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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…