CRAFTS AND DIY
Dried Orange and Lavender Star Garland
If you are like me, you keep seeing gorgeous dried orange garland and salt dough garland EVERYWHERE. We had a lazy Saturday to ourselves last weekend and I thought it might be the perfect day to try out this slow, but fun activity. Thankfully I had a few oranges on hand and lots of dried ...
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MUSIC, FILMS & APPS
Cosy Movies to Watch this Winter
The festive season is a perfect time to cosy up and hunker down on the sofa, in bed, in a nook or snug corner of your home with your loved ones and watch a documentary, new film or classic movie this Winter. I’ve pulled together a few family favourites, some for young ones, some for ...
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CHRISTMAS CRAFTS
A slow and simple Christmas (and craft to make with little ones)
For me and for many, 2020 has been a year of 'Slow and Simple'. Our lifestyles and livelihoods were forced to slow down, to adapt or at the very least relocate to our living rooms. And many of us have had to scale back on things and to keep things simple so as to get ...
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CELEBRATIONS
Make and gift a festive simmer pot
Have you ever thought about how powerful the olfactory memory is? Many times, different smells take me back to a particular moment in time -- often a childhood memory. Spices have always been around our house. African food needs quite a bit of it! The smell of delicately balanced ginger and cloves will always remind ...
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CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS
The Rule of Four for Christmas
Something to want, something you need, something to wear, something to read. It's the rule of four, a friendly but mannered way to approach gift giving for adults, and children alike. A more economical, environmental, and sustainable approach to a season which has started earlier this year than ever before. Could we all peak too ...
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CHRISTMAS CRAFTS
Pretty paper flowers to decorate gifts or your house -- here's a simple DIY
I've recently been making these pretty paper flowers which are super easy to fold together, and perfect to use for gift wrapping or to decorate the house (I used them for our activity advent calendar this year). There's really not much to it -- the only things you need are: paper (preferably not too thick -- ...
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CELEBRATIONS
Thanksgiving Traditions: How our family celebrates today.
In my family, Thanksgiving is a complicated holiday. For many Americans it is a time to spend with family, but also a time to reminisce about "Pilgrims and Indians" and the story of the "first Thanksgiving feast". However, for other families, like mine, it is a reminder of the genocide and atrocities that soon followed ...
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CELEBRATIONS
Little You : A Beautiful Board Book
In November in the United States it is Native American Heritage Month and Thanksgiving is also just around the corner. So I wanted to share a lovely board book which is very timely called, Little You written by Richard Van Camp and illustrated by Julie Flett. This is a book written and illustrated by two Indigenous ...
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CRAFTS AND DIY
A fun translucent lantern with confetti for little crafters
Have you ever made a lantern? Well, that is exactly what we did this week: a simple translucent luminary craft using what we had on our craft shelf. It can easily be done in three (3) simplified steps: decorate, cut, and assemble. For us, November is a great month to work on making luminaries, especially if ...
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HALLOWEEN CELEBRATIONS
Brown-Butter Maple Popcorn -- perfect for all of Autumn's parties
We have been celebrating Halloween for weeks, because, why not? First we did these super simple and very effective oversized spiderwebs, and since then we have been layering decorations. We added in our pumpkins from last year. Our children love to dress up regardless of the season, so we just decided to make some of ...
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HALLOWEEN CRAFTS
Perforated Pumpkin Luminaries - A Fun Halloween Cardboard Craft
This year I did not have the energy to go collect a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch and carve it with a toddler, so we tried something new! We "carved", painted and decorated cardboard pumpkins and made them into perforated pumpkin luminaries. This method is 'less mess and no stress', using materials you already have on ...
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CELEBRATIONS
How we do Halloween, when we don’t do Halloween.
As a child, growing up in a part of South London which was, at the time (early 90’s) rather under-represented, Halloween was a given. Halloween seemed to be everywhere, and everyone celebrated it. Or at least that’s how it felt when I was 7 years old. I had a couple of very makeshift outfits, remember ...
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HALLOWEEN CELEBRATIONS
Oversized Kirigami Spider Webs -- a quick DIY Halloween decoration (and game too)!
Growing up, I loved Halloween so much! And I hope my children say the same same day. This year I have decided to start Halloween a bit earlier in the month, and to make up for all the things we can't do -- school Halloween discos and trick-or-treating, I have focussed on the things we ...
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CRAFTS AND DIY
The Sweetest Flower Fairy Wings in the World -- make your own!
Oh to be a little fairy or butterfly. And oh to be one years old again! These butterfly or flower fairy wings (you choose!) are the sweetest little gift that my children made for their baby sister's first birthday. Being resourceful is always a good idea, but especially useful during lockdown, and for a first ...
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RECIPES
Libyan Sharba, my favourite dish for a big family iftar
My father is proudly from Ghariyan, a mountain town, 100km south of Tripoli, Libya. 46 years in Britain has never shaken his love for home, and with it comes the most delicious cuisine which he often cooks up for us all. Today I share with you quite possibly my favourite (so hard to choose!): Libyan ...
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CELEBRATIONS
Ramadan: The Islamic Month of Fasting
This week sees the beginning of the annual period of fasting called Ramadan, which lasts for 29 or 30 days, according to the lunar Islamic calendar. Observed by a large proportion of the almost 2bn Muslims all over the world and collectively felt as one of the most special times of the year, it is ...
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EASTER CELEBRATIONS
Beautiful Eggs Illustrated by Alice Lindstrom
Author and illustration, Alice Lindstrom, has produced this exquisite book, Beautiful Eggs and we've loved reading it this weekend. Beautiful Eggs celebrates egg decorating around the world. From beeswax drawing in Ukraine, using colourful straws in the Czech Republic to using washi paper in Japan. There is even an egg stencil at the back of ...
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VALENTINE'S DAY CRAFTS
Love Heart Chain -- you just need paper and a stapler!
This is a Valentine's Day craft at its finest -- simple, sweet, and fun. It requires only strips of paper and a stapler and can quickly be made. You can choose to make a really long paper chain, and hang it across the room. Or hang it so it falls vertically. But you can make ...
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CELEBRATIONS
Galettes de Rois -- a goûter of a French tradition in January
A goûter, or a taste, of kings' cake is a tradition in France during January. Traditionally this cake, known as a Galettes des Rois, marks the celebration of Three Kings Day / Epiphany / Twelth Night. Fortunately it is celebrated for the entire month of January, so the good news is that you can still ...
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OUTDOORS
Winter Scavenger Hunt - a fun outside activity
Here in the Northern Hemisphere, December means shorter, darker and often colder days, which can sometimes make getting outside feel difficult, especially in the late afternoons and early evenings after the sun has already set. If you're looking for an idea to help children run off that pre-dinner energy, let me suggest a winter scavenger ...
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CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS
Christmas Gifts versus Christmas Experiences
Our family live in two different continents, and with three children, it is easy to accumulate and acquire a lot of stuff! I am a fan of curated living and only the very special items make the cut in regards to clothes, toys, books, and games. But as much as I love Christmas, and as ...
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HOME AND DÉCOR
The sweetest personalised Christmas baubles from Ink & Honey
Last year I discovered Ink & Honey on the Babyccino portal and immediately fell in love with the sweet personalised baubles. I ordered them for my kids as well as gifts for friend's kids, and they're now our most treasured ornaments on our Christmas tree. How sweet are they! (Last year, our little live tree ...
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CELEBRATIONS
Diwali – The Festival of Light
Here in the northern hemisphere, the season of dark days has begun and if you live in a multicultural city, or even near one, you may have also seen the celebrations of light. This time of year also sees The Festival of Light, Diwali, the largest in the Hindu tradition, celebrated all over the planet. ...
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