An Alternative Advent Calendar

 

An Alternative Advent Calendar - A Moment of Calm This Christmas

This December, join my friend and fellow coach Beth Wright, for an alternative advent calendar - A Moment of Calm This Christmas.

Each day, Mon thru Friday, we'll be sharing 10 minutes of thoughts and activities on the themes of intentional or mindful living, simplicity and slow living in our pop-up Facebook group. (It's free to join in).

At the weekends we will be sharing a (simple) challenge.

Christmas is such a magical time, but it can also end up being busy, stressful and the enjoyment taken out of it because we are run ragged and exhausted by Christmas Day! So, we wanted to bring you a Moment of Calm this year so you can fully enjoy and be present with loved ones.

We're looking forward to creating a peaceful space for you all. 

Sarah x

Christmas Shopping at Buchanan Galleries, Glasgow

This evening after I had finished work, I popped along to Buchanan Galleries to do a spot of Christmas shopping. I was on the hunt for some 'stocking fillers' or small gifts for children and of course with the huge selection of shops at Buchanan Galleries I knew it wouldn't take me long to get everything I needed! I managed to get parked on the street near the shopping centre, and with it being after 6pm I didn't need to pay for parking - an added bonus! I had also expected the shops to be super busy, but it was quiet and I managed to whizz round in an hour without any hassle.

I must admit that I've done the majority of my Christmas shopping online, but there is something to be said about going in person and being able to see and touch everything.

I started off in Lakeland where I bought a few bits and pieces for my children who absolutely love to bake and make sweet treats!

I chose some rainbow cupcake cases (£5.97 for 144), a smiley face chocolate lollipop mould (£4.28) and some lollipop sticks (£1.98 for 50). I also couldn't resist the Doughnut Making Kit (£11.99)...which is perhaps a little large for a stocking but I'm sure it could be squeezed in! We are huge fans of movie nights with 'special hot chocolate' (basically hot chocolate with squirty cream and marshmallows) and so I picked up a pack of three hot chocolate spoons (£4.98)... one for each of us!

Doughnut Making Kit

Next stop was The Entertainer. One item that I repurchase each Christmas is crayons or colouring pencils, so I picked up some Crayola metallic markers (£4) and a packet of Crayola twistable pencils (£3). We have been enjoying playing board games and cards, so I thought that a pack of Uno (£8) would be a nice gift that we could all use. I loved Uno as a child! Lastly from The Entertainer I chose two packets of Shopkins (£2.50 each) - who can resist the cute little Shopkins faces!!

Metallic markers

My daughter is still loving Frozen, so I had to get something along those lines for her Christmas. I found a tin of Frozen characters in Boots... a mini Elsa, Anna and Olaf for £15 in a reusable tin. This is rather pricey for what it is, but with the Boots 3 for 2 offer I decided to make the purchase anyway. Also in Boots I chose a pack of 6 mini lip glosses (£6) and a My Little Pony Rainbow Dash toy (£5).

Mini Lip Glosses

My final stop was John Lewis. I love John Lewis - just putting that out there!!

I picked up two packs sparkly hair bobbles (£4.50 for 3 bobbles), some animal nail art stickers (£3.50), two felt Santa letters filled with chocolate balls (£5 each), a fries and burger rubber and sharpener set (£6), a pack of 24 gel mini pens (£12), a pack of socks each (£6 for girls, £7 for boys) and the most adorable pair of slippers (£12).

John Lewis Kitten Slippers

One of my favourite items from all of the shops is the Customisable Cookie Stamp from John Lewis (£10). You can make your own messages on a biscuit stamper. I think this is such a cute gift for a family or even a friend who loves to bake. My son's reading is improving loads, and I know that he'll be excited to see his name on the biscuits he makes with me!

Customisable Cookie Stamp

I received a Buchanan Galleries gift card in exchange for this post. As always, opinions are honest and are my own.

ToyTester TV

We were invited to Hamleys, St Enoch Centre as part of ToyTesters.tv. The kids were super excited, as was I! We were greeted by Nigel Clarke, top Toy Tester and children's TV presenter, and his crew who had been busy all day doing demonstrations in-store. 

There were loads of toys for us to try and my son was immediately engrossed by the Real FX car racing. The slot-less track, which you can see in the photo below, is really quick to put together and I was amazed at the capabilities. Advanced artificial intelligence helps keeps the cars on the track and there is in-game commentary that tells you to take pit stops. If you're on your own, you can also race against the second car which will manoeuvre the track by itself. It's genius! At just under £100 I think this is great value for money and will give hours and hours of play, even for the big kids!

The littlest, who loves to craft, was keen to try the 3D drawing pens, IDO3D. I personally thought these were a bit fiddly and it's certainly something that little ones would need assistance with. You need to draw onto greaseproof paper and then cure the gel with a UV light. With a bit of patience though, it looks like you can create some really impressive artwork.

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The other toys that we loved were the interactive Thunderbirds Tracy Island which had been set up with the Thunderbirds ships and the Power Ranger Dino Charge.

The new Tracy Island is very interactive - lots of sounds and flashing lights. The sounds are from the original series too! This is on Hamley's Top Ten Toys for Christmas 2015 (yes, I've mentioned the C-word and it's only August!). My two loved this playset despite not having seen the revamped Thunderbirds TV series.

There's a new series of Power Rangers called Dino Charge - which I hadn't previously heard of - but the kids seemed to enjoy the concept of combining the dinosaurs to create a Megazord. My son was drawn in by the Dino Charge Deluxe Morpher - you insert a Dino Charger cartridge, spin the barrel to charge it up and then pull the trigger to hear battle sounds and various phrases about morphing into Power Rangers. We were given the morpher away with us, and my son has been playing with this since but my daughter isn't as keen. Whereas we were also given a Thunderbird 2 to take home (we're very lucky!) and both of them have been playing with this lots - I can see why the Thunderbird playset is on the Hamley's Christmas List for this year.

The final toys that we tried were the Teksta Scorpion and Little Live Pet Mice. The Teksta Scorpion is basically a robot scorpion that you control from a wristband, which to be honest was a little creepy as it made it's way across the floor towards me. I much preferred the cute little electronic mice which raced round a track. 

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Not all the toys are available yet, but they will be soon at Hamleys, St Enoch Centre.

Do you fancy being a Toy Tester? You can apply here!

Disclaimer: We were given a selection of toys to take home with us, but as always opinions are honest and are our own.

Merry Christmas from Us

Wishing all of my readers a Merry Christmas. Hope you all have a lovely Christmas Day tomorrow.

This year I have the kiddies for Christmas Eve and then tomorrow we will be going to my dad & Jo's house for Christmas dinner. This is the first Christmas dinner that I will have spent with the kids since the separation as they were with their dad's side of the family for their sit down meal the past two years. I'm very much looking forward to it.

In the meantime I have a carrot cake to bake as the little ones want to put out nine slices of carrot cake for Santa's reindeer, and a mince pie for Santa himself!

Lots of festive cheer,

Sarah x

Interiors - My Living Room Tour

It's now been over a year since I moved into my new house and things are finally starting to come together. The living room is pretty much finished, for now at least, and I thought I would film a quick vlog whilst it's looking lovely and festive!

My original plan was for the room to be Scottish themed, and I had wanted some tartan curtains to complete the look. However, it's too expensive to get new ones so the room isn't exactly how I had envisaged but I still love it.



Do let me know what you think :-)

My Christmas Wishlist

I thought I'd share with you my Christmas wishlist, as it may inspire some of you that are still searching for the perfect present for someone special. It may also help R if he happens to read this ;-) You can find the rest of my Christmas gift guides here. 11 days to go people!!

Sewing Machine

I had been using my MIL's sewing machine but her daughter needed it for a project so I had to return it, which leaves me without. I should have given it back ages ago, as it's not really my place to keep such things now that I'm not really a part of their family anymore. Anyway, I've got curtains still to take up in my son's room and a few other projects on my to-do-list. This berry coloured one from John Lewis caught my eye:

John Lewis JL110 Sewing Machine, £99

Loungewear

I have a batman onesie that I bought for myself last Christmas but it's getting tired looking now and I could be done with some nicer, more grown-up loungewear (I'm 33 in January!). I love Mint Velvet, and this Dark Grey all in one looks super cosy. Definitely one for the wishlist! The model in this photo is 5'10" so I'm not sure if it would be long enough for me as I'm just under 6'.

Mint Velvet Dark Grey All in One, £99

Jelly Belly

These sweeties are a must and feature each year in my stocking. My mum used to buy them for me and my sister, and we've carried on the tradition. Each Christmas Day you'll find us stuffing our faces with our favourite flavours. Toasted Marshmallow for Ali and Buttered Popcorn for me! You can buy a 1kg bag at John Lewis for £25!

Vlogging Camera

I've been really getting into filming vlogs for my YouTube channel, and up until now I've been using my iPhone 5 to capture the footage. The quality isn't brilliant and I keep running out of memory. However my lovely little sister is buying me a vlogging camera as my Christmas gift. Thank you very much Ali - I can't wait to try it out :-)

Cosy socks

What with my Raynaud's Disease, cosy socks are a must for me. I bought a few pairs from M&S last month but you can never have too many.

Cable Thermal Ankle Socks, £8 M&S

Thermal Underwear

And whilst at M&S, some thermal underwear would be well received. I'm always freezing! (I'm turning into an old granny!)

Thermal Long Sleeve Top, pack of two for £25 at M&S

Electric Blanket

On the topic of cold, my last item to warm me up is an electric blanket. Just to reinforce my granny status!! I actually remember going to stay at my gran's house when I was younger and she'd put on the electric blanket for me. I loved it and don't know why I haven't ever bought myself one.

This takes 5 minutes apparently to heat up your bed. Yaaas!! 

Dreamland Intelliheat Electric Fleece Mattress Cover from John Lewis, £64.99

Woollen Tunic

I've been struggling for outfits lately and have been living in my jeans. I quite fancy a cosy tunic that I can wear over leggings for the school run and days with the kids. But equally it would be good if it could be versatile and be dressed up a bit for going to work.

This Ribbed Roll Neck Tunic from The White Company looks perfect:

The White Company, in the sale just now for £94.50 (was £135)

Portable phone charger

I'm continually running out of charge on my mobile phone, so a portable charger would be the perfect stocking filler for me.

This one is £9.99 from Currys

Personal Planner

I quite fancied a FiloFax, but I've also discovered Personal Planners and they look ideal. Might buy this for myself as the cut off for Christmas delivery is today (14th Dec). You can choose the size, personalise the front cover and even personalise each page. Right up my street!

Under eye concealer

One under eye concealer that I've not tried is Bobbi Brown. I'm constantly trying to hide dark circles, and would love to find one of these under my Christmas tree.

Bobbi Brown Tinted Eye Brightener, £20

Hopefully I've given you a few more ideas if you're yet to finish your Christmas shopping.

I'm yet to get R's gift, so I'm not quite finished myself!

Martinis and Mistletoe

Every year around this time I like to have a Christmas drinks thing. Last year it was a festive afternoon tea and I had envisaged that this year I would have a grown-ups 'martinis and mistletoe' cocktail party. However I'm totally skint and don't really have an available child-free weekend night anyway due to my works Christmas lunch this weekend and a dinner with the girls in the diary too!

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That said, I thought I'd share with you my ideas because it might inspire you to have a wee festive get-together with friends.

To Drink - Bailey's Nog

(I realise this isn't a martini, but I thought this drink sounded nice!)

Ingredients

300mL full fat milk

300mL Baileys Irish Cream

4 egg yolks

150mL maple syrup

1tsp cinnamon powder

1tsp allspice powder

Freshly grated nutmeg, to garnish

Chocolate swizzlestick, to garnish

Method

In a blender (I was thinking that this would be good to make in the Breville Blend Active I have been sent to review!) combine the milk and a few scoops of ice and blend until smooth. In a separate bowl mix the egg yolks, cinnamon, allspice and maple syrup. Combine all the ingredients in the blender and blend again. Pour into a glass and dust with grated nutmeg. Garnish with a chocolate swizzlestick and serve.

This recipe is courtesy of World Duty Free. For more information on their products, please visit www.worlddutyfree.com

To Eat - Mince Pies

Ingredients

For the mincemeat:

110g sultanas

170g raisins

170g currants

170g grated bramley apples

110g suet

200g soft brown sugar

100g finely chopped mixed peel

65g blanched and chopped almonds

1/2 tbsp mixed spice

The zest and juice of 1 orange

Large splash of brandy

For the pastry:

170g plain flour

Pinch of salt

100g unsalted butter

1 tbsp caster sugar

1 small egg

1-2 tbsp cold water

Large splash of brandy

Method

For the best home-made mince pies, it's always worth making the mincemeat filling a month or so in advance so that it develops a good depth of flavour. Making it couldn't be easier: simply mix together all of your ingredients in a bowl. Store your mixture in a sealed, sterilised jar and it will keep for up to 12 months.

Now for the pastry. After preheating your oven to 200C/gas 6/fan 180C, start by rubbing together the butter and flour, mixing in the golden caster sugar and a pinch of salt. Roll this mixture into a ball and knead it briefly, before leaving to stand for 20 minutes.

Line a patty tin with walnut-sized balls of pastry and spoon in your mincemeat. Take slightly smaller balls of pastry and pat them out between your hands to make round lids, big enough to cover the pies. Top the pies with their lids, pressing the edges gently together to seal. Beat 1 small egg and brush the tops of the pies. Bake for 20 minutes until golden. Leave to cool in the tin for five minutes, then dust with icing sugar to serve.

This recipe is courtesy of Jamie Oliver's Fifteen, the charity partner of the White Stuff.

On the iPod

Michael Bublé Christmas CD

And after all that, if you can't be bothered organising the drinks and nibbles yourself, then I can highly recommend Social & Cocktail who will make your Christmas party sparkle! You can have a Bellini reception, 5 cocktails plus canapes for £32.50 per person (minimum booking of 10 people). Sounds good to me!

Give It Up For Christmas

With Kids is an organisation operating out of both Glasgow's East End and South West Edinburgh that aims to build self-esteem and resilience in children, whilst recognising the need for practical and emotional support for families. They achieve this this in a number of ways, for example individual play therapy, therapeutic group work or family groups and activities.

This Christmas, With Kids charity and Mantra (a Glasgow-based content agency) are asking you to Give it up for Christmas. By giving up a little extra spending and donating the money instead you can make a huge difference to families who may not be managing so well this festive season. It's not about giving something up for good, just foregoing a small treat and donating what you would have spent to those that need it more.

Every single penny that's donated to the With Kids JustGiving page goes to With Kids. You can also donate by texting GIUP995 to 70070 to donate £5, GIUP9910 for £10 etc.

How can your donations help?

£1 = a selection box
£5 = a hot meal
£15 = a present from Santa
£25 = a warm winter jacket

I normally spend lots of money on Christmas cards, and this is something I'll happily give up this year! I'm going to send cards to my immediate family and perhaps a few friends, but I won't be sending out the hundreds of cards that I used to do. Instead, I'll be making a donation to With Kids.

So tell me, what would you give up this Christmas?

Meeting Santa at St Enoch Centre

We were super excited to meet Santa yesterday at the St Enoch Centre. 

Due to the Santa Dash, which I didn't realise was taking place that morning, we had our own dash to get there on time as I couldn't get the car parked anywhere near! 

Running along Argyll Street along side heaps of Santas!!

We arrived at the Grotto just after 10am and there were already a few families waiting to see Santa Claus. He's a popular chap! 

Waiting in the queue. I'm wearing a festive jumper that Becky let me borrow a few years ago - I love it!

Eldest wearing his Santa shirt (Primark) and bow tie (also Primark).

Littlest was wearing her Elf pyjamas (Primark again!). She can hardly contain her excitement!!

Santa was so friendly (lots of Ho, Ho, Ho's!) and we didn't feel rushed at all. He chatted away with both my son & daughter, and we had a photograph taken too. The kids also got a present (dinosaur sticker book for my son & a box of animal puzzles for the littlest).

By the looks of things it's a busy little grotto & to avoid disappointment I'd highly recommend that you book a slot in advance, particularly if you are making a trip into town with the sole purpose of seeing Santa. You can book online here at the St Enoch Centre website, you'll also find the opening hours here too. A trip to see Santa and his elves starts at £4.50, which includes your gift.

The grotto is on the upper floor of the Centre and after our slot, we headed to BHS to pick up a few essential bits & pieces - new boxers & socks for the kids. We also chose a few Christmas presents for Rhubarb & Crumble, our kittens. I used to work in BHS when I was a teenager & remember the long shifts we used to pull to get all the Christmas stock out. The store always has lots of great gifts at this time of year. I particularly like this ceramic popcorn tub (but where would I store it in my teeny kitchen?!).

Afterwards we then sauntered along to Ed's Easy Diner for some brunch (also on the upper level).

The kids & I each had a plate of pancakes & they were yum! There wasn't a kids option for pancakes so we all had to have adult sized plates. The kids didn't manage to finish theirs, but this just meant I got an extra pancake! ;-)  

Think it was £4.95 for the three pancakes with one scoop ice cream and either maple syrup or chocolate sauce. The Fruit Shoot that the kids had was £1.

Overall we had a great morning at the St Enoch Centre. The highlight of course was meeting the big man himself...

Just wished the littlest had smiled :-/ Lol!

We received complimentary entry for two children at Santa's grotto including a photograph. As always, opinions are honest and are my own.

Getting Festive - Christmas Wreath

I used to have a Christmas wreath that went on my front door... note the tense here :( It was a gorgeous wreath from Marks & Spencer and unfortunately it got ruined in the horrendous weather that we experienced last December (some metal parts from the apex of the roof of my house came off in the wind too!).

I'm not going to make that mistake again! Instead, my thoughts were that I could have a wreath on an internal door!! 

Of course I went straight to Pinterest for some inspiration, and here's what I found:

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You can see that I'm drawn to metallics, natural textures, leaves and green foliage.

I'd love to make my own, but I literally do not have the time.

Instead, if I am going to have a wreath, it will be a shop bought one, and with that in mind - here are some of my favourites:

Pre-lit Green Foliage Christmas Wreath from M&S, £39.50

John Lewis Snowy Twig Wreath, £20

Birch Bark Christmas Wreath (comes in white, natural or neon!), £28 from Paper Posies

Metallic Berry Foliage Christmas Wreath from M&S, £25.00

Tesco Gold Ball Wreath, £25

Getting festive - Disney Store's Share the Magic

This week we were delighted to attend the Disney Store at the St Enoch Centre, Glasgow for the VIP launch of their annual charity campaign 'Share the Magic' with In Kind Direct.

The 'Share the Magic' initiative invites families to post their own Letter to Santa at Disney Stores across the country and for every letter that is posted, a Mickey Mouse soft toy is donated to a child through their chosen national charities*. This is the 6th year that Disney Store has run the campaign and this Christmas is set to see the 100,000th soft toy donated. If you can't get to a Disney Store, then you can still participate online where you can use the letter writing tool and post your letter digitally.

This year Disney Store is supporting In Kind Direct. The charity redistributes quality, usable products donated by some of the UK's best known manufacturers and retailers to charities working in the UK and abroad. Disney Store is one of In Kind Direct's founding donors, first donating in 1997. Since then the Disney Store has donated over £2.6 million worth of toys, clothing and accessories.

The kids and I got into our Christmas clothes & accessories, jumped in the car and headed into town for the event.

We had great fun making snowflake decorations for our Christmas tree and posing with Mickey Mouse. We then wrote our letters to Santa before posting them in the magical post box. I even enjoyed a wee sparkly mince pie, or two (don't tell the PT!).

There were a few celebs attending the event, although I didn't spot any of them at the store on the evening!

If you're CBeebies fans like us, then you'll recognise the stars from Wooly & Tig!

This is Jane McCarry with her family; she is better known as Isa from Still Game

And here we are!! I was loving my son's Santa shirt with red bow tie - we got it at Primark if you're wondering. (Although he looks a bit crazy in this photo!!)

The kids were very lucky to be given a goodie bag each as we left the party that included a festive Mickey Mouse soft toy and a Christmas decoration. We also received a gift voucher for the store which promptly was spent on a small Star Wars set for the eldest and a princess nail polish for the littlest. Nothing for mummy unfortunately!

*A maximum of 25,000 soft toys will be donated.