• 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…

  • Win 1 of 3 kid-friendly calendars
    competition

    Win 1 of 3 kid-friendly calendars

    December 27, 2016 - By 

    I love this time of year. Our family is enjoying the holidays, eating far too much and building soooo many Lego sets! We’re lucky to have another week before school starts and it won’t be long before the diary starts filling up with after school clubs and birthday parties. If you haven’t quite got organised for 2017 then you are in luck as I have a fun competition post to share with you today. I’m giving all readers of the gingerbread house blog the chance to win 1 of 3 kid-friendly 2017 calendars. All three calendars feature lovely large pictures…

  • 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…

  • christmas paper cut
    Christmas - Lego - mindfulness - Monday Happy List

    Monday Happy List – Week 118

    December 26, 2016 - By 

    Happy Monday everyone. I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and are doing something nice for St Stephen’s Day. I know it’s Christmas. Time for my weekly Monday Happy List blog post. Last week was pretty hectic trying to get everything ready for Christmas. We are spending Christmas at home with my mum but it still felt quite busy – last minute present shopping, buying food and cleaning the house. We were busy with a Christmas party at Beavers, my children had a karate lesson and I helped my daughter and her class walk to school for a church…

  • ideas for a North Pole breakfast
    Christmas

    8 ideas for a North Pole breakfast

    December 24, 2016 - By 

    Now my husband has finished work and the children have started their school holidays it’s beginning to feel like Christmas. It is so lovely to be able to relax knowing that everything is in hand for a wonderful Christmas. As you know, we’ve had some fun adventures with our Elf on the Shelf and as he will soon be disappearing for another year. I wanted to make the final few days extra special. Yesterday we found he had delivered a North Pole breakfast for the whole family to enjoy. What is a North Pole breakfast? I’ve only recently heard of…

  • How to make a Christmas Eve crate
    Christmas - crafts - Pinty Plus Ambassador

    How to make a Christmas Eve crate {Ikea Knagglig hack}

    December 22, 2016 - By 

    Christmas is all about the children in our house. I always enjoyed Christmas but seeing through the eyes of my children is even more fun. We started off a few Christmas Eve traditions and this year I wanted to make something to hold everything in, so I made a Christmas Eve crate. I wrote a little about things to put in a Christmas Eve crate and I really enjoyed making ours and putting everything together. Our Christmas Eve crate holds Reindeer food, hot chocolate, new pyjamas, a DVD, a letter from the Elf and our stockings – things to help us enjoy Christmas Eve…

  • homestyle - shopping

    Ready for Winter with Hotter

    December 21, 2016 - By 

    I have a confession to make. I don’t like shoe shopping. There I’ve said it, and I’m sure I’m not alone. I have wide feet and I hate shoe shopping so only have a few favourite pairs. Over the last few years I’ve been getting some pains in one of my feet and recently found out I had plantar fasciitis. Reading up about it I knew it could be eased by wearing good quality shoes, so was pretty delighted to be asked to review my local Hotter shoe store. So far this winter I’ve been wearing my favourite black boots. They…

  • How to make a Winter Solstice ice lamp
    crafts - Nature crafts - STEM activity - Winter

    How to make a Winter Solstice ice lamp

    December 20, 2016 - By 

    Did you know that tomorrow (Wednesday December 21st) at 10.44 GMT is the Winter Solstice. The winter solstice is an astronomical phenomenon marking the shortest day and the longest night of the year. It happens when the Sun reaches its most southerly declination of -23.5 degrees. To celebrate the Winter Solstice and the shortest day of the year we made a Winter Solstice ice lamp. I’ve wanted to make one for a few years, the kids always enjoy a little science at home, and finally got round to making it with the children. We used: a plastic tub water red…

  • Christmas

    7 things to include in a Christmas Eve crate

    December 20, 2016 - By 

    I started the tradition of a Christmas Eve crate a few years ago and I’m really glad I did. They don’t have to be expensive and for me, they mark the beginning of Christmas. The cards are sent, the presents are wrapped, the food is ready and there’s nothing I can do but put my feet up and let Christmas happen. This year we will be using the Christmas Eve crate I made but you don’t have to use anything. I thought it would be fun to write about the things I put into our Christmas Eve crate and share…