We’re making as many decorations as we can this year, all with our red and white theme. I really wanted to try melting plastic beads inside cookie cutters, so we did. Melted bead decorations I wasn’t sure what the toddler would make of the colourful plastic beads but at 33 months he really enjoyed it. Granted, I’ve been finding them caught in the floor boards ever since, but he enjoyed himself and that’s all that really matters. I picked up a huge box of small plastic beads at my local charity shop so this was a cheap and easy craft.…
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I’m a big fan of Ruth Clemens, blogger at The Pink Whisk and runner-up of the Great British Bake Off. She has recently teamed up with Persil to celebrate the launch of a new, limited edition Persil Warm Spice Washing Up Liquid and create some festive family recipes. I was challenged to try one of her recipes at home and it was difficult to choose just one from Mini Sausage Twirls, Orange Fig Glazed Ham, Spiced Apple Chutney and Candy Cane Meringues. However eventually I chose the Christmas Biscuits as I have a bit of a sweet tooth! Take a…
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Having a toddler to keep busy means I have tried to come up with lots of activities during advent. We’ve been talking about Christmas for a while (or Chris-Chris as he likes to call it) and I know he’s confused. I’m hoping that our book advent, his traditional chocolate a day Thomas calendar and our activity calendar will keep us busy and allow us a smooth run up to the big day. It’s not hard to find ideas online for advent calendar games, from homemade craft tips to festive printables, games and videos. Last year Father Christmas had a very…
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I’ve been enjoying spending time sewing felt Christmas decorations. I’ve signed up for a couple of Christmas craft swaps which has meant some happy hours looking through my favourite craft books. Felt Christmas decorations I decided to try something different so made these three felt decorations and framed them in small embroidery hoops. Each hoop is only 3 inches so they are the perfect size for hanging on a tree. Hopefully you can tell they are a candy cane, gum drop sweeties and a gingerbread couple. The pattern was from one of my favourite craft books Fa la la la…
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If you are looking for a fun craft for toddlers, look no further. We’ve been busy making festive baubles from sweetie wrappers! I’m sad to say I’ve been saving colourful sweetie wrappers for a rainy day and then I thought of a great activity for the toddler. Equipment you will need to make recycled sweet wrapper decorations: card scissors double sided sticky tape ribbon I cut 6 circles from black card and then cut smaller circles out of them (using baby food jars as a template). The toddler adores sticky tape so I gave him small pieces of tape and…
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Have you ever heard of a book advent? I think I first heard about it on Pinterest and thought it would be fun to do with the children. Instead of a tacky Advent calendar with cheap chocolate, we’ll be unwrapping a Christmas book every day of December leading up to Christmas Day. This way we will get to spend more time reading together, which is something we all love, and some time each day to enjoy the festive season. The hard part has been finding the books. 24 Christmas-themed books can be difficult. I really wanted to buy second hand…
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There are so many Christmas crafts I want to make this year. For the first time in my adult life I have decided we’re having a colour theme so hopefully the house will look co-ordinated for once. The theme is very simple – red and white, with a vintage vibe. Vintage letter cards banner I’m ashamed to say we already have our advent candles up on the mantle piece, which I de-cluttered specially. They look lovely and I’m wondering if I’ll want to light them when the time comes. We’re trying to keep the house tidy and clean as we’re…
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Over the past few evenings I’ve been busy making 12 festive decorations from Cath Kidston’s latest book – Make Your Own Christmas Decorations. Featuring 12 projects the book includes the patterns as well as the felt, thread, pompoms and cord so all you’ll need is a basic sewing kit and some toy stuffing! There are patterns for a Christmas Robin, Father Christmas, Striped Stocking, Gift-Wrapped Present, Christmas Tree, Frosty Snowman, Winter Reindeer, Holly & Berries, Christmas pudding, Snowy Cottage, Festive Stanley and Christmas Angel. Make your own Christmas decorations! Each project is well laid out and includes a large colour…
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We went to Westfield Stratford City yesterday. Most of the shops already had Christmas window displays, Boots was full of gift sets and I picked up a collection of gingerbread mixes, cutters and kits to try out and perfect over the coming weeks. When we got back we had a bit of a gingerbread making session, and every cutter we have was used by the children. I’ve tried to keep on top of Christmas planning so far. I’m a real list person so have lists of stocking fillers and Christmas presents, Christmas card list and a menu for Christmas Day.…
