• Christmas shopping with The 2019 Christmas Good Toy Guide
    competition - Family Life

    Christmas shopping with The 2019 Christmas Good Toy Guide

    November 27, 2019 - By 

    Disclosure – this is a collaborative post The Christmas countdown has really begun in our house. We are all ready for Advent which marks the start of the Christmas period for us. We all enjoy the festive period and I have to admit I’ve already put the Christmas bedding on our beds and baked my first batch of mince pies! It’s pretty natural that children have high expectations of the presents they are going to receive. My daughter is in Year 3 and wrote a letter to Father Christmas yesterday. I had to give her a stamped envelope as her…

  • Christmas gnome painted rocks
    Crafts for kids - Painted rocks

    Christmas gnome painted rocks

    November 26, 2019 - By 

    We spent our honeymoon exploring Scandinavia. We loved Denmark, Sweden and Norway and hope we can go back one day. As well as lots of happy memories we came back with quite a few souvenirs from the different cities we visited, many of which were scandinavian gnomes, also known as tomtes or nisse. A tomte is a mythological creature from Scandinavian folklore, typically associated with the winter solstice and the Christmas season. As our honeymoon took place in late October it probably wasn’t surprising that the shops were full of these little creatures! We’ve faithfully put them out each year…

  • Olafur Eliasson: In Real Life at Tate Modern
    Monday Happy List

    Monday Happy List {Week 267}

    November 25, 2019 - By 

    I love to start the week by writing the Monday Happy List. It’s a chance for me to sit down and reflect on the things that made me happy in the previous week, as well as to record some of our family adventures – it’s a post I always enjoy writing. It’s beginning to feel a little Christmassy around here. I changed my blog header to a festive version, baked mince pies and put the Christmas bedding on! Monday Happy List {Week 267} Last week I went to see Olafur Eliasson: In Real Life at Tate Modern with my husband. I…

  • Printable Elf Lunchbox Notes
    Christmas - Crafts for adults - Elf on the Shelf - free printables

    {Free} Printable Elf Lunchbox Notes

    November 24, 2019 - By 

    I couldn’t resist. Today I put the Christmas bedding on and bought some candy canes. I know the two aren’t related but it’s a sign that Christmas is coming! I quite enjoy when our Elf on the Shelf comes to visit and I have planned plenty of activities to keep him busy in the run up to Christmas. Our Christmas Elf always packs the children’s lunches in Christmas wrapping paper. This year I’ve gone one step further and made some  free printable Elf lunchbox notes to slip inside the children’s lunchboxes. Printable Elf Lunchbox Notes I thought I would share…

  • Family Life

    AD|How to not break your budget this Christmas

    November 23, 2019 - By 

    Disclosure – this is a collaborative post As much as I love Christmas it is the most expensive time of year. We all want to give our children the best gifts and memories but it can be hard to stay within budget if their Christmas lists are a little ambitious! My children seem to want the moon on a stick each year and whilst I would love to buy them everything they want it’s just not possible or healthy for them. We try to live to the 4 gifting principles to keep their expectations manageable – something to wear, something…

  • 12 Handmade gift tags to make this Christmas
    Christmas - Crafts for adults

    12 Handmade gift tags to make this Christmas

    November 22, 2019 - By 

    I’ve been really fortunate to have a couple of days off from work this week. I’ve made the most of my free time and made a huge dent in my Christmas shopping and wrapping. I get really anxious about gift giving so I find starting early helps me. Don’t get me wrong, I still have lots to do, but I feel like I can relax a little and make a start on adding a handmade touch to my gift-giving. We love the handmade touch and I couldn’t resist searching Pinterest for handmade gift tags to make this Christmas. There are…

  • Using my Cricut EasyPress Mini
    Crafts for adults - Cricut Maker

    Using my Cricut EasyPress Mini

    November 21, 2019 - By 

    Last week my Cricut EasyPress Mini arrived and I couldn’t wait to play with it. I saw it at the Cricut Meet and Greet I went to last month and loved the size. I already have the Cricut EasyPress2 which is great for bags and t-shirts but I wanted something smaller. I knew I was going to make the children a re-useable advent calendar and wanted to use the Mini to decorate the little jute bags I had picked. About the Cricut EasyPress Mini The Cricut Mini EasyPress has been designed to make detailed heat transfers easier than ever. It…

  • How to make a Playmobil family snow globe decoration
    Christmas - Crafts for adults - upcycling

    How to make a Playmobil family snow globe decoration

    November 19, 2019 - By 

    I love crafting with toys and I also love to make personalised gifts. Today I’m combining the two to make a fun Playmobil snow globe which I think would make a lovely handmade gift. It also makes a fun Christmas ornament. I’ve crafted with Playmobil figures before. The children love Playmobil so I’ve used vintage ones – Playmobil clock, Playmobil jar toppers, and vintage Playmobil figure badge. Playmobil family snow globe decoration supplies: Playmobil figures Plastic snow globe (from Hobbycraft) Fake snow Hot glue gun How to make a Playmobil family snow globe decoration First choose a selection of Playmobil…

  • Family Life - Monday Happy List

    Monday Happy List {Week 266}

    November 18, 2019 - By 

    I love to start the week by writing the Monday Happy List. It’s a chance for me to sit down and reflect on the things that made me happy in the previous week, as well as to record some of our family adventures – it’s a post I always enjoy writing. Monday Happy List {Week 266} I have been making a lot of things over the last week. Perhaps it’s the time of year or perhaps I just have my crafting mojo back. I had quite a few things I wanted to make using my Cricut Maker and they are all…