Gift Guides & Seasonal

Festive Family Traditions with the Snowman and the Snowdog

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As a child, The Snowman was always a part of the Christmas season. I would always enjoy snuggling up on the sofa, with the lights sparkling on the Christmas tree nearby, and watching the beautifully animated movie which would always get me even more into the Christmas spirit!

My boys have enjoyed the animations and the books over the years too, and this year I’ve been introducing the story to our littlest family member, N. This year is her first proper Christmas, as she was born on Christmas morning last year so we spent the day at hospital. With a Christmas birthday, this time of year is even more special for us now, so I’m looking forward to making even more new traditions with our family.

We were sent a selection of The Snowman and the Snowdog festive gifts which are perfect to kick off the festive season and make the advent time magical.

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The Perfect Christmas Gifts for Him

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Looking for the perfect Christmas gifts for the men in your life but lacking in inspiration? Don’t worry, it’s not just you, men are notoriously difficult to buy for, but the good news is there’s plenty of ideas out there to give you a little inspiration.

No matter what type of man you’re buying for, below you’ll discover some of the best gifts ideas to keep them happy – whether it’s your dad, brother, son or even grandad!

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Our Bing Pumpkin this Halloween

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I’ve always been of the opinion that Halloween doesn’t have to be super scary. I’m much more into the cute costumes, pumpkins, and Autumnal fun than the ghosts and ghouls aspect of Halloween.

We were challenged to decorate our pumpkin as one of the characters from preschool hit animation Bing, and with this year being baby N’s first Halloween, it was the perfect baby friendly idea for our pumpkin carving. We decided to decorate the pumpkin as Bing bunny himself.

First, we had a day out at a local farm with a pumpkin patch to choose our own pumpkin. This adds a lot more fun to the pumpkin buying experience compared to just picking it from your local supermarket, so I would definitely recommend getting your pumpkin from a farm if you have a suitable one nearby!

The boys did a great job in picking a pumpkin just the right size and shape for carving, and all of the kids had fun playing amongst the pumpkins and in the hay stack before heading home to carve our Bing pumpkin.

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Halloween Jack-O’-Lantern Shepherd’s Pie

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Gearing up for Halloween, we’re seeing everything orange, black, and green. Want to give your family a scare? Rachel Fink from Parenting Pod has the perfect recipe  to share with you!

What screams Halloween better than pumpkins and edible Jack-o’-lanterns? The answer—as you can probably guess—is nothing.

Sure, Halloween is all about the costumes and the candy, but we don’t want to forget the important things about parenting—mainly, feeding our children nutritious and delicious food. We want to make sure their tummies are filled with good stuff—even on Halloween—before they break into their trick-or-treat stash. Since this recipe includes all fresh ingredients including plenty of nutritious veggies, you’ll feel great about feeding your family this fall.

Your kids will go crazy over these Pumpkin Shephard’s Pie Stuffed Peppers, made to look like mini Jack-o’-lanterns. If you lack the ingredients, or you aren’t a fan of shepherd’s pie, you can stuff these babies with other fresh ingredients or with just about any type of leftovers you may have. Other stuffing options include: beans/chicken/turkey with rice/quinoa; sautéed onions, mushrooms and spinach with cheese; mac n’ cheese; or chili.

This festive meal provides a twist on the ordinary casserole-dish that is sure to be a crowd-pleaser. And if you don’t have the patience to carve out creepy faces, skip it—by all means! The meal will still exude fall spirit, because—well—they look like mini pumpkins!

Jack-O’-Lantern Pumpkin Shepherd’s Pie Stuffed Peppers

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Gift Ideas for Babies and New Mums this Christmas

By in Baby, Gift Guides & Seasonal, Sponsored 9 Comments

If you’re welcoming a new baby this Christmas, it can be hard to know what to buy them as you may have already stocked up on the essentials, and they’re too young to really be aware of presents. I know that a lot of mums do like to get a few bits wrapped up though, so that baby is included in the festivities – and if you have older children, so that they don’t ask “why has Santa forgotten the baby?!”

These ideas will also come in handy if you’re looking for a gift for a new baby in the wider family or friends too.

gift ideas for babies and new mums

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Kids Christmas Crafts Activity Advent Calendar

By in Crafts, Gift Guides & Seasonal 1 Comment

There are so many creative advent calendars around these days – it’s no longer just a chocolate, or a picture behind a door. We really like some of the toy advent calendars that are around like the Playmobil or LEGO ones, but if you wanted to focus on quality time with the kids this advent season then why not try making your own kids Christmas crafts advent calendar?

Using a wooden advent calendar that you can find in craft shops, you can make your own calendar using whatever ideas you like, and change it up each year. How about writing different crafty or fun creative activities on pieces of paper and putting one inside each of the doors, so that the kids can open it up and discover their fun project for the day?

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We were sent our calendar thanks to: Action Storage, school lockers supplier.

The first task could be to decorate the calendar itself!

Here are a few more ideas that you could use to fill up your crafty Christmas advent calendar:

christmas-crafts

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Gift ideas for Him

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Gift ideas for him

While Christmas might be nearly here, the gift buying process isn’t necessarily over. Between your family members and friends, you probably find yourself scouring the internet and rushing around the shops looking for birthday gifts all year long. From your brother to your dad to your boyfriend, finding the perfect present can be difficult. So, if you find it tricky to come up with the goods, here are a few ideas for the sophisticated, techy and sporty guys you might know.

Gift ideas for him

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Christmas Traditions Around the World

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Have you ever wondered about the different ways Christmas is celebrated around the world? It’s quite an interesting topic to discuss with the kids, to help broaden their horizons and think about different cultures and traditions. Since they have some friends in Australia, my boys are quite fascinated with the idea that Australia has Christmas in Summer while we have it in Winter.

But climate is not the only difference in Christmases between the countries. Some places celebrate on slightly different days, for example a lot of places – including Argentina, Austria, Colombia, Denmark, Estonia, the Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Quebec, Romania, Uruguay, Sweden, Switzerland and the Czech Republic – all traditionally open their Christmas presents on Christmas eve, while Russian Christmas is actually much later on the 7th January!

For even more interesting Christmas differences, have a look through this Christmas infographic and you can even learn how to say “Merry Christmas” around the world

christmas-around-the-world-infographic

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Kids Christmas Gift Guide

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There’s not long until Christmas – exactly one month to go! But if you’re still stuck for ideas for the kids, don’t worry: I have a few suggestions to help you out.

Here are a few of the things that have been hits with my kids this year (boys aged 5, 6 and 8), with a mixture of video games, educational toys, stocking fillers and family board games.  If you have kids, nieces or nephews in the similar age ranges then you’re sure to find something that will suit!

Christmas gift ideas for kids, ages 5+

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The Snowman and The Snowdog Blog Tour

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The Snowman is one of the most iconic and timeless Christmas stories, and is one I always enjoy watching over again with the kids. The Snowman now also has a canine companion and no Christmas would be complete without The Snowdog! This week, I’m taking part in The Snowman and The Snowdog blog tour together with a group of other bloggers, to share with you some of the lovely The Snowman and The Snowdog products that are available, and show off our own decorated snow dogs!

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