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...... a little selfish wish for yuletide beauty.

When I was younger, I wanted to be a grown up. I wanted to be taller, have a bigger bust, longer eyelashes and less spots! Now I am a "grown up" (or so my birth certificate says), I want to be younger, I may be a little bit taller but my beloved heels definitely help, good mascara improves my eyelashes and the spots .... well they come and go.

I never really thought about my skin as I was growing up and when my friends and I went in search of the best sun beds to get a tan (I know, I know), some of us got piercings, the others tattoos, we never gave much thought past the following weekend, let alone the long term affects on our body.

Now I see my girls growing up and I want to hang onto their innocence and childlike beauty but I know they won't listen. I know that they will be as stubborn as me but I hope that they are strong like me too, otherwise I can see me frog marching them for tattoo removal before they are 21 and showing them images of tattoo removal before and after just to make my point.

I remember writing a post a few years ago, after my daughter asked why I had lines on my head and I suspect that those lines are as much to do with not looking after my skin as they are to do with laughter. So while I want laughter to fill my girls lives, I hope that this is the only filler they consider for their faces (which is more than can be said for me).

So this Christmas time, eternal youth is a bit of a tall ask for Father Christmas but I tell my eldest daughter if she doesn't believe in Father Christmas she is never going to get any presents from him, so for the record .... I believe!

This post was brought to you in association with Sk:nclinics

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Learning to ride a bike has been one of the topics on the Lilypad this year, so we are delighted to bring you this post from Argos about bikes for all the family this Christmas.

There’s no present quite like your child’s first bike. For one thing, it’s probably going to be the hardest thing you’ll ever have to wrap! Of course, the hours you’ll spend covered in sticky tape are worth it when you see their faces light up as they tear the paper off and discover the shiny new bike lurking underneath.  

Is this the year you’ll finally get them their first pair of wheels? There’s a whole range of kids bikes at Argos, as well as a whole heap of accessories and bikes for grown ups too! Below we’ve put together some ideas for great Christmas gifts for children who’re discovering bikes for the first time, as well as adults who already love them… 

Bikes for Kids 

If you don’t think your young one’s quite ready for a pedal bike, a cute wooden pushbike will get them used to balancing – but they won’t have to worry about keeping their feet on pedals while they learn. 

Meanwhile, older kids will love this Zinc Void bike; its specialist frame and front and rear brakes means it’s perfect for practicing tricks. Don’t forget matching pads to protect elbows and knees! And while we’re talking protection…

This Moshi Monsters helmet is a must for any Moshling fans; it’s bright and colourful, too, so you’ll never lose them in the park. If you want to keep your little one extra close, you can attach the tow bar to the back of your bike and create a mini-tandem! 

Bikes for Grown ups

There’s plenty of storage in this elegant bike, but if you’re gifting for a commuter they’ll always have files and office kit to haul about with them – make sure it’s all safe and secure in this water-resistant back pack. When they’re not using it, they can scrunch it down into its stuff bag and pop it into their basket. 

And all bikers, off-road or on-road, will appreciate a few pieces of safety gear. A set of lights, pumps and other clip-on accessories will keep their bike in good working order, while this understated helmet can be found here; it’s a stylish, but functional, piece of kit. 

So no matter how old you are, a bike is not just for Christmas .... it is for all the family.

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.... more guest posts to share with you and me.

Now I know the traditional rhyme stops at 12 but we have had so many wonderful posts to share, we are going to carry on throughout December and today's post is from the lovely Otilia Stocks.

My name is Otilia and as the name of my blog clearly says - www.romanianmum.com - I'm Romanian.

I am a Romanian woman that fall in love with an English guy 9 years ago. Two years after we met  we got married and later conceived two wonderful little girls called Kara and Anastasia. We are a truly bilingual family and we are trying to raise our daughters in a happy home where the traditions of both nations are respected.

While growing up for me Christmas meant more than just Santa and presents and  now because Kara at almost 5 years old is old enough to understand religion - at least a little bit - I am teaching her the religious perspective too. My husband family is not very religious but I grew up with a very dedicated orthodox grandmother. She used to take me to the church every Sunday and Christmas time was really special there.

So through books and my own stories I'm trying to teach her that Christmas is about the birth of Jesus the son of God. She doesn't really understand but at least the base of the orthodox religion is there in her mind. She enjoys when I am reading the stories though but she always refers at God as the King. I guess this is the way she grasps things.

I am also trying to teach Kara some Romanian carols too although it is a bit more difficult for her to pronounce the words correctly. However I am happy to say that since we are home Kara learned quite a lot of Romanian so hopefully next year she will be good at Carols too.

On the other hand my husband makes sure that my girls have enough presents for Christmas and assures that they believe in Santa Claus. He promised Kara that in a couple of years we'll all go to Lapland to meet the real Santa.

Traditionally in Romania we eat pork for Christmas. In England mothers prepare a big turkey. In our home at Christmas you can find both: pork and turkey breast. I have to say I prefer the turkey as it's not as fatty as the pork.

Now in the days before Christmas, because I am quite lucky to be at home with my girls, we are having lots of fun crafting and baking. Both activities relax me and they give us the opportunity to do something nice together. I could actually say that they are memories that will be kept forever.

Well some of them will probably be ruined by my 1 year old. LOL

This year we made some really nice Christmas cards to be given to friends and family:

We also had a go at decorations - a wreath and some christmas trees. However we just started so if you would like to keep up with our Christmas Crafts do come and visit us on Pinterest too:

Follow Otilia Stocks's board Christmas - Food, Decorations and Craft on Pinterest.

But crafting is not all we do in our bilingual home. Cooking - romanian and british - is a big part of our life. I enjoy cooking and it relaxes me a lot as i am still struggling to cope with my PND. 

There are lots and lots of recipes on the blog - some are better than others but we let you decide. 

This is just a bit of how our bilingual home is but you can read a lot more on the blog the place where i talk about everything. 

Come and visit us and let me know if you think we are doing a good job. And if you have any advices on how to live a little bit more english i would love to hear from you. 

Have a fantastic Christmas bilingual or not!

Otilia Stocks

Blog:http://romanianmum.com

Facebook: Otilia Stocks, Romanian Mum Blog

Twitter: RomanianMum

Google +:Otilia Stocks,Romanian Mum

Pinterest: Otilia Stocks (romanianmum)

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...... a guest post from Rebecca, a mother of three. (still trying to eek out a rhyme)

Rebecca is a teacher and mother of three girls - a 6 year old and 3 year old twins. You can find her blog full of crafts, cooking and chaos at http://www.herecomethegirlsblog.com.

I have got the Christmas jitters early this year. I always feel the same - there is so much I want to do and just not enough time to do it. This year it is worse. I don't know whether it is having a blog or because of the age of the children but I have a list in my head of all the fun things I want to do with the girls and there just aren't enough days. they do need to sleep occasionally don't they? Luckily I don't have to worry about Christmas dinner - we got to my mum's for that and I'm fairly organised about the presents. I have a few still to get and I'm looking forward to our usual evening of a good film while we wrap the presents. I always put a little chocolate coin into the parcel as I'm wrapping it and sneakily eat a few while no one is looking.  

I think I have the basics covered. It's all the fun little extras I want to do which I will run out of time for. These are the things on my list for this year. 

1. Make mince pies. This is essential. the big man needs his mince pie and glass of milk on Christmas Eve or there will be no Christmas. I know I can buy them but there is nothing nicer than homemade mince pies hot from the oven. It is the taste of Christmas.  

2. Make Christmas cards. Well we are doing quite well on this one. We have made a few and have bought some of the school ones. The bit I need to do is the writing and posting of said cards. I always end up with a few which I haven't got round to posting. It's silly when we've gone to the effort of making them but it's one thing I never seem to do on time. 

3. Go to a Christmas Market. We live in the midlands and the Christmas markets are lovely at this time year. I usually plan a family trip to the theatre and then we wander slowly back through the market. There are rides for the girls to go on and beautiful ornaments to buy and we have to come home with some stollen.  

4. Writing. Ok I know Christmas is all about fun but being a teacher I have to get in some sneaky learning activities. There are cards to write and letters to Santa and of course that Christmas list needs to be cross referenced with the price from the Argos catalogue. Then after Christmas there are Thank Yous to write.  

5. Crackers I love to do a few crafts with the girls, mainly because it's the only time they are actually quite. We've made some ornaments and other decorations and my eldest has nagged me and nagged me until we have done some sewing and made some tiny stockings to put on the tree. This year I want to make some Christmas crackers. It is such an essential part of an English Christmas. We always made fake ones with the kids at school but I want to make some which really work and get the girls to choose a present for each relative to go inside. 

I know none of these things are not important. It doesn't really matter if we make salt dough ornaments or have a fake snow ball fight out of pom poms but these are the little extras which make me feel Christmassy. Anyway the house just doesn't feel right if it isn't covered in glitter and sticky tape at this time of year. Right I'd better go. I really should make a start writing out those Christmas cards. Does anyone have any stamps I can borrow?