Category: Christmas

Christmas 2009

By Little Mummy, December 26, 2009 6:06 am

So after a trip to A & E the snow came.. We reckon we had a couple of foot or so fall over the week, school was off last day of term so what else to do but make snowmen. This is a picture of Erin in our front garden at about 3pm, I had to lighten the picture it was so dark!

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Christmas Eve

We had a quiet morning then we baked heart shaped cakes for Santa using the cooking set sent to us by the kids cooking company, silicon baking trays are the way forward! Erin loved her new bowl and spoon sent by the elves :)

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Before bed I warned my Mum who has a habit of tearing around the house in the wee hours shouting “Santa’s been” (only at Christmas you understand) that she wasn’t to wake us before seven, I didn’t mind anything after six but I wanted to make sure there would be no 4am wake up ‘calls’.

Christmas Morning

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I heard mum sticking the kettle on, I glanced up bleary eyed to see the alarm clock reading 4.40am, I hid under the covers and feared the worst. As it happened I’d barely slept anyway, the excitement had triggered my crohns and I’d spent all night in pain. I gave into the cramps at 6.30am and mum woke Erin, who in turn woke us. We crept downstairs to find a a few crumbs and an empty cup where the milk and heart shaped bun had been. Santa left us lots of goodies including a bike and all the toy story characters.

We cleared the carnage and had a lovely dinner of asparagus and parma ham, traditional dinner but with chicken instead of turkey and ‘welsh’ gravy followed by chocolate souffle and ice cream.

Erin hasn’t stopped wearing her bike helmet and Jesse (from Toy Story 2) was promoted to her bed :)

A second christmas with Alex’ family awaits us on the 27th.

Merry Christmas all!

Oxfam Unwrapped Virtual Village

By Little Mummy, November 28, 2009 1:34 am

More Christmas Gift Ideas

By Little Mummy, November 27, 2009 4:52 am

6. Griffin MyPhones
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We were sent a pair of these to trial. MyPhones are designed for kids 3-8 yrs old, special care has been taken on the comfort and safety of MyPhones – they cap the volume at 85 decibels which is the safe level for children. I was really impressed with the packaging and design, you can change the colour of the ear casing and they arrive in a little carry case. Erin loves them, she mostly uses them for the laptop games but I think Santa might be bringing a cheap cd player for christmas ;)

7. Jamie Magazine Subscription

Love the Jamie magazine (I’ve asked for it myself!). It’s bi-monthly which seems to ensure the quality, the recipes aren’t regurgitated and there are feature length articles on various food related topics. I particularly like the non glossy feel of the pages, it’s almost like a paperback book. I never keep food magazines but these have pride of place on my shelf :)

Samsung Mp3

8. Samsung MP3

I want one! That is all

9. Joe Browns

So many cool clothes, not sure if they have bricks and mortar stores, but I have the catalogue :)

10. Snow White on DVD

I woke up to the tuneful singing of Snow White the other morning and remembered just how good it was. They’ve done some of their techy magic with this and released it on blu-ray ready for christmas. Worth a look if you fancy going retro (ps we were sent a copy for free, not bragging, just letting you know for disclosure an’ aw that)

Wiki Digital Camera and IWOOT

By Little Mummy, November 26, 2009 4:41 am

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I’ve been sent the Wiki Digital Camera to trial. I’m a big fan of my flip video camera which I received for my birthday and this is a very similar product. The Wiki is a lightweight portable digital camera that has the software required to download videos built-in. The main advantages to owning one of these is their ease of use, a monkey could learn how to use it, and also its portability.

At £59.99 the Wiki is around £20 cheaper than a standard Flip and that difference is reflected in the quality. The sharpness of picture that you get with a Flip is not there with the Wiki. Having said that I think a Wiki is a perfectly good gift for a teenager or a blogger who’s just starting out doing videos. I plan to give this wiki away to a lucky reader soon so stay tuned for that.

Here are a few other things I’d like from ‘I Want One of Those

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1. A Tuckshop Sweet Box

2. An Undercover Laptop Bag “I’m mummy. Little Mummy” :)

3. A Giant Cupcake Tin – but I’d give it to the blogging baker Englishmum

Christmas Gift Ideas

By Little Mummy, November 20, 2009 12:39 am

1. Whisky Beer

Whisky Beer or Ale is something we stumbled across when we were shopping at Ocean Terminal, that’s where the Royal Yacht Britannia is moored by the way. There’s a specialist whisky shop with a very passionate employee who was more than happy to show us everything in the shop which is when we found out about whisky beer, it’s essentially beer that is conditioned in oak casks so the beer takes on the unique flavour of that particular whisky.

Here’s more from the website where you can buy it;

How appropriate that Tullibardine should produce a Whisky Ale. The Distillery sits on the site of Scotland’s first ever brewery, a purveyor of fine ales enjoying the royal patronage of King James IV after his coronation in 1488.

This remarkable Blackford 1488 Whisky Ale is brewed with the pure crystal spring water and malted barley used in the distillation process. It is conditioned in individually numbered oak casks which have been used in the maturation of the majestic Tullibardine single malt Scotch whisky, its distinctive character beautifully balanced by the lightness of touch so familiar to Tullibardine connoisseurs the world over.

Toy Story Game

2. Toy Story Mania for the Wii

We were given a complementary copy of this and really enjoyed it, be warned it’s highly addictive. It’s one of the best kids computer games I’ve played, based on the ride in Disneyworld you face a number of challenges including bursting balloons and saving aliens. The whole family can enjoy this one and it’s only £17 or so on Amazon.

3. Beatles Rock Band

I think we’re going to buy this between us. I saw it all set up in HMV and it looked like a lot of fun, we may buy the standard version though which is cheaper than the Beatles version.

Oban Tweed Ness

4. Oban Tweed Ness

Finally, a fashionable way for women to wear tartan. The range includes outfits, hats, scarves and purses. The vibrant colours and excellent design will make this a successful Scottish brand.

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5. Keep Calm and Carry On
During 1939 when the war with Germany was impending the Ministry of Information printed a number of posters urging people to “Keep Calm and Carry On”. The posters were never officially issued and thus widely unseen by the British public, until now.

I love the slogan’s simplicity, it’s become a bit of a family motto and the poster is now framed and hangs proudly at the front entrance of our house. If I get stressed or worried (which is really bad for kicking off my crohns) I sometimes go to the poster and remind myself to “Keep Calm and Carry On”

I’m hooked now and want the hoody, the mug, the….. I’ll need to get started on my christmas list.

Our Christmas Cards – Photoblog

By Little Mummy, December 4, 2008 2:34 am

Sticking Sparkly Leaves

Erin's Christmas Card

She's proud of her effort

Our Homemade Christmas Cards

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Edinburgh Winter Wonderland

By Little Mummy, December 3, 2008 2:47 pm

We had a lovely day yesterday, we decorated our christmas tree, matching colours have given way to an eclectic mix of decorations since Erin came along. This is the first year she’s shown an interest in the christmas tree and was surprisingly helpful.

Afterwards we went out for some lunch and then headed for the Winter Wonderland in Edinburgh. We saw the ice skaters, had a ride on the teacups, and bought some decorations and candles. The day was rounded of with sweets for Erin, donuts and chocolate sauce for me and belgian waffle for my husband (it was his birthday too). I’m well and truly in the christmas spirit now :)

Christmas

By Little Mummy, December 26, 2007 11:23 am

Aaah Boxing Day, a chance to breath (note to self: moving house at Christmas time isn’t the greatest idea)

Nevertheless we had an amazing Christmas. Erin held a Christmas Eve party, which is becoming a little tradition now, I’ll be glad when she can assist in the preparations a bit more though!

Christmas Day was far more relaxed, she seemed very pleased with Santa’s delivery, each unwrapped present was greeted with a “wow” and then a frantic dash to daddy to open/assemble/fit batteries etc.. in hindsight there were a few things we should have built first and left unwrapped for immediate playing, but hey, we’re new to this game :) Amongst other things she received a Vtech laptop, a keyboard with microphone (thanks Aunty Margaret), phone and answering machine, a hoover, and a beautiful Angelina book set.

My own gifts included, two books on growing and cooking home grown food (a hint at some upcoming posts at littlemummy), a creme brulee set complete with blow torch, a ticket to see Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat, along with money and vouchers.

I hope everyone has had a Happy Christmas and look forward to catching up with all the festive news.

Christmas Fatigue

By Little Mummy, December 21, 2007 2:28 am

It’s around this time that Christmas fatigue begins to set in. Around a week (ok, so that’s 4 days now..eek) before the big day I seem to get a lull, so near but yet so far. I’ve already done a years worth of food and gift shopping yet there are always several ‘one last thing’s’ to buy. This year is no different and yesterday I braved the crazed madness of the supermarket. Shoppers were stocking up like the end of food itself was imminent, scavenging for the last of the 36 piece indian selection boxes, well ha! cos I got it.

Oh dear what’s happening to me!!

Over the tannoy they were playing Live Aid’s Feed the World, which is exactly what everyone was trying to do, by the looks of the buckling trolleys. Even Erin is feeling it, the last two days she’s done nothing but grump and moan, the wait for Santa is taking it’s toll, poor wee mite (!) While she eagerly awaits the big arrival, my husband suffers the impatient and vulturous crowds (he’s a bus driver), I still have ‘one last thing’ to get, sour cream and chive dip, for how can christmas be a success without it when I already have enough food to feed the 5000, enough alcohol to open a pub (even though I barely drink) and enough presents to keep Santa’s elves out of work for some time. Blindly, I will still be making the last minute dash to buy said dip, what a mad season this is!

Merry Christmas all, oh, and Happy New Year – when hopefully we can all get back to normal for seven months, when we can begin the whole charade again.

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Update

Happy with stocking fillers

Just found this picture of Erin from last year, remembered exactly why we do it all. Ahhhh.

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