Glitter Free Reindeer Food: helping the environment this Christmas.

Did you know that glitter is made of a microplastic? That means that as with other plastic it is harmful for the environment. The glitter from ‘magic reindeer food’ can end up in water such as ponds and rivers causing damage to the eco system, eaten by birds etc. This year I have tried to…

19 Must Watch Family Christmas Films.

Christmas movies are part of most families festival traditions. My family included. Every year ‘Father Christmas’ leaves a movie for us to watch, along with some snacks for Christmas Eve. But we also spend the weeks leading up to Christmas watching both our favourites and trying out some new films. Here’s my 10 films that…

The family games we’ll be playing this Christmas…

It’s getting close to Christmas Day. The food is sorted, presents are wrapped and I’m now planning Christmas Day itself. Well, I say ‘planning’, really Christmas Day is spent lounging around and eating lots of food. But this year they’ll be 7 adults and 3 children to keep happy. So, I’ve planned some fun games…

Days Out: Blackthorpe Barn Christmas Visit (Santa’s Grotto, Suffolk)

Today we went on a family trip to Blackthorpe Barn in Suffolk. We have been every year since J, our eldest was a baby. Our tradition is to have a treat in the cafe and then choose a new decoration for tree. We’ve never attempted Santa’s Grotto before as it books up very fast. This…

Christmas: 20 Elf on the Shelf Ideas

Elf on the Shelf…it started as Santa’s little spy who sat on a shelf to keep an eye on children and report to Santa. But it soon morphed into a playful, naughty and sometimes kind elf. Elves have also been given important spokesperson jobs such as Alfie the Elf who posts on Facebook about life…

Gingerbread Biscuits: Baking with an autistic child.

Baking can be a marmite activity. Some children love the mess, the fun of creating and seeing your creations when baked. For others it can cause panic at the mess, the uncertainty of what happens next and upset at the fact it’s not instantaneous. J falls into the category of ‘thumbs down’ for baking. He…

Alex Morleys ‘Christmas Spectacular’ at Stonham Barns…a festive family show (review)

We were fortunate enough to be invited to see Alex Morley Productions ‘Christmas Spectacular’ at Stonham Barns, Suffolk to provide a review of the performance. We have seen a previous show by Alex earlier in the year so was excited to be going back. This time the show was in the newly completed theatre. It’s…

Elvis the Elf and the Autism: the start of our countdown to Christmas.

Happy 1st December…in our household Christmas can begin. We have our Advent Calendar Reindeer and of course, our Elf. I remember last Christmas J was not impressed but it all. He didn’t like the change in routine or the change in how the house looked. It took us three weeks to put the decorations up…

Living Arrows Week 1/52: The Wobbelboard and Autism

HI, welcome to 2018. I have already written 2017 and had to edit posts many times but its only the 3rd day so I’ll let myself off. I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas and New Years. It was really full on for us as we spent time with my side of the family and…

What I learnt from our first Christmas with Autism…

I hope everyone has survived the holidays with some sense of sanity in tact. This year J was 3 so it’s the first Christmas he’s really started to understand. It is also the first Christmas since J getting his Autism diagnosis. Last year J was only interested in playing on his own with a train…

My child is not ‘naughty’ and even if he is then Santa will still bring him presents…

I have seen so many memes and jokes about the supposed ‘if you’re naughty you won’t get any presents’ threat. But let’s face it, nobody means it. I don’t know a single parent who has actually cancelled Christmas. Frankly it unrealistic to expect a child to behave 100% of the time for a whole month…

Our Christmas visit to the cathedral & making memories with Lego.

J hasn’t quite found his Christmas spirit yet. This is the first year he’s been old enough to really be aware of what it really is. He’s struggled with the changes such as decorations. It’s take most of December to be able to cope with two sets of lights and some decorations hung on the…