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…

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…

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…

Autism: Surviving a visit to Santa

Today was a day that I’ll remember for the rest of my life. We went to see Father Christmas…something I didn’t think would happen. The last time J saw Santa was when he was 1, and he cried his eyes out. When he was 2 he wouldn’t go anywhere near a grotto, when he was…

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…

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…

Elvis the Elf: Day 1-the introduction

Happy 1st December everyone,  Today is National Elf on a Shelf Day…well maybe not officially a national day but if you’ve been on social media it is pretty much everywhere. I love Elf on a Shelf but probably not in the way a lot of others do it. For us it’s not a bargaining chip…

Surviving The Christmas Fayre 🎄

Today we went to see Grandma and have a look around the Christmas Fayre. I always love this day as it’s the start of the Christmassy feelings. The music, colours, lights and food are enough to get me feeling like a little girl again.  It’s a BIG fayre and takes over pretty much the whole…