Ah, that time of year when we have to give grateful thanks to teachers, Teaching Assistants, karate teachers, Beaver Scout leaders and every other adult who comes into contact with your child. I’m not a huge fan of donating money to every Christmas present fund doing the rounds at Christmas. In fact this year our emphasis is on giving handmade gifts. I’m not sure how teachers feel about receiving gift vouchers or boxes of chocolate at this time of the year. My mum was a teacher and I remember her coming home with a stack of gift-wrapped soaps and chocolates…
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As well as all the chocolate and books, Advent is about something much simpler, which often gets overlooked. The word Advent loosely means “coming” and is the time of waiting and preparing for the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. The first Sunday of Advent was actually Sunday 3rd December and we marked it with a lovely Advent Candle Suncatcher craft. We love making suncatchers throughout the year. I couldn’t find that we had ever made one for Advent so today we’re going to share the Advent candle suncatcher we made. Suncatchers are so simple to make, and lovely to look…
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This Christmas we are really looking forward to watching The Highway Rat, a 30-minute animation of the popular children’s story by Julia Donaldson and illustrator Axel Scheffler. It’s made by the same people who produced the Stick Man, Magic Light Pictures, so I think we’re in for a real treat. The Highway Rat The Highway Rat is a brilliant story. In case you haven’t read it recently: ‘Give me your buns and your biscuits! Give me your chocolate eclairs! For I am the Rat of the highway, and the Rat Thief never shares!’ Life is not safe for the other animals, as the…
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It’s been a while since I shared a kids craft book with you but I have a lovely one to share with you today – Crafty Gifts by Jane Bull. Stuck on gift ideas for mum, dad, grandparents, or teacher? Then turn to Jane Bull’s charming new children’s craft book. Packed with over 20 ideas for presents, wrapping, and cards, perfect for kids who love to craft. Crafty Gifts is full of amazing projects for children aged 7+ to make, all with clear step-by-step instructions. Jane takes you from creating lovely presents, all the way to the finishing touches of wrapping…
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My daughter was really lucky to receive a few new Sylvanian Families for her birthday this week. She really wanted the Sylvanian Families Kangaroo Family and the Forest Nursery – both of which she was excited to open. She’s asked for Beechwood Hall for Christmas but it just looks so large – I’m sure we haven’t room! I love that it is so easy to add seasonal items to her Sylvanian small world play. At Halloween we added the super cute Baby Trick or Treat set to her play which she really enjoyed. We’ve recently had fun with a few Sylvanian Families…
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Earlier this summer I went to the Hobbycraft Press Show where I picked up so much inspiration for my Christmas crafting. I was given a wonderful felting kit which I thought I would offer to my readers – I know you all love to craft as much as I do! This Polar Bear Felting Kit is the perfect way to create crafty decorations that will brighten up your festive décor! You’ll be able to make something completely different for your Christmas tree, with bright shades that will add charming embellishment to your seasonal celebrations. The kit includes everything you need to create…
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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…
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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…
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This half term we were busy with some planned days out and plenty of days at home too. The children have been re-discovering some of their favourite toys and making the most of the garden, before it got too chilly. We made them special Half Term Reward charts, which were more a list of things to do, in case they ran out of ideas. Top of the list was spending time outdoors, as we all know that fresh air and activity helps children sleep better! I love working with BEAR Nibbles because, like me, they believe in getting little cubs…