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Now that Halloween is out of the way, I am turning my attention to Christmas. Yes, yes, I know there’s still the best part of two months to go but you can never be too prepared. Plus, with my two boys, I need to grab every single shopping opportunity I can get! Are there
Why buy rolls of wrapping paper when you can create your own custom wrapping paper from scratch? With just a few potatoes, paint, and kraft paper, kids can design beautiful, handmade gift wrap that’s perfect for birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries, weddings, or any holiday season celebration. This fun family craft is also eco-friendly: you can use
DIY Potato Print Wrapping Paper – Fun & Eco-Friendly Gift Wrap Read More »
There is nothing quite like putting up a Christmas tree in your home to get the kids excited for the festive season. Instead of just decorating a tree with baubles and tinsel this year though, why not get the children really enthusiastic for Santa Claus by dressing the centrepiece of your winter wonderland with decorations
While it is very easy to just head down to the high street and purchase a bulk of Christmas cards to send out to all your friends and family, you are losing out on a quick-fire way to get into the festive spirit. Creating your own Christmas cards will not take much time –
Advent for me is part of the way of getting away from the whole consumerism of Christmas Day. Â As a family, we have our own advent calendar that I made and we do an activity each day throughout Advent, which helps us focus on the true meaning of Christmas for us. Â Plus I have to
How do you get organised for Christmas? Â I have to admit that I revert back to my type-A personality when planning Christmas. Â We focus a lot on advent and the lead up to Christmas in The Mad House. Â I feel that by doing an activity each day we are concentrating on the mean of Christmas
For the last three years we have made sure that when we pack up the Christmas decorations that we pack an Advent Box. This box contains things we might need before we actually get all the decorations down and decorate the house. It includes: This year our advent box is even more important as we
Christmas, it is a bit of a bittersweet time for me. It is filled with the joy and excitement of two innocent boys, but also the memory of my mum’s unexpected and sudden death two years ago. Christmas Day will forever be associated with seeing my Mum dead in her kitchen on Christmas morning, but I can not let the past shape the future.
So my Memories are split in two. There is the memory of Christmas past, of tissue thin sheets of wrapping paper, eye shut tight of christmas eve listening for the sleigh bells, pillowcases instead of stockings, coming down on Christmas Eve to find my Dad standing at the door with a longed for Petite Typewriter. It is Christmas days long ago of a Sindy House rapped in a candy coloured stripped sheet. It is delicious family filled Christmas dinners after Dad and Granddad returned from a swift one at the Pub. Boxing days spent with cousins, parkin and corned beef pie. Board games and cocktails. Sisters living and loving each other.
Of carefree and joyfilled Christmas spent with family. Once the boys graced us with our presence we experienced the excitement though their eyes and Christmas became about crafting, cooking, making and creating memories. We made advent a time of activities. We cemented memories with our traditions. We went to my Mum’s to help wrap her presents. She helped me to cook Christmas dinner.
And then she was no more………………
So now I try to make Christmas a time of making, creating, cooking and crafting. I think of my Mum and the time we spend doing the same as I was growing up and in my actions I honor her memory. I allow the pain and grief to be there, but do not make it mark my days and nights. More than ever Christmas is about making memories, so that when my children grow they look back at this time with both wonder and joy and they come to realise that Christmas is all about family.
Christmas is not about how much money you spend, but how much time you spend with the people you love. I love Christmas and I love spending time with my family. I like Christmas Eve to be a day of joy. Since the boys were small we introduced Christmas Eve Elves. Basically they delivered each year a bag for each of the boys with things to keep them busy and entertained on this exciting day.
This year the bags include:
New Pyjamas (so they look their best on Christmas Morning in pictures)
A How to draw book each
New Gel Pens
A new family Movie – Brave
A family Game for the XBox
Reindeer food
Snowman Soup
A new book for bedtime
On Christmas Eve I will visit Mum’s grave and take a basket of flowers. We then spend the rest of the day at home. MadDad prepared all the veg etc for the next day, then we settle down to family time. We make cranberry and popcorn chains for our tree outside for the birds whilst we watch a movie. We make our snowman soup, play board games and generally have quality family time together. We try to keep the day as relaxed as possible.
As the daylight fades we wrap up warm and go for a walk round the neigbourhood to take a peek at everyone’s christmas decorations and lights and to try and tire the boys out so they sleep.
We end the evening with a bath to carols, then we sprinkle our reindeer food and leave a special key outside so Father Christmas can open our door. The last thing the boys do before bed is to leave Father Christmas a mince pie and a drink on the plate that I made them
