Check out our fun ideas for throwing a gingerbread house decorating party. Every Christmas Eve we have a party with our best friends with kids’ Christmas party games and delicious food. We have been doing this since our children were tiny, but now they are older we have graduated to a gingerbread decorating party.
Tips to Simplify Christmas without Losing the Magic is a paid collaborative post. I absolutely adore the holiday season, but not the stress of it all, so over the last few years we have worked hard at simplifying Christmas without losing the magic and the best bit is each year gets even better. So follow our tips on how to simplify Christmas and you will thank me not just now but next year too.
This self-care advent calendar printable was inspired by the fact that we mums are often frazzled in the lead-up to Christmas during advent and I wanted to create something that enabled, no scrap that word, but it ensured we take time out to focus on ourselves even if it was for just 15 minutes a day. The p[popularity of advent calendars is massive, but some of the ones I see cost more than I would ever spend on a Christmas present! Do this Self Care Advent Calendar Printable is filled with low-cost or better still no-cost activities.
I am a sucker for Christmastime and a good Christmas countdown calendar and that is why I have put together this free colour in advent calendar printables page full of advent calendar colouring pages to download. These calendars are a great sugar-free countdown alternative perfect for classroom use or to add to your personal advent calendar activity list.
How to get kids to sleep on Christmas eve is a collaborative post with DUSK Luxury Bedding to celebrate their Christmas Sleep Hub. As an adult, I know how hard it is to get to sleep on Christmas Eve and if I find it a challenge then I totally understand why my children struggle! The excitement, the anticipation and the joy all create a fizzing feeling that stops sleep. I think that Christmas Eve and Birthday Eve are the hardest night of the year to get children to go to sleep. So here are some of my tried and tested tips for getting children to sleep the night the Santa comes more »
Christmas truly is a special time of year – an occasion for families to get together and spend some quality time, and a chance to reflect upon the year that was. Plus, there’s nothing quite like the many traditions that go along with the festive season: putting up a tree, decorating the house, wrapping the presents. However, there’s a reason that pockets get tight in December. Gift-giving can set you back a hefty amount, and if you’re short on money, it’s easy to feel like you don’t have the means to make Christmas exactly what it should be. Rest assured, there are plenty of ways to have a magical Christmas on more »
This beautiful keepsake Family Handprint Christmas Tree is a wonderful piece of seasonal artwork that brings so much joy each year. There is something magical about a collaborative handprint art canvas that fills me with such happiness. Better still I bring it our each holiday season and it reminds me of happy times and when my kids were young. Plus it is great having artwork using their little hands. I mean who doesn’t love Christmas Traditions?
I am a big fan of Christmas Crackers, I love the excitement and anticipation of pulling a cracker at Christmas. So why not make Christmas Day go with a bang by making your own Homemade Christmas crackers. They are a super simple craft, easy to make and you can add your own unique gifts, jokes and party hats in order to personalise your Christmas Day. I know it is super easy it is to pick up a ready-made box from any supermarket, however, in order to get gifts that my family will use and not just tat they are often expensive and really wasteful. I love how making crackers I know more »
Playing Family Christmas games for zoom is a great way to keep your family connected this festive season. This Christmas is going to be very different for a lot of people, us included and we are going to have to adapt our Christmas Eve party to a virtual one over zoom. Hosting virtual Christmas parties can still be fun and will get everyone in the holiday spirit. Lots of businesses have used Zoom to keep in touch with remote employees and colleagues over the pandemic and I have had a weekly chat with my sewing buddies using it for over 18 months.
Learn how to make a Christingle at Home. Growing up the Christingle Service at my Church School was an integral part of Christmas. It was always so magical and the fact that we got to eat the sweets probably added to the reason why I loved it so much!
Advent is for me the best part of Christmas, the anticipation, the buildup and the meaning and these 24 DIY Numbered Advent Candles are a great way for me to take time out of the day and celebrate my own countdown to Christmas.
Celebrate the build-up to Christmas with these fabulous advent calendar activities for Kids and Printable Activity Advent Calendar. This really is the cutest way to pass the days during advent and to reinforce family values at this special time of year and is full of Christmas activities and Christmas crafts.
This Acts of Kindness Advent Calendar is a brilliant way to spread some cheer in the build-up to Christmas whilst also remembering what Christmas is all about. Download the free printable and fold into envelopes and embrace the spirit of Christmas.
These free Christmas wish lists will help your child, and everyone else in the family, really pinpoint what they want for Christmas this year.
I was busy updating my list of Kids Advent and Christmas Books and I realised that actually over the years our collection has grown to include many Advent and Christmas books to cherish at any age. You know the type, ones that will become family heirlooms or that you get out each December to read again and again.
Clove and Orange pomanders are perfect for Christmas. They add a fabulously festive touch and scent to your home and for me are the smell of Christmas. I used to make these with my mum over advent when I was younger as we never put the tree up until after my birthday on 20th December, so they are so evocative of that time for me.
The importance of Christmas traditions is a paid collaborative post with Christmas Tree World. I am not going to lie, this year has been a challenging one in The Mad House, a person very close to us died and it has weighed heavy on my mind and in my heart since. They left behind a young family and that is what inspired this post and cemented my thinking about the importance of Christmas traditions.
DIY Believe Christmas Plaque is a paid collaborative post with Bostik. I adore Christmas and I love creating so it goes without saying that I love to fill my home with seasonal pieces that have meaning. This Believe Christmas Plaque came about to remind my boys’ that as long as we believe in Christmas the magic will always be there. Last year was the first year that both of my boys’ didn’t believe in Father Christmas and we had to have that conversation. You know the one I mean, that not believing in the big man doesn’t mean that you stop believing in the magic of Christmas. In fact, their job becomes even more more »
Not a fan of Elf on the Shelf? Need an alternative way to countdown to Christmas? Then don’t worry we have you covered with these super fun Elf on the Shelf Alternatives. I love the anticipation of Christmas and the build-up to Christmas Day and it is something I really remember from my childhood and have always wanted to create for my family. So we have some magical and creative ways to countdown to Christmas that are not Elf on the Shelf.
These DIY Modern Advent Calenders will have you itching to make your own. I am a huge lover of Advent and the way that it brings so much anticipation to Christmas. I am also really into modern aesthetics at the moment and these DIY advent calendars really hit the mark.
