Christmas Message

A Merry Christmas to all readers of my blog. After just over one month I have 132 Twitter followers, 10 Facebook followers and get between 60 - 90 hits a day. Not bad at all! It makes me very happy to imagine that there are people out there who share my love of pressie hunting and I look forward to unearthing more treasure in the new year when I will finally be running my giveaway competition. Sort of a late Christmas present. I'm working hard on the idea. It's got to be good or else what's the point? 

I hope that you all have a wonderful time wherever you are going and whoever you are with and remember that, no matter what, that it IS the thought that counts.

Peace be with you.

Jenx

Stocking Fillers 22

We're coming right down to it now with just three more shopping days until Christmas. Still time to finish off the stockings that wow. I found this Box of 6 Pencils £5.95 from Emma Bridgewater on lovely stationery site The Paperie and special delivery is still possible until Friday but, failing that,  is also is currently stocked at WHSmith shops. Pretty and practical with Emma Bridgewater's distinctive loveheart pattern, this gift box is a treat for girlies of all ages. 

On the 22nd Day of Christmas...

I bought this Gazillion Bubbles Machine £15.99 for my godson on his fourth birthday. He had all his mates in a village hall for a do and this made them go crazy. Honestly, I had no idea. The only downside was a very slippery floor but the nippers were all having too much fun to notice. I can't recommend this toy enough for hours of fun and it can be wheeled out time and time again. Available from Toy's R Us and other large toy stores. 

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Here is something that parents either love or hate. It's up to you but I know for a fact that kids absolutely love them. Bath Crayons £4.00 from Hawkins Bazaar is the perfect way to encourage creativity even whilst bathing (we should all be so lucky). I have given these before and received withering looks as a consequence so choose your audience. They do wash easily off all surfaces and have a clever retractable mechanism for storage between use. Hours of splashy fun! If you are too late for the post, find similar at The Early Learning Centre. 

On the 21st Day of Christmas...

I'm trying to find things that you can also find on the high street now since most of the Christmas postage deadlines are now either upon us or past. How about this Set of 4 Mini Dishes £16.80 by Sophie Conran for Portmeirion. My love affair with this range of crockery and glassware began four years ago when I chose it as my wedding china and I use every piece of it. My mother gave me these bowls last year to further the collection. They are so diddy measuring 3.5cm x 9cm and yet so versatile. I use them when cooking to house prepared ingredients. I have one by the range with rock salt and pepper in it for seasoning cooking. They've been out a parties with snacks in and used at dinner parties for condiments. Made in a style that makes them appear hand thrown they come packaged in Christmas green paper and Sophie Conran's distinctive mint green, spotty boxes, they are a lovely present. In fact, unlike a lot of crockery ranges, most of the items in the range stand by themselves as things of beauty.  I found them on County China & Glass the but range is also available at John Lewis and stockists countrywide. 

Stocking Fillers 20

Amazing and original and packaged in a lovely tin with a hand-drawn design printed on it. This witty range of Clothes Plasters (from £2.99) are embroidered patches designed by artist Jennie Maizels and require only a hot iron to affix individuality and flare to your children's clothes. They come in packs of one, two, five or ten (£9.99 the ones in the tin above) and there is a style to suit all. My favourite is the "Love" range mainly because I have a favourite jumper with a moth hole at the chest and I think one of these would prolong its life considerably. Gorgeous!  

On the 20th Day of Christmas...

Here's a nice surprise! I found this Mrs. Beeton Jelly Mould £15.00 in Tesco this afternoon. It's a very decent reproduction of the ceramic traditional Victorian types and comes really nicely packaged. Normally I get a bit fed up with all the big stores doing mass produced wash bags, manicure kits and novelty mug sets for the present desperate at Christmas-time so this was a really refreshing find. I never make jelly but I would love to put this on a shelf in my kitchen along with my collection of traditional stoneware kitchen crocks. I think it would look right at home. Perhaps you know someone similar.

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Practise makes perfect! It's perfect for whiling away the hours on a rainy Boxing Day and comes beautifully packaged. Ridley's Magic Rope Cutter £3.99 available at Ripe along with a number of other Instant Illusion toys. Magic!

On the 19th Day of Christmas...

It is astounding how quickly children grow up and once they are standing, it's fun to keep track of their progress. My dad used to mark the height of my brother and I on the doorway to the kitchen with a biro. They've just had a refit but those little scratchy marks and dates are still there - a little piece of family history. This Davy Dragon Height Chart £31.00 from Kid's Rooms is a beautifully conceived decoration for the nursery or playroom to help chart their progress. It is made from fabric, attaches like a hanging to the wall and has little fabric picture frames that mark the latest height of each child that you can put a photograph in. Perfect as a christmas, birthday or new baby gift that will last for years. 

Showcase: The Annual Merchant of Hoghton Festive Market

Yesterday, we visited Hoghton Tower, near Preston, for the annual Merchant of Hoghton Festive Market. I have had in my diary for ages so we were really looking forward to it. The event was very popular. We arrived at about 10.30am and joined the queue of be-wellied and wrapped up crowds all making their way by car and on foot up the hill towards the fortified manor house. 

This is what Lancashire life at Christmas is all about, particularly for us having only been resident in the county for a year or so. The air smelled of roasting meats and the landscape all around was dusted with the remains of last week's snow. Simply magical. 

We wove our way amongst the many stalls dotted along the path up to the house. I really liked the Ballard Designs stall which was overflowing with beautiful home furnishings made from warm and cosy woollens, linens and heavy cottons matched with leather and ribbon all set up on gorgeous fat hay bales. I definitely look forward to watching out for their website when it goes live.

Inside the barn, we found the beautifully-packaged and friendly Pleasington Catering stall and their range of hot dishes including Salmon & Smoked Haddock Crumble, Shepherd's Pie and Aubergine Parmesan; all freshly prepared for the day. Finally, we narrowed the choice down to the  Salmon and Smoked Haddock (which we had for supper last night by the way and it was delicious!)

We also picked up some great big loin chops of lamb for our Christmas dinner from Rossendale-based butchers J. & R. Holt (01706 212296) who are not currently online but who cover a many, many regional farmer's markets and will return to Hoghton Tower at the next Merchant market in the new year.  

Finally, we finished our trip off with a visit to Hoghton Tower's gift shop. Set out in a former stable complete with cheerfully painted stalls and is a treasure trove of really lovely gifts for the home, souvenirs and traditional wooden toys. This was where we finally found our daughter's Christmas present and a few more souvenirs for family and friends we will be visiting round the country in the next few weeks. 

It was a lovely day trip out for our family and a great opportunity to discover a little bit more about our new home. Sadly, the queue for a very popular Santa's grotto proved too much for our very grumpy baby but we figure we'll just have to get their earlier next year. The next Merchant of Hoghton Farmer's Market will take place on 15th January 2012 from 10am - 2pm and it costs £1.00 per car admission. We will no doubt be returning then. We highly recommend it.