Christmas morning

Is there any morning more magical than Christmas morning? I don't think so. This year Santa found his way to our house yet again. The kids were of course delighted. I went down just before them so I could take a photo of them running down and catching a glimpse of their excited faces. 

They got everything they wished for this year. Dylan really wanted some board games and a game for his DS and Emily wished for the My Little Pony wedding castle and some art and craft stuff. Santa did not disappoint. Not only did he fill their stockings to the brim, he even brought them some extra presents!

 

Emily was particularly pleased to see Santa had eaten the biscuits and the reindeer had nibbled on the carrots and reindeer food.

They were really really spoilt this year! As much fun as it was for them to open all their presents, it was much more fun for us to see their happy faces and hear their excited voices. A magical morning indeed.
Linking here

A fave a day #9

 

Original image here

 

 Welcome to my "A fave a day" series! You can read what this series is about here, and please do join in, leave me a comment with your favourites and share your amazing finds.   Tuesday is outfits day. So, Christmas jumpers, you either love them or hate them and this year it seems very hard to get away from them...they are literally everywhere. I haven't jumped on the bandwagon yet but this one might make me change my mind.

found here I like the face that it's quite subtle and still festive enough, yet it doesn't scream at me like some of them do. Not everyone wants to look like an over the top elf right!  Also, that reindeer is so cute! How do you feel about Christmas jumpers?

Get excited for Christmas

 

    Every year when December arrives it's a mad rush to get things sorted for Christmas. Every year when December arrives I promise myself that I will be more prepared the following year. Every year when December arrives that hasn't happened. Until now. I have decided to do a weekly series on how I get ready in time for Christmas. I'm hoping this will not only encourage myself to get my bootie in gear but also others, aiming to have a more organised Christmas.   Read part 1 here Read part 2 here   10 weeks to go (Oct 16 - Oct 22)   With only 10 weeks to go it's time to start getting ideas for you Christmas menu, drinks and snacks you might want to serve. We usually have special little treats in the house all through December, you never know who might pop in unannounced and it's always nice to have goodies handy. Pinterest is a real treasure trove for finding delicious Christmas snacks. Do read the recipes as you pin as you might come across ingredients you have to order in. Here are some of my favourite finds. I'm not making these just yet, but when the time comes I'll know exactly where to find them. All these recipes are pretty straight forward so ideal for when the kids want to help out.  

Refrigerator cookie recipe What could be easier! Make these ahead of time, pop in your fridge or freezer and save time when visitors arrive.  

Triple Christmas fudge Now this one I'm extremely excited about, I looooove fudge and it's something that keeps for a couple of days so ideal.  

Nutter Butter Snowmen I made these last year and they were delicious. I had to order the nutter butter biscuits of Ebay as they don't sell them here in the UK, so plan ahead if you intend on making these.  

 Oreo truffles These are my very own Oreo truffles, I made them last year and they were a big hit! I will post the recipe for these later this week.     Another thing to do this week is keep an eye out for more stocking fillers. Pick up little games, toiletries or sweets you might want to add. It's always a good idea to check how full the stocking is getting so you know exactly how much more to buy.   Please join me again next week.

Get excited for Christmas

    Every year when December arrives it's a mad rush to get things sorted for Christmas. Every year when December arrives I promise myself that I will be more prepared the following year. Every year when December arrives that hasn't happened. Until now. I have decided to do a weekly series on how I get ready in time for Christmas. I'm hoping this will not only encourage myself to get my bootie in gear but also others, aiming to have a more organised Christmas.   Read part 1 here   11 weeks to go (October 9th -15) By now you should have a good idea whom you need to buy presents for so it's the perfect time to set a precise budget and maybe start putting some money aside for this.   Have a look at your calendar and check if you will need to buy extra presents for birthdays, if so budget them in too. It's Dylan's birthday in December so we will definitely have to keep that in mind, along with planning him a birthday party.   If you are making homemade gifts or cards start getting supplies now. I love those jars filled with cookie ingredients that seem to be all over Pinterest these days, they make perfect presents for teachers or neighbours. Last year I left it until the last minute and couldn't find suitable jars. Won't happen again!   Keep a calendar handy at all times to circle in any Christmas party invites you get.   Start looking for nice cards and wrapping paper.   Buy some more stocking fillers. Last week I picked up chocolates, this week I will pick up some bath  fizzers and small bath toys.
  Planning on going to a Christmas market in Germany or France? Start looking into it and possibly make a booking. www.germany-christmas-market.org.uk is a good website for info on this.     Halloween wise it's time to stock up on sweets, check decorations, plan costumes and decide if you are throwing a Halloween party or not. If so send out invites and start browsing for exciting snacks and drinks to serve. There are some amazing ideas to be found on Pinterest.   Remember remember the 5th of November...Bonfire night! Most shops have started selling fireworks so have a look around.  

Get excited for Christmas

  Every year when December arrives its a mad rush to get things sorted for Christmas. Every year when December arrives I promise myself that I will be more prepared the following year. Every year when December arrives that hasn't happened. Until now. I have decided to do a weekly series on how I get ready in time for Christmas. I'm hoping this will not only encourage myself to get my bootie in gear but also others, aiming to have a more organised Christmas.   12 weeks to go ( October 2nd - October 8th)   Send out emails to family members asking what their plans are for Christmas. Once you know it will be a lot easier to make a plans.  If you are planning on having a Christmas meal at your house, now might be the time to let guests know.   Start a presents list. Write down everyone you are buying a gift for and if you already know what you are getting them write that down too. It will make it easier to set a budget that way. My kids are forever browsing gift catalogues crossing off what they want, which makes it easy as I immediately know prices too.   Find out if family members or friends are doing a secret Santa gift exchange. If so, start organising who is in on this.  Elfster is a good website to use for this. http://www.elfster.com/   If you are planning on going out for a Christmas meal ( whether it's with family, friends or work related) now might be the time to make restaurant bookings.   Write down a quick list of who you are sending Christmas cards to this year. This will make it easier when the time comes to buy the cards.   Make travel arrangements if you are planning to go away for Christmas.   Start thinking about what you are putting in the kids stockings and pick something up for them this week, I always start with buying some chocolates.  

Santa's list template found here Completely unrelated to Christmas but something I am preparing for as well this week is Halloween. Every year we go on a costume hunt for the kids just days before, often resulting in them not really getting the costume they wanted. This week I will be finding out what or who my kids want to dress up as. Most supermarkets sell some really nice Halloween outfits and it's better to get them early, while they still have them. If not Ebay is a great source and getting these now allows for them to get here in time.   Join me next week for part 2

Christmas in Belgium

We spend our Christmas with family in Belgium. We hadn't been back in a while and it was so nice to see everyone again and catch up with family and friends. I really miss them. The kids were very excited of course. One worry though.... would Santa know we were at grandad's house in Belgium?   Christmas eve is traditionally the night presents get given out in Belgium, so we gave the kid presents from us and the family. Some of the things they got were Playmobil, painting by numbers, Barbie, Lego and a remote control helicopter.  They LOVED all their new toys.  

  After presents the kids went up to bed...but not before tracking Santa to see how close he was to delivering their goodies of course. They were so excited!   Christmas day we were woken up early by their excited voices and they quickly ran down to see if Santa had filled their stockings and brought them their most wished for toy...a Furby.  

  I guess Santa decided they were in the good book and their new Furbies were delivered. Lucky kids!   I loved their faces as they were emptying their stockings and discovering all their surprises. Dylan's stocking included some Moshi Monster top trump cards, a new movie, pyjama's and some cases for his Wii remotes. Emily got some Sylvanian families, bracelets, hair clips, bath bubbles, lip gloss and some Hello kitty body spray and lotion. It was all very cute.  

 

 

 

 

  They are at such a magical age right now...wish they could stay like that forever.  

Merry Christmas

We celebrated Christmas at Simon's mums house this year.
The kiddies were very excited, as you can imagine...but a bit worried. They hoped Santa would find his way to nana's house.

They put up their stockings before bedtime, and a plate with a mince pie, apple and a glass of milk for Santa and Rudolph.

I was put in charge of making the Christmas cake, instructions were a bit confusing! It turned out lovely though.

As you can see Santa did find his way, they were so excited! Notice the dark outside...it was SO EARLY, that's what Christmas does to kids...no kid sleeps in on that day!

Happily unwrapping.They were very pleased with what Santa brought.

More present unwrapping when their aunties and uncles arrived, they are so lucky!

The Spratleys at Christmas. I love how it looks like Lilly's got antlers....so cute.

Emily playing with her new toys, Dylan engrossed in his new game and me doing my motherly duties of getting toys out of boxes. Seriously, they really know how to tie toys to the boxes these days, it takes forever to get them out.

Merry Christmas! Hope yours was as much fun as ours!

First Christmas cards

Today Emily wrote her first ever Christmas cards.

I loved watching her and see the concentration on her face when she was trying to spell her friends names. (all while being a sick little pumpkin so don't mind the tissue)

She formed the letters perfect and I didn't even have to show her how to spell "to", she did it all by herself.

She was so proud of herself and so was I.

Some lucky friends she has!

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree

Last Sunday we decided to put up our Christmas tree, something Emily was VERY excited about.

She proved to be a fantastic little helper and carefully hung all her favorite ornaments.

Dylan on the other hand was far too busy. Who wants to decorate a tree when you can play with Lego anyway! Boys...

Every year the kiddies get a special new ornament. Dylan got a festive hedgehog, which he loved and immediately found a good place for...and that was his ONLY contribution to the tree.

Emily's special ornament this year was a cute robin, needless to say she loved it.

Normally we have a star at the top of our tree but this year Emily made an angel in Rainbows and she asked so nicely if it could go on the top that we just couldn't resist.

Awww look how pretty your angel looks...

Tadaa, the finished product, I think we did a great job!