Merry ♡ Christmas

Wow. What a year it’s been.

I just want to say a very quick Merry Christmas.

I’m signing off for the festive period now.

When I return it will be in the New Year.

And 2017 is looking crazy already. Crazy in a good way.

New job. New house (fingers crossed).

And the blog?

Well, we’ll just have to wait and see 😉

Enjoy this time to relax and unwind with your loved ones.

I’m going to deviate from character here and coo ‘oh wow it’s Baby’s First Christmas for us’.

Haha. It certainly is Baby’s First Christmas and I’ve been the most unprepared I’ve ever been for Christmas in my life. Ooooops.

Obvs I am excited but it’s taken me twice aslong to do anything. Thank god for online shopping as I get pram rage.

Thank god for the nursery trials this week too (which were successful yeay). It meant I could run around the shops shackle-free and buy cards and presents.

And Thank You for sticking with my ramblings these past few months. Possibly the hardest months I’ve experienced. Ever.

So I’m off to pump Prosecco through my veins for the next week.

Cheers – here’s to 2017.

Bring it on.

Love Missuswolf xxx

Images from Unsplash and Pexel

Baby’s First Christmas with Crinkles the Elf

Friday 2nd December 2016

For the past couple of Christmases now, I’ve watched the craze of ‘House Under Elf Surveillance’ take over every child-filled abode.

And this year, we are no exception.

Missuswolf Elf sitting in a Tidy Tot holding letter eating mince pie and drinking baileys

My kind of Elf – Baileys and Mince Pie lover

I may have vaguely hinted that I became a parent this year and with this comes milestones; baby is so many months old, baby slept through the night, baby ate some food, baby crawled and inevitably, Baby’s First Christmas.

Which leads to Baby’s First Elf.

I’ve watched the hilarious antics over the past couple of years with these mischievous Elves. And I do think it’s an awesome idea. They (ideally) get the kids to behave while the adult’s (I mean Elves) get up to mischief.

This year is exciting as it’s the beginning of us starting our own family Christmas traditions. So – as a warped organised plannery type of person, this kind of project has me whooping with delight.

With Ella only being, well, a baby, she’s obviously not going to get the whole concept just yet. But I want to get her familiar with seeing an Elf like figure and giving the whole process a trial run.

So when I saw the soft toy Elf packs, I thought they were perfect.

Perfect as they’re big enough to catch her attention and soft enough for her to snuggle.

Within the Elf Pack you get:

An Elf Soft Toy

A personalised letter to your child

A mini sack of chocolate coins

An elf passport

A behaviour chart for your child

A behaviour warning card

A personalised child behaviour report

A personalised elf behaviour report

A personalised goodbye letter

An elf sign

So thanks to Making Memories Magical (you can find them on Facebook here for £21.50 plus p&p) my baba has an Elf Buddy.

Winning at Elfing and Parenting

And mama has a drinking buddy.

Love Missuswolf xxx

Pinteresting My Way To Christmas

Friday 21st October 2016

What better way to get organised for Christmas

than by using Pinterest?

For those of you who know me, I’m a complete and utter planner who loves lists and a good old spreadsheet.

I have a Christmas Spreadsheet (don’t laugh) which lists all people I need to buy for. It then has what I’m buying them, from where, how much, when I’ve ordered it and when it’s been delivered.

There’s also a box to complete to say I’ve wrapped it.

Yup.

Each year, the same template is used and the content is deleted. I also have a spreadsheet for my Christmas savings. I try to save £20 a month to contribute to Christmas – so come December there’s a handy £240. I copied this idea from a very good friend. (Although this year the saving hasn’t been quite as good with me being off on maternity. Ooops).

What does all this have to do

with Pinterest?

Well, my friends, I’ll tell you.

This year, I’ve created a few Pinterest Boards to do with Christmas.

The first one being Christmas Presents To Buy.

How does it work?

I go on the internet to browse for a particular present. I find it and I Pin this to my Christmas Presents To Buy Board. I make a note in the description area of who it’s for.

If the website doesn’t have the Pinterest sharing facility, I usually save the image and Pin it. I then copy the website link to my saved Pin (if there’s an easier way than this please let me know!)

Missuswolf Pinterest to Christmas - example of Christmas Pinterest Board

I’m not that organised – only got two presents on so far! But you get the idea.

That way, I’ve got the image of what I want to buy and the link to the website.

Tada!

This is so that when it comes to ordering, all the presents are listed in one area. With the link at my fingertips.

No need for my spreadsheet (sob!) I’m sure I’ll still use it. Even if it’s for the satisfaction of ticking things off.

So while I’m in the ideas gathering stage, I can pool everything in one place.

It means I can spread the present buying out.

I usually do it all online anyway. I’m a bit of a Shopping Scrooge and can’t handle the Christmas Crowds. Much rather sit at home. I don’t think it’s appropriate to venture into shops in my PJ’s while drinking Baileys or Mulled Wine anyway.

And if you don’t want everyone seeing what you’re buying (in-case you’re followed by who you’re buying for) you can mark the board secret.

Hurrah!

I’m going to apply the same principle while shopping for a Christmas Party Outfit.

And for any presents that I want. Although I may make this board public in-case anyone wants to buy me one ;-).

I used Pinterest a couple of years ago to source ideas to make my Christmas table decorations.

The lovely Samantha Rickelton over at North East Family Fun has set up a board called North East Parents for any days out/activities and family ideas. I’m going to keep my eye on this one for any Christmas themed posts coming up too! You can follow this here.

Happy Pinning!

Love Missuswolf xxx