What's On: Hogmanayday at George Square

Do you have plans for Hogmanay?

If you've got little ones, then look no further... Hogmanayday is your answer - a free, day-long celebration for family and friends at George Square.

Activities include a Baby Disco at the Alpine Bar where parents can party the day away in style with their little ones as well as face painting in the Christmas workshops.

The ice rink will also be open from 12pm to 10pm on Hogmanayday. Sessions can be booked at www.glasgowloveschristmas.com or by telephone on 0141 353 8000. 

Between 2pm and 4pm the fantastic Williamwood Pipe Band will be performing on the square before resident DJ John Ross will be spinning his usual mix of disco, funk and soul to get you in the party mood.

As they day moves into evening, there will be live ceilidh music from Gunna Sound to start the celebrations and get revellers into the party spirit. Gunna Sound’s repertoire includes a full selection of round the room Ceilidh dances, and an extensive song list that usually invokes the comment at the end of the night, ‘so you’re not just a Ceilidh band!’ 

No ticket is required for entry to George Square; however there may be times where the venue is full, at such times a queuing system will be put into operation.  Hogmanayday is part of the Glasgow Loves Christmas campaign, which brings together the city’s seasonal entertainment and events programme, as well as its unrivalled retail and dining offering under one banner.

If like me, you're kiddie-free for New Years Eve, then here are my picks of what to do in Glasgow:

Ashton Lane Hogmanay Street Party: Party the night away under a canapé of twinkling fairy lights, on Glasgow’s oldest and best loved cobbled street. Set in the heart of the famous West End, the street party enjoys a prime location and a host of fantastic bars to suit all tastes.

The Corinthian: For a stylish night out in the heart of Glasgow, head to the Corinthian where gorgeous cocktails will be flowing all night, accompanied by a variety of live music. Feeling lucky? Why not have a spin in the casino to start next year with a bang!

Club Noir at O2: Say goodbye to 2014 with a step back in time, at Glasgow’s sassiest bash! With a swing band and live cabaret acts throughout the night, Club Noir promises a night full of glam vintage fun.

{What's On: Christmas & St Andrew's Day in Glasgow}

The other night I headed to St Enoch Square with a few colleagues to check out the Glasgow Christmas Market. There are 50 amazing stalls with tonnes of different food, drinks and gift ideas. This was my first visit to Glasgow's Christmas Market and I was suitably impressed. The space between the stalls is sufficient for manoeuvring a buggy so if you're visiting with kiddies during the day that definitely won't be an issue (unlike some of the markets I've been to...thinking Stockbridge in Edinburgh). The atmosphere at the Bavarian Beer Bar was fab... I thoroughly enjoyed my wee glass of Gluhwein. And the smell coming from all the different food stalls was amazing!! In the end we went to Bread Meats Bread for dinner, but I definitely will sample some of the food here at the Christmas Market before it closes on 23rd Dec.

Mulled wine at the Bavarian Beer Bar

Keeping with the food theme, the Kiltr Glasgow Street Feastival is also returning this month... Fri 29th (5pm-11pm), Sat 30th November (1pm-11pm) and Sun 1st December (1pm-11pm) at the Barras Art & Design Centre. This time in addition to the street food and DJs there is going to be a Christmas Shop. Check out more info here.

There are still tickets available for It's a Wonderful Life at Glasgow Film Theatre... I'm told this is a must see for a Glaswegian Christmas! 

The end of the month is also St Andrew's Day (30th Nov) and there are a variety of events happening throughout the city that weekend.

Check out the Glasgow Loves Christmas listing here. I know my two little ones would love the film screening of Brave. 

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Get in the spirit and Saltire Yourself here!

{Snow, Santa & Sledging - Xscape Glasgow}

I was very kindly invited to take the kids along to Xscape for the morning to check out their soft play area, Gambado, visit Santa at his grotto on the slopes and have a bite to eat at the newly refurbished Bar Varia cafe.

I'd never taken the kids to Xscape before, so I was interested to see what it was like for young children (bearing in mind my little ones are 3 years and 1.5 years). I invited their dad along to join us for the morning. He was yet to take them to see Santa, and I thought he would appreciate the experience (and I also was thinking that I'd need a spare pair of hands to keep on top of the two kiddies in such a busy complex). He is also of the opinion that we should spend time together with the children even though we are not a couple anymore, whereas I feel the opposite - more on this later!

Anyway, on with the review! Xscape is great in terms of its location - easy to get to from the motorway and we got parked with no issues (we visited on Sunday and arrived shortly after 9.30am).

This was my first time at Gambado, and I have to admit I wasn't overly impressed. I think perhaps this may be down to the ages of my little ones, as the soft play area was so spread out that I had to keep moving around to keep track of the location of them! No sitting around to enjoy my cup of tea!! We purchased some breakfast rolls from the cafe... the service was poor, the two rolls took 20 minutes to arrive and they managed to get the order wrong too. There were a lot of ride-on machines located in the centre which you had to pay for (cue shouts from son for 'more pennies please') and I found my two spent more time climbing on these than in the actual soft play sections.

On a positive note however, the go-karts were great fun (no extra fee was needed either) and my 3 year old had a blast on the blue motorbike, and he did have a couple of shots on the massive slide which he also loved!! I particularly liked the sensory area and the role play area with dressing up clothes, kitchen etc.

I wouldn't be comfortable taking the kids there on my own, I would definitely need an extra pair of hands for assistance! I'm sure though that the soft play would be great for parents of slightly older children that are a bit more independent. My son did proclaim that it was the best soft play ever!

Trying out the arcade games!

On the go-karts!!

After Gambado, we rushed along to the Snow Factor to be met by Santa's elves. There was an area set-up in Bar Varia where we could colour pictures of Santa and write our letters to him whilst waiting for our turn. We didn't wait long before being taken then onto the slopes to Santa's grotto. We had a family photograph taken with Santa (slightly awkward!) and then I sledged with my son back down to the centre with our gift stockings in tow! I think the Santa at Eden Mill was better (less rushed) but this experience was made more special by the fact that we were on the snow (& I secretly loved the sledging part afterwards!). 

Checking out the snowman on the way to the grotto.

Sledging after our Santa visit!!! (hopefully this works ok - my first video on my blog!!)

We then had half an hour or so to wait before lunch was served at the Bar Varia cafe. The staff were great though and brought us over colouring sheets and crayons to keep the kids amused. As soon as it got a bit nearer midday, our waitress came over to take our order (without me having to ask her, which was fab - very impressed with the staff) and our food arrived really promptly. I ordered a chicken burger with chorizo, and it was yum.

Lunch :-)

No relaxing lunch for me then!!

Overall, we had a lovely morning and although I may not take the kids back to Gambado until they're a bit older, I would certainly go back to the Bar Varia cafe and check out all the other activities that are available at Xscape (bowling, cinema etc).

That afternoon I was kiddie-free and I left the kids to spend the rest of their Sunday at their dad's house. Thankfully my daughter was asleep, but I had to leave my son screaming for me not to go. I'm of the opinion that by spending time with their dad I'm just confusing them and that we should be doing activities like this separately. I don't understand why he seems to think it's better for us to do things as a 'family'. Yes, when they are older and understand the situation we might be able to do things together, but for the moment I think it's a bad idea. Having to leave a screaming child has just reinforced this. When we have a swift business-like changeover there are not normally that many tears and/or tantrums. 

What are your thoughts, and have you checked out the activities on offer at Xscape?

The morning of activities was organised for me and we received free entry into Gambado, our visit to see Santa and lunch as part of the review. As always, opinions are my own.

{Christmas Party}

Today is my work Christmas party, and we're all looking forward to getting into our party frocks and hitting the town!

As part of Glasgow Loves Christmas I had a personal shopping trip at House of Fraser where I purchased a new sparkly number for said party, and here it is... the French Connection Crystalised Knits Dress.

Quick pic prior to hair being done

I'm going to team the dress with my Christmas gift to myself (yes, I know that I shouldn't be using my gift prior to Christmas Day, but I will wrap it up after my work party!)...

Patent pink satchel (£40 from a local gift shop)

Pink crystal fox ring (not a good photo, but you get the idea, and ignore my sausage fingers!)

Watch this space for photographs of me on Twitter once my hair is done... Have a great weekend :-)

{Diamonds and Thrills: Glasgow Loves Christmas}

I was invited to a have a special day out in Glasgow city centre as part of Glasgow Loves Christmas. Glasgow is widely known for it's style and shops, and for a stressed, busy mummy I was very excited to be spending my child-free day having a personal shopping trip for a party outfit, followed by a mini-facial and makeover, some afternoon tea (& champagne!) and a browse round the shops on Glasgow's Style Mile!

What better way to start the day... (well, I can think of some things, but a cup of tea will have to suffice!! Haha)

The personal shopping suite at House of Frasers

The personal shopping service at House of Fraser is a free styling service, and can be used to find that one special thing (for me I fancied a new sparkly jumper for the winter season) to a whole new wardrobe (which is what I did previously - here and here!). You can set the budget, and there is no pressure at all to buy anything (honest!). At Glasgow there are now three personal shoppers, each with very different styles, so there will be someone for everyone! And yes, you read that correctly - the service is free... you only pay for what you buy.

New jewelled jumper from Warehouse (as seen in Elle apparently!)

Although, I have just discovered that Warehouse have 25% off all full price items on their website using the code xmasgift. So I've just ordered it from there instead and will return this one to HOF (with standard delivery at £3.50 - I've managed to save £8! You can also pay using PayPal, so it's so easy & straightforward).

I did also buy another sparkly jumper (I just couldn't pick between them), a pencil skirt for work and an amazing dress which I will be wearing on my work Christmas do! I'll keep the dress a secret until then... watch this space!!

Sequins wool jumper from Mango (Again, this jumper is £10 cheaper at the moment if you buy direct from Mango website - free delivery and you can pay with PayPal too! - sorry HOF, but this one is coming back also)

I guess that would be the only downside to personal shopping that I can think of - you may miss out on some bargains that you might find online. I've managed to save £18 by getting two of the items direct from the store online. However, the other two items I bought were part of a special promotion at HOF and I saved 30% and 20% off, which I wouldn't have got if I went direct to the store. If you time your visit well, you could really make the most of the Christmas sales!

For a busy working mum, the personal shopping service is ideal. I don't have time to trawl the shops anymore, so having someone at HOF knows their stock is the perfect solution. I walked in and told Emma-Jo exactly what I was looking for, and within just over an hour I was leaving with not one, but two amazing sparkly jumpers, a party outfit and a pencil skirt. A very productive morning!

After the personal shopping, I headed down to Lancôme for a mini-facial and makeover with Marc, stopping on the way to absorb some of the Christmas atmosphere and enjoy the fairy lights.

As you all know, I'm obsessed with fairy lights... check out all the lights at HOF. I was in heaven!! The store looks amazing and very festive.

All the Lancôme goodies!

My skin is in a bit of a mess right now and so Marc was filling me in on the products that I should be using. I admit that I've never really used Lancôme before, but I have to say I was rather impressed. Marc has assured me that the Visionnaire serum will 'change your life'. A powerful statement, and I will see if it's true! I purchased a Hydra Zen Neutrocalm moisturiser (soothing, anti-stress - just what I need right now!) and it came with a small Visionnaire sample bottle.

Lancôme Vissionaire Recovery Serum - wrinkles appear visibly reduced, pores look minimised and imperfections such as uneven skin tone appear more even.

Marc certainly had me convinced, but the scientist in me wants to try it out to see for sure! I'm not sure I believe all the beauty buzz words from the advertising campaigns.

So, with my make-up done and looking fabulous I headed to Argyll Arcade to meet two of my friends for afternoon tea at The Thrill Room at Rox. The Thrill Room features an exclusive Moët and Chandon champagne bar (don't mind if I do!) and on Sundays there is afternoon tea! We were looked after by the lovely bar staff and Stephanie brought us a selection of fashion jewellery to try on. It was great fun!

Moët and Chandon champagne bar

The Thrill Room at Rox

Champagne & strawberries? Yes please! 

Which was closely followed by tea, tablet & mini mince pies:

We were all loving the gold plated vertebrae bracelet by Shaun Leane

We were also loving the Shaun Leane Hook Talon earrings, which have been seen on X Factor judge Nicole Scherzinger:

Shaun Leane Hook Talon earrings

  

The three of us - me, Becky & Lauren (loving the fact that we're all tall!)

I got a little bit carried away (it was the champagne, and Lauren's bad influence!!) and ended up buying myself a beautiful ring... like this one, but in silver:

Alexis Dove Wild Rose Ring (hopefully it will arrive in time for Christmas)

The morning of activities was organised for me, the champagne & afternoon tea were complimentary and as always, opinions are my own!

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{St Andrew's Day}

Tomorrow, Nov 30th, is St Andrew's Day - Scotland's official national day to celebrate Saint Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland. As part of Glasgow Loves Christmas, there is be a packed weekend of celebrations planned in Glasgow's George Square.

Over the weekend there will be a film event and concert, outdoor ceilidh, live cookery demonstrations, carts & crafts, storytelling and street theatre. A number of restaurants and cafes have special St Andrew's Day menus planned. I'm liking the sound of the Haggis, Neeps & Tatties with a dram for £10 at Stravaigin. Yum!

Also as part of St Andrew's Day, various Historic Scotland venues are opening their doors for free. A great opportunity to check out some of the tourist stops round the city... it includes People's Palace & Winter Gardens, Provand's Lordship, Scotland Street School Museum, The Tall Ship at Riverside and World of Golf.

What do you have planned for the weekend?