Tweet

.... 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! 

Tweet

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.

Tweet

We love Love Boo and hope you do too.

(I am a poet and I didn't know it).

We are therefore delighted to have a fantastic giveaway for you to win the brand new Once Upon a Bedtime Gift Set (RRP 21.99), just in time for Christmas.

Once Upon A Bedtime gift set contains:

• Soft & Splashy Bubbles, 250ml
• Kind & Calming Massage Oil, 100ml

Which makes it perfect for baby showers, new babies (and Mum's). It is not only beautifully presented, it smells divine too.

To be in with a chance to win, just enter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Listed on PrizeFinder.com

Tweet

I had forgotten how seductive the TV can be. Not in that way, I mean the way it draws children in and can captivate them for hours. We have TV on demand, so this means that my eldest can select the programmes she wants, when she wants them, which is great in her mind BUT is it great for her mind and body really?

TV viewing has been linked to obesity in children, amongst other problems, so it's more than a good idea to stay on top of the time the children spend in front of the screen. Research shows that academic success is linked to how much TV your child watches and with whom she watches it. Children with moderate access to television who watch with a parent score significantly higher academically than children who watch a moderate amount of TV on their own. (yikes)

If we are all honest, the TV can be our friend. The TV can "help" when you just need five minutes to do something (even if it is just to go to the toilet, I have said before that this is apparently no longer a one person job anymore) but when the 2 year old becomes obsessed with Peppa Pig, I have begun to wonder how much influence that little pig (and TV in general) has on our lives.

The little one was bouncing on our bed and said "on Peppa's bouncy castle"

The eldest said "mommy, can you get me a garbage bag" (we are in the UK, not the USA)

Aaagggh, it made me want to grab a backpack and fill it with some essentials and get them outside, adventuring, exploring and NOT watching the television. Unfortunately we have been plagued with sickness, the other (back on the toilet again) and horrible conjunctivitis this week, so we decided on some crafting and painting. What did the little one want to paint? Peppa Pig!!!

How much influence does the TV have in your house?