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.... a guest post from the very lovely Emma Bradley.

This week I am really pleased to be guest posting on the beautiful blog that is the Little Lilypad Co.  I love Christmas and everything about it.  One of my parental aims is always to ensure that my children think of others less fortunate than themselves at this time of year. 

As most of my readers over at www.emmaand3.com  know my children often send me near the edge with too many hospital trips.  One of those hospital trips a few years ago saw Dylan being admitted on Christmas Eve.  We spent the next four days on Children’s Ward whilst he was on IV antibiotics.  The nurses were lovely to the children waking up in a hospital bed instead of their own.  There was a present from Santa on the end of the bed and after breakfast he did ward rounds bringing more treats.  I was really humbled by other people’s generosity, we had a pretty awful Christmas that year but those small touches were remembered.

Since then we have always donated presents to the ward for the children and parents waking up there.  One year Chloe collected old mobile phones and had them turned into toys.  She collected over £150 worth which we happily took up to the ward.  At this time of year we always have a big sort out too.  We recycle our own belongings by taking things we no longer use to the charity shop.  Again we always use the charity shop that helps fund Sue Ryder  as they looked after my nan in her final hours. 

At Church on Christmas Eve the children each take a gift that is then passed onto a local women’s rufuge.  The presents are used when new families arrive that might have had to leave everything behind or for birthday gifts during the year. 

I want to teach the children that Christmas is a time of giving in addition to receiving.  Giving doesn’t have to cost money either.  Giving time is perfect – is there a relative or friend that finds Christmas hard and could do with the gift of time and a visit this season?  Is there a neighbour who would treasure a hard made card from the children?  

What will you be giving this Christmas?

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...... not turtle doves but outfits for girls I love (it kind of rhymes).

When we were asked to review the F&F Christmas range, we jumped (or is it leapt like the lords?) at the chance, we love clothes and we love Christmas, so it was a match made in heaven.

Typically, my eldest daughter had to make her own choices ....... she is 8 after all! (what am I going to do when she is 18???) but I was pleasantly surprised at her request!

Both dresses have roses in the design, a flower that is very personal to us as a family, but each design is very different. As a mom, it's good to know that they are machine washable because my children are like magnets for dirt ... no matter how careful they are!

The quality is amazing for the price and it just goes to show that supermarket style can rival the high street any day of the week .... usually saving enough money to buy the matching shoes too! This works for me on lots of levels, saving money and having some spare for shoes! 

If I am honest, F&F is not somewhere that would immediately spring to mind if I was thinking about party dresses but they have a fabulous range of Christmas attire for all ages, including jumpers and some brilliant nativity costumes too!

So on the second day of Christmas, I will happily pass on the turtle doves and have two fabulous party dresses for my gorgeous girls instead. It doesn't rhyme but it works for me!

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.... a gorgeous guest post from Maggy Woodley

Oh my, how I LOVE LOVE LOVE this time of year. And I don’t just love Christmas and the “big day” itself, but all the things around it that lead up to Christmas. Don’t get me wrong, I too am shocked and disgruntled by the commercial aspect of Christmas, but this is why our family Advent traditions are so important to me. I want to make Christmas not about the gifts, but about the MAGIC.

So, there are a number of things that I love to do with my kids at this time of year….

These are the things I like to do. Every family is different and of course have their own traditions!

Traditional Cookies

We like to bake. In Austria it is tradition to bake 8 or different Christmas cookies in the run up to and during Advent. I like to make up small bags full of different cookies and give them as gifts to neighbours, friends and family! Our favourite are:  

Edible Ornamentsfollow (the kids LOVE decorating these)

Linzer Augenfollow (just delicious)

Husaren Krampfenfollow (great for small hands to help form balls and make dips) 

Vanilla Kipferlfollow (I always have to make double portions)

Advent Calendars

Well we all know about advent calendars, such a lovely way to count down to the big day. I used to love opening all the little windows and visually seeing how close Christmas was getting. I love making our own Advent Calendar and have stacks of ideas for you over on Red Ted Art. But I think the best thing is to keep it simple and do little things like “let’s eat popcorn” or “let’s read our favourite Christmas picture book”.

Advent Wreath and Candles

We have an Advent Wreath or 4 Church Candles. I can’t always get hold of a wreath and yes, I know that I should make one… but there are so many other things to make, that I don’t mind it too much if we have 4 nice candles with pine  cones and dried orange slices lined up on the mantle piece.

Then on the 1st Advent, we assemble. We light the candle. We listen to Christmas songs and we start munching on the first set of Christmas cookies! If there is time a board game is played too! On the 2nd of Advent, we repeat the process, but light 2 candles – the 1st one and a new one and so one. This means the 1st candle will be a little smaller as the rest at Christmas and has that special “advent feel”. 

And that is the basis of our “advent”.

Back to my point at the beginning of the post about the “commercial-ness” of Christmas. I would love to leave you with an alternative Christmas Gift idea – The Gift of Creativity! The idea is to create “Basic” and “Jazzed up” Craft Kits that you can put together yourself – and then, if you wish, add a copy of Red Ted Art the book and you will have a fabulously creative gift –  both original and different! What do you think? You don’t need much in a basic craft kit, especially if you add recycled materials and finds from nature…. I love to add pinecones, stones and recycled fabric to our basic craft kit to get the kids think creatively about things they can find and reuse.

About the Author: Maggy Woodley, a mum of two and prolific blogger. She loves everything about crafts and loves nothing better to recycle and forage for craft materials –making crafts economical and fun. Maggy also writes at Life at The Zoo about cooking with kids, gardening and sciency “stuff” and Theatre Books and Movies for well, theatre, book and movies! Red Ted Art, is also now being translated into German, Spanish and Russian for more people to enjoy! 

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Vaccines are something that we take for granted in the UK but this is not always the case across the globe. We are therefore delighted to bring this post to you in association with the Pampers UNICEF campaign to share with you how Tesco is backing the project in the global fight against Maternal and Newborn Tetanus.

From October to December, Pampers and UNICEF, the world’s leading children’s organisation, come together for the eighth year to launch the “1 pack = 1 vaccine” campaign. This year, Tesco has upped the stakes and set the challenge to its shoppers to help raise the cost of one vaccine every second of the campaign period – that’s nine million life-saving vaccines helping to protect the lives of 3 million women and their newborns! 

A team from Tesco and Pampers visited Senegal, West Africa, to see the success of the UNICEF vaccination programme and meet those who have witnessed the devastating effects of MNT first-hand: 

Ami Seck tragically lost her first baby boy to tetanus;

“After a few days, we noticed the child was trembling excessively,” Mame Touty, Ami’s mother-in-law says, “We spent nine days in hospital, but the boy died on the tenth day. When it happened we were very dejected. After the regretful incident, Ami became pregnant again, but we learnt lessons, we had an antenatal care package, and everything went smoothly. Everyone knew that our baby boy died but we are a living example of how you can get out of the maze.”

Moussa Pouye is the Chief Nurse at Dabaly Health Post, Nioro District, Senegal talk about dealing with a case of tetanus;

“I had to deal with a case of tetanus where the lady had no antenatal care or tetanus vaccinations. I met with the Supervisor of the Health Centre and he gave me 200 doses of tetanus to do an immediate campaign in the area to avoid another case. We made sure all other women in the village were protected. The village, Touba Saloum, now has its own Health Hut and all the women are subscribing.”

Ways you can help:

Visit your local Tesco today and pick up your pack of Pampers or buy online at Tesco.com: 

1 Pack = 1 Vaccine

During October – December 2013, for each Pampers^®- UNICEF pack purchased, Pampers^® will donate the cost of one tetanus vaccine to support UNICEF in the fight against Maternal and Newborn Tetanus.                                                                         

UNICEF Pledge Donations

By becoming a monthly donor to UNICEF today you can join thousands of other parents who donate every month to improve the lives of these vulnerable children. Visit www.supportunicef.org/Pampers to see the difference that you can make.