Day. Most importantly it contains our Elf on the Shelf who will…