• Mincemeat and marzipan loaf {a brilliant way to use up mincemeat}
    baking - Christmas - homestyle

    Mincemeat and marzipan loaf {a brilliant way to use up mincemeat}

    January 30, 2017 - By 

    We can’t be the only family who still has a freezer full of leftovers after Christmas. Yep, we still have some homemade sausage rolls and mince pies in the freezer! Not to mention all the boxes of chocolates… Every time I open the fridge I saw a massive jar of mincemeat which I was meaning to use up. We didn’t need any more mince pies but I knew it would go really well in a cake. Today I’m sharing my mincemeat and marzipan recipe which is perfect for using up leftover mincemeat. Mincemeat and marzipan loaf ingredients: 8ozs Self Raising…

  • How to make a winter pomander
    Christmas - crafts - Handmade gifts - Winter

    How to make a winter pomander

    January 18, 2017 - By 

    I had forgotten how much I love January. We are still in deepest, darkest winter and we’ve had some beautiful blue skies recently. We’ve never made many Winter crafts but this year we are fully embracing it! So far we’ve made a really fun winter ice lamp, mistletoe and holly and berries sun catchers. Today we’re sharing how to make a winter pomander. We bought a large orange and used the ribbon and cloves which came in our recent hygge-in-a-box box. I also found a metal skewer which helped with the cloves. How to make a winter pomander A pomander…

  • Holly and berries winter sun catcher
    Christmas - crafts - Winter

    Holly and berries winter sun catcher

    January 17, 2017 - By 

    My 6 year old has been off school for the past few days with chicken pox. He’s been quite poorly and Minecraft has been the only thing to cheer him up. To scrape him away from it we re-used our cellophane sweet wrappers to make this fun holly and berries winter sun catcher. We used: white card, green and red cellophane pieces, contact paper, scissors Holly and berries winter sun catcher First I drew some holly leaves and berries on a sheet of card. Then I cut them out using my Swann-Morton scalpel. If I made this again I would only…

  • Hama bead holly and berries craft for kids
    Christmas - crafts - handmade - Winter

    Hama bead holly and berries

    January 13, 2017 - By 

    Today my 6 year old has been off school sick. He has chicken pox, even though I thought he had it when he was little. Apparently you can get it twice, just like his younger sister. Luckily I didn’t have any plans so today we have played Monopoly Token Madness (great for his maths skills!), I’ve watched him play Minecraft for too long and he has been busy creating with hama beads. He asked to get them out and was happy to sit and create. Hama beads are so tactile and we both enjoyed chatting about what we wanted to…

  • Mistletoe sun catcher against a blue sky
    Christmas - crafts - Kids crafts - Recycled crafts - tutorial

    Mistletoe sun catcher

    January 6, 2017 - By 

    Mistletoe is such a pretty plant. We usually buy a bunch in December to hang inside our home – the perfect thing to grab a Christmas kiss under! This year we couldn’t find any to bring indoors so we decided to make our own mistletoe sun catcher. Mistletoe sun catcher craft for kids We used: cellophane wrappers from sweets, contact paper and white card. First I drew a piece of mistletoe on a sheet of white card. I cut out the mistletoe using my scalpel and cutting mat but you could do this with scissors. I covered one side with…

  • 24 Elf on the Shelf ideas that work
    Christmas - Elf on the Shelf

    24 Elf on the Shelf ideas that work

    January 1, 2017 - By 

    Apologies, this is going to be a picture heavy post. For the last few years we’ve been visited by an elf. He arrives on December 1st with our Advent crate and disappears on the 24th, leaving us a Christmas Eve crate. I see a lot of negative press about Elf on the Shelf and I’m not really sure why. He is not there to shock the children into behaving. In fact he’s a little silly and tries to do something different every day to make them smile. My children are 5 and 6 so I’m not sure how long they…

  • Simple Thank You cards for kids to make {free printable} from the gingerbread house blog
    Christmas - crafts - free printables - handmade - Handmade gifts

    Simple Thank You cards for kids to make {free printable}

    December 29, 2016 - By 

    I love making homemade Thank you cards. Every year my children receive lovely Christmas gifts and I want them to put some effort into the thank you cards they send. When they were younger we sent homemade photocards but now they can write their names (and my Year 2 son can write a lot more!) then I want them to make their own cards. This year I designed my own card. They are super simple but there is some scope for creativity! Simple Thank You cards for kids to make I added the words Thank You in large letters to…

  • 6 things to do with kids on Boxing Day
    Christmas - crafts - gingerbread house

    6 things to do with kids on Boxing Day

    December 28, 2016 - By 

    Christmas can be hard for kids (and adults too!). The build up is immense, often starting in November with school fair’s and rehearsals for the Christmas nativity. We try to keep calm and enjoy the build up whilst not going overboard. This year we visited the Playmobil Santa’s Grotto at our local shopping centre, visited a National Trust house which had been transformed for Christmas, as well as taking a ride on our local Santa Express. We squeezed all these around normal weekend activities and swimming lessons! Since the children finished school things were a little more relaxed. We had…

  • DK ProduKtions and London Borough of Hillingdon presents Dick Whittington 2016
    Christmas - Family Life - Hillingdon - Local Review - London

    Boxing Day panto – Dick Whittington {Compass Theatre}

    December 26, 2016 - By 

    Last Christmas we went to the pantomime with some friends which we all really enjoyed. It’s nice to get out of the house on Boxing Day and if it’s too cold for a walk then the panto seems like the next best thing. This year I was organised and booked us all tickets to see Dick Whittington at the Compass Theatre in Ickenham. According to Wikipedia pantomime (informally panto), is a type of musical comedy stage production, designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is still performed throughout the United Kingdom, generally during the Christmas and New…