• Christmas small world play
    Christmas - Friends of Sylvanian Families - playing - toy review

    Christmas small world play {Sylvanian Families Christmas Set}

    December 15, 2016 - By 

    My 5 year old loves small world play. She always has done and I love getting her toys to support this. She has a lot of Playmobil and Sylvanian Families toys, both of which are perfect for this. Small world play is really important as it encourages a wide range of skills, including language and literacy, understanding of the world and working together. It encourage children to use their imaginations, express thoughts and experiences into their play, whilst exploring the world in which they live. I’ve noticed that my daughter’s play has taken a decidedly festive turn recently. I often hear…

  • Easy Tunnocks Teacake Christmas puddings
    baking - Christmas - handmade

    Easy Tunnocks Teacake Christmas puddings

    December 14, 2016 - By 

    I’m on a bit of a roll at the moment. The other day I shared our Christmas Pudding Biscuits, today I am going to show you how I made Tunnocks’ Teacake Christmas puddings. I’m all for making things easy at this time of year. There is so much pressure for everything to be perfect but I’d rather cut some corners and and make more time to enjoy myself! My easy Tunnocks’ Teacake Christmas puddings have only 3 ingredients so are the easiest thing for whipping up as an after school treat or if you have some friends coming round after…

  • best Elf quote We elves try to stick to the four main food groups- candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup.
    Christmas - film review - homestyle

    The perfect festive family night in {watching Elf!}

    December 13, 2016 - By 

    Post in collaboration with E.ON. We’ve had a busy few weeks but I’m pleased to say things are finally slowing down enough to let us enjoy the festive season. This is a magical time of year but it can be tricky to enjoy it when there is an endless round of Christmas parties, nativity plays and Santa’s Grottos’ to visit! Last weekend was the first weekend in a long time that we’ve been at home. Of course we had a few festive things planned but we were all really looking forward to a family film night. This time of year is…

  • {3 ingredient} Christmas Pudding biscuits
    baking - Christmas

    {3 ingredient} Christmas Pudding biscuits

    December 13, 2016 - By 

    I’m slowly beginning to enjoy this time of year. It feels like everything is coming together, the children have their school Nativity plays this week and I’m counting down the days until I have them all to myself for a few weeks. We’ve had a few cosy nights in recently and I wanted to share our Christmas Pudding Biscuits. I can’t claim this idea for myself, but they are so quick and simple, perfect if you fancy whipping up a quick festive treat. I used 3 ingredients which I already had at home: Milk chocolate digestive biscuits White icing Holly…

  • Gift guide for her
    Christmas - film review - Gift guide

    Christmas gift guide for her

    December 12, 2016 - By 

    Grab the mistletoe and get ready to find the perfect gift for that special someone this Christmas. Warner Bros. has the ultimate selection, whether you’re looking for him, for her, or for festive favourites to get the whole family in the Christmas spirit. Get ready to snuggle up with these heartwarming titles for her, including Me Before You, The Intern, In The Heart of the Sea, Wizard of Oz and How to Be Single. Me Before You – Thea Sharrock directs this adaptation of the novel by Jojo Moyes. Emilia Clarke stars as Louisa ‘Lou’ Clark, a quirky, cheerful waitress…

  • Gift guide for Papercutters
    Christmas - crafts - Gift guide - Paper craft - Paper cut art

    Gift guide for Papercutters

    December 11, 2016 - By 

    I’ve mentioned a few times now that I’m completely fallen under the spell of paper cutting as a brilliant craft. I was first introduced to it a few years ago when I attended a workshop run by Poppy Chancellor. I booked myself on another paper cutting class with Poppy Chancellor at The Handmade Fair in 2015 and was hooked. I snapped up her book Cut It Out! and quickly worked my way through it so have been looking for more templates and inspiration ever since. I thought it would be fun to share some of my favourite paper cutting things…

  • DIY mini crackers
    Christmas - crafts - Mollie Makes crafts - Paper craft

    Jenny Makes Mollie Makes Mini Cracker Kit

    December 10, 2016 - By 

    Every month I challenge myself to make the Mollie Makes magazine cover gift. I’ve subscribed since it first came out and have a drawer full of unopened kits – but no more! I’ve been making more time for grown up crafting and I love to make the kits and hopefully try something new. I’ve been terrible lately, the last few kits haven’t been very inspiring but I did want to make the latest one. Issue 68 Mollie Makes Mini Cracker Kit The Mini Cracker Kit came with a wooden template, 8 papers, twine and confetti. The template was designed by…

  • Bostik Family Craft Bloggers Network - Christmas - crafts

    Potato print snowmen craft for kids

    December 9, 2016 - By 

    I can’t believe we finished our last craft as part of the Bostik Family Craft Bloggers today. We’ve had so much fun over the last 12 months using their products in our crafty activities. Our final prompt was snow so today we made potato print snowmen a perfect Christmas craft for kids! For our potato print snowmen we used – potatoes, a cookie cutter, white paint and a pack of Bostik Glitter Pens. How to make potato print snowmen I prepared the potatoes by cutting them in half and used the cookie cutter to cut my desired shape. I couldn’t…

  • 9 easy Nativity costumes to make
    Christmas - crafts - handmade

    9 easy Nativity costumes for kids

    December 9, 2016 - By 

    I seem to be giving a lot of money to my children’s school at this time of year. In the last month I’ve paid for school photos x 2, Christmas cards designed by them x 2, money for them to spend at their Christmas Fayre x 2, raffle tickets x 2, tickets to go and watch their Christmas nativity x 2, as well providing clothes for them to wear at the blooming nativity x 2! I’m so fed up of giving money to school! I’ve bought a few costumes for them over the last few years but as they grow,…