• Wooden Advent tree {Ikea hack}
    Advent crafts - Christmas - crafts - upcycling

    Wooden Advent tree {Ikea hack}

    November 30, 2016 - By 

    Earlier in the summer I attended a tablescaping event as part of the Ikea Autumn/Winter press show. I saw some great Christmas products and knew I would be going to buy some in store. We went to Ikea in October and I was so happy to see they had set up their Christmas displays. I bought quite a few new decorations, a gingerbread house and a lovely wooden tree. The tree was quite a simple design with 28 branches, each with a small hole at the end to hang a decoration. I thought this would make a great wooden Advent…

  • An Advent calendar of picture books for little readers
    Advent crafts - book review - Christmas

    An Advent calendar of picture books for little readers

    November 17, 2016 - By 

    Every November I like to plan our annual Book Advent. I started this Christmas tradition a few years ago and the children love it. On the 1st December quite a few things happen so I have to be super organised at this time of year. Advent traditions Most importantly our Elf arrives all the way from the North Pole. This is another tradition we started a few years ago. I know not everyone likes the Elf on a Shelf but my children do so he’ll be coming back again this year and making sure my children behave themselves in the…

  • How to make a wooden gingerbread house advent calendar
    Christmas - gingerbread house - handmade

    How to make a wooden gingerbread house

    December 4, 2015 - By 

    I know it’s the 4th already but I have to blog about the grown up advent calendar I made this year. I used a wooden MDF blank from Hobbycraft and decorated it exactly as I wanted, to make a wooden gingerbread house. Equipment used to make a wooden gingerbread house: Wooden Advent House Brown acrylic paint White acrylic paint Advent number toppers PVA glue Pack of white buttons How to make a wooden gingerbread house The MDF wooden house has 25 small cabinets so you can fill them yourself. You can also decorate these blanks any way you like, with…

  • Christmas Countdown for kids
    Advent crafts - Christmas - Crafts for kids

    Homemade Christmas Countdown for kids

    November 23, 2015 - By 

    One thing I love about my children is they have no concept of time yet. My 3 year old struggles with the concept of more than one day in the past or the future. My 5 year old has a better understanding, thanks to monthly calendars which we have around the house. My children are really excited about Christmas, and keep asking how many sleeps, so I thought it was about time we made our own Christmas Countdown. Visual is perfect for their age so we made a simple and colourful countdown. Supplies to make a Homemade Christmas Countdown for…

  • Christmas - Playmobil Playologist

    Playmobil Advent Calendar Fire Rescue Operation with Card Game

    November 22, 2015 - By 

    Over the last few years we’ve been the lucky receipents of a Playmobil Advent calendar thanks to our role as a #PlaymobilPlayologist. My favourite was the Playmobil Santa’s Workshop Advent Calendar although my 5 year old loved the Playmobil Pirates Treasure Cove advent calendar. I’m a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to Christmas so I admit I was a tiny bit disappointed when we received the Playmobil Advent Calendar Fire Rescue Operation with Card Game 5495 to review. image credit Playmobil Advent Calendar Fire Rescue Operation with Card Game There’s a fire in the motorcycle workshop (diorama)! Every…

  • Advent crafts - book review - Christmas

    How to create a Book Advent

    November 14, 2015 - By 

    A few evenings ago I was having a very rare night out and we were discussing Christmas. Someone asked if we had any special Christmas traditions and I’m not sure I realised until then that we have lots. Perhaps having young children helps, but I want to make Christmas a magical time for all of us and create some special memories. My Christmas preparations start early as Advent marks the beginning of Christmas for our family. I bring out the Advent Box and set up the Book Advent tower in the lounge. I’m not sure how I heard about a…

  • Christmas - competition - sewing

    Win an Advent Calendar fabric panel from elephant in my handbag

    November 3, 2015 - By 

    I love this time of year so much. I got an early start of my festive making with a sew your own Advent Calendar fabric panel from elephant in my handbag. It’s always lovely to make your own decorations and gifts (time permitting!) and I really enjoyed putting my Advent Calendar together over a couple of evenings. I chose the Winter Wonderland panel, designed by Bethan Janine for Dashwood Studio. The panel is 100% cotton and the instructions are cleverly printed at the top of the panel. Once you have the fabric panel you need to buy wadding and some…

  • Advent crafts - Christmas - Lego

    Our Advent Box

    November 27, 2014 - By 

    I’m really looking forward to December 1st as for me, that’s when Christmas really starts. The Christmas shopping is done, food ordered and planned which means we can look forward to the children’s Christmas concerts, making some lovely decorations and visiting Father Christmas in his grotto. Every year we celebrate Advent with Advent calendars and a book Advent. This year I have introduced an Advent Box Crate to open on December 1st. It’s packed full of goodies for us all to enjoy in the run up to Christmas Day. Most importantly it contains our Elf on the Shelf who will…

  • Christmas - playing - Playmobil Playologist - toy review

    Playmobil Advent Calendars and the Playmohair

    October 29, 2014 - By 

    This year Playmobil have released 5 Playmobil Advent calendars – Santa’s Workshop, Unicorn Fairyland, Police, Pony Farm and Dragon’s Treasure Battle. You may remember we were fortunate to be sent the Pirates Treasure Cove calendar last year as part of our role as Playmobil Playologists. I was pretty excited to receive the Santa’s Workshop Advent Calendar as I’m a real traditionalist and love the look of this. The Pirate advent calendar was great and fun to open but had nothing to do with Christmas, this is perfect! Santa’s Workshop is designed for ages 4-10 and priced £18.99 which seems reasonable…