Homemade Christmas Jumper

you know when you suddenly realise that you haven't had a chance to buy the outfit your children need for school that day?

Well today that was me, I subconciously knew it was Christmas Jumper Day for Mikey today - the last day of term, I did even look out for a Christmas jumper his size when I was in town at the weekend, but couldn't see any that were reasonably priced, and then I did mean to go and look again before this morning arrived, but you know how it is, one thing or the other came up and I simply haven't had a minute to go into town to seek out the last remaining 6 years olds Christmas Jumper.

So this morning came and Mikey jumped up excitedly claiming he was going to be wearing his Christmas Jumper today, and then I realised I had not told him that infact I had not been to buy him a Santa encrested sweater.

So what do you do at 8am with only 10 minutes to spare before leaving the house, and a mightily upset child who demands a Christmas themed jumper? and no the standard knitted jumper just won't do - it simply HAS to have a reindeer, snowman or Santa face on it somewhere.
Well I did the only thing I could think of in the remaining 5 minutes

I cut up an old fabric stocking and attached it to an old cardigan (using the magic that is sewsimple)

Homemade Christmas Jumper - cheap as chips and no sewing skills required!

Christmas Gift ideas on a budget

There is no denying it, Christmas is coming the calenders only have a few more doors to open and the decorations are all out, the Christmas concerts have finished and today is my youngest last day at school.


I have once again left the whole organisation to the last minute, and I am still hoping things fall into place. The one thing I do love however is the trip into town to buy some gifts for family and friends, it has become a bit of a Christmas tradition, just me and Chloe head into town on a bus, without the boys complaining, to buy some presents. Last year we went a few days before Christmas, this year we went abit earlier, there wasn't as much Christmas cheer around just hustle and bustle in the shops, which was a shame, and didn't do as much to put me in the Christmas spirit.  I may well take another trip on Christmas eve. We did however manage to buy a great selection of gifts.

With budgets tight we try to stick to token gestures, rather than luxury items, just a little something to say 'we were thinking of you' and thats where Poundland comes in.

Poundland has such a great selection of gifts and me and Chloe really enjoyed picking out things we hope our friends will like.

There are gifts for every one, even the furry members of the family aren't left out with special doggy crackers and Jacksons very favourite Wagg mmm's

Poundland have a huge selection of Christmas treats for humans too, from Cadbury chocolate selection boxes 3 for £2 which is a great price, to chocolate Santa's and candy canes there are loads of Christmas munchies to choose from.

But what I like best about Poundland is that they have a great range of other gifts, lots of novelty items and toys.

From photo frames to toy planes you really can find something for every member of the family all at an affordable price.


I love the fact I can allow Chloe to pick anything she likes without having to say 'oh we don't have enough money to buy that' after shes spent ages choosing the perfect gift.

The selection of arts and crafts is great too, with Christmas themed craft sets and lots of colouring books, pens and pencils.

We picked out the Christmas 3D balloon model kit which looks lots of fun for Christmas morning, with three characters in the set I intend on putting one character into each stocking for my three as they are individually wrapped inside the pack.

I also love the Christmas decorations and accessories Poundland have available, with great wrapping paper and a lovely selection of cheap Christmas cards which are simply perfect for school friends.

Over the years we have added many Poundland decorations  to our tree which are still used after many years.

This year we added a lovely little reindeer snow globe to our collection. and brought some lovely Christmas gift bags 3 for £1 a really great price!

If you are still looking for last minute stocking fillers or gifts for friends then do take a look at your local poundland.

Disclaimer : We were sent £20 voucher for this review but as always all thoughts are my own.

Tis the season...

December - blimey, where has the year gone!

The past few months I seem to be constantly trying to catch up, with so many things happening this year I just don't have much time to do anything.

Christmas however is supposed to be a season of goodwill, of happiness, tis the season to be jolly after all isn't it?

But this year I just can't quite get fully into the jolly line of thought.

Don't get me wrong, I am trying, I went along to the Christmas fair and local light switch on the other week, last year it was a highlight of the month, I loved the fireworks, the lights the Christmas cheer - I took so many beautiful photos and it really did get me in the Christmas spirit.

However this year things didn't really go as well, firstly Chloe was being a right pain, after weeks of asking when the Christmas fair was, she decided on the night she was not wanting to go along, when we got there she was being a total grump, and the loud music and lights just made her upset, which put a real dampner on everything, she refused to cheer up and complained about everything including the food. (she must be the only child I know who doesn't like burgers or chips!)

Trying to not loose my cool completely and give up and retreat home, I stuck it out for the boys sake, however it meant I didn't end up taking many nice photographs, you just can't capture the moment when the moment consists of grumpy children and stressed parents.


However Chloe did start to enjoy herself after I eventually found some food she liked. and she then even plucked up enough courage to join her brothers on a few rides.

But the start of the festivities just didn't seem to have the same cheer, and the list of 'to do's' seems to be ever increasing.

 I still need to organise the presents for the children - I always leave things to the very last minute and try to convince myself its a good idea to keep things low key. Then there is the  food and everything else that makes a perfect Christmas.

I need to  make an angel costume for Mikey for his school play on Thursday - something slightly better than an inside out Tshirt and a bit of tinsel, but I bet that will be what we end up with.

And I need to find some time to tidy the house!

Thankfully Wilkos sent me a nice box of household cleaning supplies, and whilst this might not be the most appealing thing to receive in the post, they are extremely useful!

The antibacterial wipes are simply perfect for quickly wiping the sideboards and floors (this time of year is a nightmare with muddy dog prints everywhere!) and the oven cleaner will mean that at least my oven will be on top form for cooking the Christmas lunch.

Wilkos product range is really affordable and the quality is great, for simple no fuss cleaning then looking in your local Wilkos store is a great choice, and for those last minute stressful Christmas cleaning sessions then the Wilkos selection will ensure you have everything you need.

I guess as long as the house is clean then everything else will eventually fall into place, won't it?