Beating the January Blues

I’ve heard people talk about the January blues before but I’ve never had it myself. That is until this year. Personally I don’t do New Years Resolutions but I do see a new year as a fresh start. Wiping the slate clean so to speak. But this year I just feel deflated.

I had an extended break over Christmas as Lee was off work, the kids were home and I just needed a rest after the hectic excitement of the run up to Christmas. It was so lovely to spend time with everyone home all together, but to be honest I think that break, alongside the horrendous weather and seemingly endless darkness is what broke me!

For over two weeks, I barely switched on my phone or opened a web browser other than to dive headlong into the vacuum that is facebook or to watch some TV shows. I knew the latter was a really bad idea as soon as I had watched the entire first season of Medium in just a couple of days.

The only TV we can watch here is through the internet. I rarely watch television shows apart from some on BBC iplayer like QI or Doctor Who. But I know too well that starting to watch something, especially when there are eight complete seasons right there in front of me, is going to suck the life, and my brain power, right out of me, I’m like an addict. And yet I still started!

Once everyone went back to school and work I tried to get back into my normal routines but I have been in a complete funk. I’ve had no desire to do anything other than watch TV in my spare time, all my creativity seems to have dried up and I’m filled with this overwhelming feeling of being unfulfilled, like I am in limbo while the world is rushing past at break neck speed.

Now I just feel blue.

The recent change in the weather has been nice, we have had some positively lovely days, which has really helped. I’m much happier to wrap up against the biting cold than I am to getting windswept and soaking wet every time I step out the door. We have also had snow forecast over the next few days. We all love geting out and playing on sledges, building snowmen and going for walks. I’m really hoping this is what I need to help blow away the cobwebs and finally get my braincells kick started again. If not I’m going to have to give myself a swift kick up the backside.

And I promise not to start any new TV series’ once I’ve finished the ones I watching!

Photo Credit: Gemma Price

How has your January been so far? I hope you haven’t had the January blues too!

Christmas Gifts for Women

The last of my Christmas gift guides for 2015 is for women. These presents are much more exciting than the go to wine and chocolates and are all things that I would love to receive this Christmas morning (hint hint Lee!).

If you are still looking for the rest of the family please check out my other gift guides for men, teenagers, older children and not forgetting little ones.

Personalised Family Recipe Print
I just adore these personalised prints that are created by the lovely Caro from The Twinkle Diaries. You give her all the tiny bits of information that are personal to your family and choose from the 32 different colour options. You get sent a digital proof so you can check it over and within 3 weeks you will receive your beautiful print.

Elephant Hot Water Bottle
What woman doesn’t like cuddly toys or hot water bottles? You can be sure that this cute little elephant will be gratefully received on Christmas morning, the fact that it can also be warmed up in the microwave to keep you warm is just an added bonus for the cold winter evenings.

Her Royal Highness Gift Box
Okay, this is a silly one, but every woman would love to be treated like royalty for a day. This gift box contains a royal highness mug and some crown jewels(gummy rings). There is also an inflatable crown, just so no one forgets there is a queen in the house!

Beauty-Licious Gift Basket
Full to the brim with pampering treats, smellies and various bath and body care products, as well as plenty of chocolates and marshmallows to indulge on. Just add a long hot bath and your favourite tipple for a truly indulgent evening.

Calligraphy Craft Kit
Ever fancied learning calligraphy? This kit contains everything you need to learn. There are tags, cards and bookmarks to practice on, four different coloured inks, the pen and a paintbrush to help bring your creations to life.

Jord wood watch
Chunky watches and jewellery are the in thing at the moment and this Sully watch in red sandalwood & maple (affiliate link) could easily be mistaken for a pretty bracelet rather than a timepiece. There are a lot of models and colours to choose from, you could even get ‘his n hers‘ matching watches as joint Christmas gifts.

I’ve partnered with JORD to giveaway a limited quantity of e-gift cards worth $25 each! If you’ve had your eye on one of these lovely wood watches, entering is easy; simply click the link below – it will ask you for your email and your favourite JORD watch once you hit enter, your code will be emailed directly to you!

I hope you all have a great Christmas and new year with family and loved ones.

***Disclaimer: I was sent the Jord wooden watch to add to this gift guide but all thoughts and opinions are honest and my own***

Christmas gifts for Men

At the start of the month I gave you my top tips on buying gifts for the little kids, big kids and teenagers. These next two posts will give you plenty of ideas for the grown ups in your life.

Wood watch from Jord *affiliate link*
Some people may see a watch as an unnecessary item nowadays, after all owning a mobile phone means you will always have something on you that can tell the time, right? Well not necessarily! For starters phones run out of batteries, a lot, there are also plenty of occasions and places where you can’t use a mobile phone at all. A wood watch from Jord takes owning a watch to a whole other level, they are highly decorative and even though they are chunky they are very light. This Delmar in dark sandalwood & blue cobalt is a very stylish watch that any man would love to find under the Christmas tree.

Immerse Virtual Reality Goggles
Compatible with most smart phones up to 5.7″, these goggles immerse you fully into the world of virtual reality. You can watch 3D movies and also take advantage of many of the interactive virtual reality apps and games that you can download. To get the full experience plug in a set of headphones to be completely immersed in the virtual reality experience.

Haynes Zombie Survival Manual
Haynes manuals have come a long way since they were first published back in the 60’s. This zombie survival manual is full of diagrams, step by step instructions and techniques for everything you will need to know from preparing your home, zombiology and moving safely around a zombie invested area. This manual is a must for any walking dead or zombie fan or anyone who believes that a zombie apocalypse is just around the corner!

Black Waxy Leather tab Wallet
Every man needs a good wallet and this smart one from the designer Jasper Conran is bound to be gratefully received on Christmas Morning. It is fashionable yet functional with plenty of space for cards and also features a coin pocket and a fold out ID wondow.

Sudokube
A puzzle is always on my list for a small stocking filler type gift. Lee loves Rubik’s cubes and sudoku so this Sudokube brings the two together nicely, making one very addictive challenge that will bring hours of fun. I’m pretty sure everyone else in the house will be trying to have a turn too.

Chill Out Gift Box

Christmas is a time when most people get a few days off work and get to sit back and relax for a few days. This thoughtful hamper contains everything a man will need to chill out of an evening from beers to savoury snacks, cheese and sweets. Hopefully he will even let you share!

So there you have it six fantastic gifts for men that I have found online. Come back tomorrow for a selection of gifts any woman would love!

***Disclaimer: I was offered the Jord wood watch to add to this gift guide, all thoughts are honest and my own. If you choose to click through the link and make a purchase I will get a small commission.***

Christmas Gifts for Older Children

The third of my Christmas gift guides is for the older children your family. This age can be difficult to buy for, especially if you are trying to find something that isn’t merchandise for the latest big film or video game release. But there are plenty of great products out there that will keep any older child occupied for hours.

For more inspiration please check out my gift guides for teenagers and younger children.

Moochies for Kids
If your anything like me, you will worry about where your child is whenever they leave your house. LV is of the age now where he disappears off on his bike or scooter and often looses track of time and rarely has his phone on him. The Moochies watch solves this problem bynot only being a phone, your child can phone two preset numbers and can be contacted by ten. But it also has a gps tracker so as a parent you can see exactly where they are and even get contacted if they go outside of the predetermined ‘safe zone’. There are four designs so there is something that will suit every one.

4×4 Salt Water Engine Car Kit
Construction kits are always high on the list when I’m looking for Christmas presents. This impressive looking car needs to be put together before adding a few drops of salt water to get the wheels turning. This is a simple and fun way to encourage engineering skills and also teach children about clean, alternative energy.

Kano Computer and Coding Kit
I wish I had found this kit before Santa had finished buying everything on a certain young lad’s Christmas list. This kit comes with everything you need to build a computer (apart from the screen) and even start to learn coding, a vital skill for any child growing up in this day and age. Kids love computers and playing games so getting to build their own games is a real winner in my eyes and to them it will seem like nothing but fun, which is brilliant!

Dining Table Ping Pong Set
Even the least sporty child will find it hard not to enjoy a game of ping pong. I myself can’t hit the ball for toffees due to a major lack of hand eye coordination, yet I still enjoy trying. Unfortunately a table tennis table is huge and completely impractical to have in a normal sized house, but this dining table set has everything you need to enjoy a game of ping pong, from the net right down to the wrist bands, and it all packs away into a sturdy red tin. This will be a real winner while the grown ups are snoozing off their turkey dinner.

Santa and Friends Paint your own Mug
What is Christmas day, without a Christmas craft to wile away some time while dinner is cooking? This mug set comes preprinted with a festive image and your child uses the special paints provided to jazz it up. You can bring it back out year after year as their very own special Christmas Mug.

The Art of Children’s conversation Game
This is a great little game, which helps develop communication skills simply by getting kids talking. Packaged in a small box it’s handy to keep in the car and hand luggage if you are travelling. It consists of a pack of cards, each printed with various questions and conversation starters aimed at getting kids to think about their answers. All mine join in when we play, although a game often takes hours because the kids keep expanding on the original question. O, who granted is a little young for the game only ever answers by putting his finger to his chin and saying ‘Ummmmm. Two!’ which is hilarious.

I’m sure you can agree that all these would be great gifts for your children who are too old for kids toys, yet not quite at the teenage stage yet!

Disclaimer: I was sent a few items on this list to review, these were items I requested and thought would be great gifts.

Christmas Gifts for Younger Children

Another day closer to Christmas another gift guide, this time with gifts for younger children, aged from toddler up to about five. This has to be one of the easiest ages to buy for, as long as the only thing on their Christmas list isn’t this years ‘in toy’ that can’t be found for love nor money after September 31st!

You can really let your imagination run wild for the little ones, and even get them some of the more practical objects that they ‘need’ because they will likely be ripping through all the wrapping paper without really looking what’s inside anyway!

Gro Clock
Sometimes (most of the time) kids wake up at silly o’clock in the morning and expect it to be play time. There is only so often that you can put them back to bed before giving up, only to find you are awake before the kids TV channels have even started! This lovely clock, which also doubles as a night light, counts down stars through the night so children know its time to be in bed, until the screen changes showing a sun. The accompanying story book helps children to understand what you mean by ‘stay in bed until you see the sun’ and hopefully everyone will be getting much better nights sleep!

Giant Magnifying Glass
Little kids love exploring the world around them so why not let them look that little bit closer with one of these colourful little magnifying glasses? The chunky plastic handles make it an ideal christmas gift for small children and the flip out stand makes it hands free.

Colour in Cardboard Racing Reindeer
This colour in Reindeer would be great fun on it’s own, but if you have more than one small child they can have a great time racing each other! They are a great way to fill in some time during the day as the kids can spend plnty of time colouring them in exactly how they want before popping them over their heads and galloping about the place.

Irish Fairy Door
In a world where kids live with their noses in a screen, it it lovely to see a product that is designed to keep magic alive in the world. These tiny, handcrafted little doors help fairies relocate to your house, school, garden or anywhere, but always have a way to go back to fairyland. They are very well made and are great by themselves, with their three tint stepping stones, but the website also has plenty of products you can buy to help you fairy really settle in well!

Personalised Bean Bag
These bean bags come in a variety of colours and characters so you can choose your child’s favourite animal or colour and have their name added right across the front! These are quite firm bean bags which come in three sizes, so not only are they ideal to perch on to watch a favourite film but they are great to lean against or even used as a footstool. The covers are also machine washable which is very useful when it comes to small children and fabric.

Wooden Kitchen
Kids just love role playing and having a small kitchen for them to cook up a storm really is a great way to encourage this type of imaginative play. Throw in some tiny pots and pans and a basket of plastic food and you will be the best fed parent in town!

So there you have it, six fantastic Christmas gifts for younger children, without a certain pink pig or little blue train in sight!

Disclaimer, I was given some of these items to review, but they were products I chose to review and thought good enough to add them into this gift guide.

Christmas Gifts for Teenagers

No matter how old they are, writing letters to Santa is a big thing for my kids and really gets them started on the Christmas chatter. I start telling them in about September to think about what they want but am always reminding then come November that they actually need to write it down or Santa will have no hope of getting them what they want!

Over the next few days I will be sharing with you some fantastic gifts covering all ages, but today I want to share with you my top Christmas gifts for teenagers. They really are the hardest age to buy for and their gift piles are usually minuscule compared to their younger siblings, even thought they often cost the earth! Here are some of my favourite gifts for teens that I have seen this year (note to my daughters: You might want to stop reading now so you get some surprises!)

HyperX Cloud II Headset
Most modern video games are now designed to be played online and Skype seems to be the only method of communicating with friends after school (who needs a house phone any more?) which means today’s teens need a really good quality headset with microphone. The Cloud 2 delivers premium quality audio whilst also being designed for comfort, they will be worn a LOT after all so you don’t want their ears being squished!

Smartphone Projector
You will never find a teenager far from their phone, at least willingly, so I’m afraid this gift guide is a bit heavy on the phone related objects, but at least they are items they will actually use. I love this projector, its such a simple way for teenagers to share their images and videos with a group of friends without them all having to cram around a 4″ screen!

Stationery
My girls love stationery but quite often notepads are very girly, which they are not fans of, plus I expect it is quite difficult to get funky notepads that will be suitable for the boys to take to school. Two Little Boys have completely thrown the ‘stationery is for girls’ thing out the window and have plenty of fun ranges that will suit any teenager, actually they would suit anyone (I want one of every range) My current favourites are the ‘How to…For the Inept’ range which have very (un)helpful instructions for things such as surviving a zombie apocolypse.

Standeazy Phone and Tablet Stands
These handy little stands are the perfect gifts for teenagers who use their phones for everything and are so small they can ft right in a pocket. The ability to stand the phone up will mean they are able to watch or read the screen without having to hold the phone, leaving them hands free to do other things. Like homework (or is that just wishful thinking on my part?)

olloclip Macro Pro Lens
I am always trying to sneak fun yet slightly educational items into the gift piles at Christmas. This lens set is so cool that it can barely be classed as anything other than just great fun. The Olloclip turns a normal iphone camera into a digital microscope or loupe (I had to google this one; a loupe is a small magnifying glass used by jewelers or watchmakers). The 7x, 14x and 21x macro lenses lets you see very detailed closeups, nearly 100 times more magnification when combined with the iphone’s digital zoom.

Gear4 Espresso Bluetooth Speaker
My girls love their music, as do the majority of teenagers. These colourful little speakers mean that they can share the music from their phones with each other wherever they are. The handle of the espresso cup is also a carabiner clip so it can be clipped to clothing or bags without any worry of losing it. Don’t be put off by the size either, the sound level is suprisingly loud considering how small it is!

So there you have it, 6 fantastic gifts for teenagers that they would actually use and love to have, actually I might add some to my own letter to Santa, I hope it’s not too late!

Disclaimer, I was provided with some of the items in this list to review, these were items I chose myself and wanted to add to my gift guide.

Welcoming in 2015, but there’s no new year resolutions from me!

So here we are, it’s January 1st 2015. Personally I’m welcoming in the new year and hoping with all my might that, if nothing else, it will be a much healthier year for our household than 2014 was. Seriously, I can’t cope with anyone else being ill. I have had three SOLID months of colds, diarrhoea, fevers, vomiting, swollen glands, eye infections, sore throats, ear infections, the list goes on… and on… and on!

A Very Merry (Poorly) Christmas

I hope you have all had a great time over Christmas and aren’t suffering too much from a post turkey & booze overindulgence hangover?

We have had a quiet few days here ourselves. With the littlest member of our brood feeling none too hot. Well, actually I tell a lie, he’s been feeling much too hot for the majority of the last week! Apart from his raging temperature which has caused him to be almost delirious at times, he’s had no appetite, been full of snot, coughing his guts up and generally been a very poorly little boy. But for the sake of the other children we tried not to let that put a dampener on our festivities!

Stained Glass Window Gingerbread Recipe

I have tried at least 6 different gingerbread recipes so far this month and haven’t been impressed with any of them for various different reasons (sorry Mary Berry!) So I gave in and devised this recipe which I hope you all love as much as I do! These stained glass window gingerbread are simple to make, the dough is easy to work with and VERY forgiving if things go a little awry, as they tend to do with kids baking, or sleep deprived mothers for that matter!

How forgiving you may ask? well put it this way, on Friday night I made two batches to make gingerbread men (minus windows) for our PTA’s breakfast with Santa. I got a little distracted with Lee coming in from work and managed to forget to put sugar in the first batch right until the end, but after plenty of kneading in what felt like sandpaper it all turned out lovely and smooth and the gingerbread men turned out great. The second batch I forgot to put the butter in!!!! (I blame the tiredness for that one!) I thought this one was a bin job but again I added it in right at the end and again after lots of extra kneading the gingerbread men all turned out perfectly! So yes, VERY forgiving!

Stained Glass Window Gingerbread

A Blogging Christmas Gift Swap

A few weeks ago myself and a group of bloggy friends got together and decided to do a Christmas gift swap. A bit of a Secret Santa. Well, I say secret, we actually knew who each other had, but until today none of us have known what anyone else sent to each other. This is actually the first real Secret Santa I have ever been a part of (besides a little one we did with the kids last year) so I was completely flummoxed trying to decide what to buy, while staying in the £5 limit.