Tag: christmas

Lego Duplo My First Zoo

| October 24, 2013

A couple of weeks ago I bought Imogen’s first set of Lego Duplo from John Lewis. After much thought I chose the Lego Duplo My First Zoo as she loves animals. This set comes with a Polar Bear, a Tiger, a Giraffe and an Elephant. It also comes with a super safari car, a zoo keeper, gates, food for the animals and a window that opens and closes.

lego duplo my first zoo

There are plenty of lego duplo bricks included in varying sizes. It’s wonderful to see Imogen building with these and creating towers, dinosaurs, houses and parks. We have great fun using the window as a ticket office for visitors to the zoo.

lego duplo my first zoo

Lego Duplo would make a perfect Christmas gift for children aged 2 to 5 years old (some Lego Duplo sets are suitable from 18 months). I love it because it encourages children to use their imaginations and be creative. It’s played with several times a day and we will definitely be wrapping up a new box of Lego Duplo to put under our Christmas tree.

lego duplo

To make Christmas shopping easy John Lewis have shortlisted their favourite toys. Whether you’re looking for Christmas Gifts for Girls or Christmas Gifts for Boys or Christmas Gifts for Babies you will be sure to find something the little ones will love.

Homemade Advent Calendar

| October 19, 2013

Christmas is approaching and I’m already thinking of some wonderful ideas to fill Imogen’s homemade advent calendar. This year I’ll be making a personalised advent calendar with a little treat for each day. And there won’t be any chocolate in sight (aside from the sugar content, Imogen doesn’t like chocolate).

I’ve bought some small striped paper candy bags that will be numbered 1 to 24. These will be strung up in the style of bunting and inside each bag will be a little surprise to count down the days to Christmas.

I found a set of gorgeous free printable numbers on the blog NoBiggie which is all about crafting, cooking and thrifting. These would look great used on the advent calendar.

free printable table numbersImage of free printable number courtesy of NoBiggie.

Some ideas to include in an alternative advent calendar are recycled mini cards (cut outs of old cards we have) with a special message inside tied to some ribbon so they can be hung on the Christmas tree as decorations and printed colouring pictures (there are plenty for free on the internet that you can print out). Other little treats could include a bouncy ball, crayons, a mini tub of Play Doh, hairclips, a cookie cutter, marbles, a Christmas decoration for the tree and a selection of dried fruit (which is sweet but without the refined sugar).

I will also be making some healthy flapjacks to include in some of the advent calendar treat bags as a natural, yummy and chewy surprise.

Getting into the Christmas Spirit

| October 16, 2013

The Christmas spirit was welcomed at the beginning of October this year as our local John Lewis displayed a selection of their lovely Christmas trees and decorations.

Christmas

Imogen ringing the Christmas bells. We both love this Christmas Decoration and it really does sound as if Father Christmas is on his way!

c2

A delicate Christmas tree covered in snow with a selection of Christmas decorations.

Christmas

To get into the Christmas spirit at home I made some pomanders using oranges and cloves. I love the smell of orange mixed with clove, there’s a warmth to it and a gentle spice. We had a bowl of oranges and a jar of cloves in the cupboard so all that was needed was a few minutes of pushing the cloves into the orange.

pomander

The smell is divine. I’ve placed them in our lounge so we can all enjoy the fragrance. And when our Christmas tree goes up at the beginning of December I’ll tie a ribbon around them and add them to the tree as fragrant decorations.

oranges1

How are you getting into the Christmas spirit this year?