Personalised Baubles

I love crafting at Christmas. I shared with you last week how my kids and I made our very own festive wreaths, well this week I have an even simpler craft for you and your family to do, personalised baubles.

You will need :

* Baubles, whatever colour you like and however many you like.
* Christmas stickers

Creating a Christmas Wreath

I love crafting with the kids and Christmas is the perfect excuse to get out to get a little creative. I wanted some new decorations this year but didn't want it to cost a lot so we've been creating some decorations of our own, starting with an simple festive wreath.

You will need :

Xmas Came Early With Christmas Boutique

Every couple of years or so I like to change my Christmas decorations, or atleast add something new to the old ones. Well this year I had a helping hand with deciding on a new colour scheme because Christmas Boutique kindly sent me a few items from the range that they stock.

Stocking a diverse amount of Christmas decorations from the traditional to the quirky, advent calendars, candles and even photo frames and wall art. There is certainly something to suit everyones tastes.

Here is a break down of what I was sent :

My Traditional Christmas

The Christmas season brings with it lots of festive traditions but I don't think there is such a thing as a traditional Christmas anymore.

There used to be the 12 days of Christmas and if I am honest, I am not even sure when that is supposed to start. A traditional Christmas dinner is Turkey but I've heard people having things like salmon instead.

People nowadays take parts of some traditions and mix it up with some of their own and we are no different in the Hazelden household, so I thought I would share with you a little bit of what a traditional Christmas is like in our home.

1. Start watching Christmas films on the 1st of November.

You probably all think I'm mad but I love a good festive film and seen as I buy atleast one new one every year, we have alot to watch and you can't watch them just once you know!!

2. Decorations go up on the 1st of December.

I like to make the most of having our decorations up, 12 days to me just isn't long enough and I think having the Christmas tree, the paper chains, the tinsel etc up makes the place feel more cosy.

3. Change my ringtone to something festive

Every year on the 1st December I pick a new Christmas ringtone, this year I have Elton John's Step into Christmas. Cheers me up everytime my phone rings :)

4. When wrapping presents Christmas music must be played and a little mulled wine helps too.

If you are like me, you probably find the idea of wrapping a mound of presents a rather daunting task. I admit I am awful at doing it, you would definitely be able to pick put which present was from me and no it isn't because I'm a tad tipsy from a glass or three of wine whilst attempting to wrap ;)

5. One sweet can be eaten Christmas eve.

I always see alot of people saying that they have bought the sweets for Christmas only to go and eat them all and need to buy more before Christmas has even arrived. In our house the sweets get bought and hidden and do not under any circumstances get opened until Christmas eve, of course after that they don't last very long at all.

6. Read the Night Before Christmas to the children at bed time on Christmas eve.

Now this is a tradition I have carried on from when I was a little girl, my daddy always used to read it to me and it is something that I have carried on with my own children, thanks to my dad buying me my own copy when I moved out. My little brother can recite the whole book without even looking at it!!

7. Open stockings on the bed before we go downstairs Christmas morning.

When I was younger we didn't have stockings, we got one present at the end of our beds, I always felt like I was missing out somehow so even before my eldest daughter was born, I had bought her a stocking ready. The trouble is I always seem to buy too many stocking fillers as the stockings are normally overflowing with gifts.

8. Presents are left on the Christmas tree to open Boxing day.

We have what are cleverly called Christmas tree presents, see what I did there! There is one present for each member of the family that is placed on the tree and left there til boxing day, just makes the fesitivities last a bit longer.

So what is a traditional Christmas like in your house?

xxxx

Love Christmas Ltd Review and Giveaway

Ok I know some of you may still think it is a little early but I am girl who loves Christmas, I really do wish it could be Christmas every day. So when Love Christmas Ltd approached me about reviewing something from their site, there was no way that I could refuse!!

The real question was what should I review. Love Christmas Ltd stock a range of decorations, trees, gifts and lights all at very reasonable prices. The site itself is extremely easy to navigate, splitting things into sections making items simpler to find.

I think because I have children and because I am a big kid myself, I was automatically drawn to the Novely Items & Toys section of the site. I love a good noisy toy and it has become a tradition in our house to buy a new one each year. I asked the girls which one they preferred and we all finally agreed on the 'Singing Dancing Snowman'.

Delivery on Love Christmas Ltd is free, a big money saver there. The snowman took roughly 3 working days to arrive and was packaged well. 

Standing at approximately 30cm tall, this snowman certainly adds to your Christmas spirit, with his carrot nose, hat and bright red scarf, he is nice and soft and definitely appealing to children.

My 3 year old was extremely impressed. The only problem was that she kept going to pick him up as he was trying to sing and dance to her. 

He has a button on his left hand that when pressed makes him sing the song jingle bells, he also dances from side to side as he sings, multi-talented!!

Priced at £14.95, I think the snowman is definitely worth the price you pay. Just check out the video below of the jolly snowman doing his thing :

If you are looking for new decorations this year or a Christmas themed gift for friends or family then I would definitely recommend that you check out Love Christmas Ltd for yourself. With good priced items an no delivery charge, what's not to love.

Giveaway

Love Christmas Ltd have very kindly allowed me to give away a £25 voucher to spend on their site to one lucky reader. 

To be in with a chance of winning all you need to do is fill out the rafflecopter form below. This competition is open to UK residents only and will run until 11.59pm on the 19th of November 2013.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck

xxxx

Win competitions at ThePrizeFinder.com

Disclaimer : I was sent this item free of charge for reviewing purposes however all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Hobbycraft Halloween Goodies Review

I associate the month of October with Halloween, this includes dressing up in scary costumes, trick or treating and of course spooky arts and crafts.

Hobbycraft are the largest arts and crafts retailer in the UK. With 78 stores nationwide, they provide all the things you need to get craft including : art materials, craft kits, cookware and baking supplies, papercraft, knit, stitch and haberdashery.

Hobbycraft are also celebrating Halloween, stocking decorations, party supplies and craft kits. I was kindly sent a selection of their Halloween range to try out and review.

I was sent : Pom Pom Kit Pumpkins £2.50, Pumpkin Witch Foam Activity Kit £1.50, Amscan Halloween Decoration Tape Banners £3.00, Amscan Resealable Bags 12pc £1.50, 75 Cupcake Cases £2.00 and there was even a couple of bugs and bats thrown in too.

The girls were eager to  get to work with their craft kits. I left them at the dining room table to get creative. 

After lots of cutting, gluing, glittering and stickiness, they were finally ready to reveal their creations. 

Next week we will be making the most of our Halloween cake cases making some pumpkin themed cakes, keep an eye out for that post!!!

We are saving the decorations and the bags for the actual day of Halloween, I'm planning on doing a spooky treasure hunt around the house. 

As for the bugs and bats. Well the girls have been trying to scare me the past couple of days, putting them down in places when I'm not looking!!

All of these items are available on Hobbycraft right now and they even have a spooktacular 3 for 2 offer on all Halloween goodies while stocks last and at already bargain prices, it is well worth the money!!!

Do you have anything planned for Halloween this year?

xxxx

Disclaimer : These items were sent to me free of charge for reviewing purposes however all thoughts and opinions are my own.