The past couple of months has had a lot going on for us, one bad thing after the other at the moment, and Christmas 2016 already seems like a lifetime ago. It was a Chrismas full of new adventures and a few challenges thrown at us. Most importantly It was a great day, we got to spend and enjoy the day with family.

Wynsors World of Shoes kindly sent a huge box of crafting goodies, along with some super comfy slippers for Jacob and Summer and some special treats (hot chocolate reindeer, chocolate coins and chocolate balls).

We did a lot of Christmas crafts in December - the perfect cold weather activity and it really gets you into the Christmas Spirit! Christmas crafting is great fun to display the kids finished pieces and I love to get them out year after year.

When you hear 'Crayola' you instantly think 'crayons' - but now you can buy fun new Crayola board games - we love board games and were excited to receive Doodle Delirium for review.

This is a board game for 8+ years old and is a fun game to play, and played in teams.

Do you have teen boys and struggle to find gifts for them? 

The two youngest (7 and 4) are easy to buy for, toys and gifts, no problem, however, for my two oldest (13 and 16), I find it much more challenging. They mainly request clothing, but I like to get other stuff too, some fun gadgets, something they will use and enjoy and maybe something that we can play with together. So what better site than Qwerkity to search and find those perfect gifts for teens?! (that are not boring clothes). 

Kiwi and Poppy both love their walks, and being typical Beagles they love rolling in fox poo - it stinks when they do this. (we have to drive home with the car windows open). Last weekend, not only did Kiwi roll in fox poo, she also took a dip in the very stinky dyke. She came bounding back to us soaking wet, muddy and very smelly - her tail was wagging and she looked very pleased with herself.  Poppy's just as bad too, she loves rolling in fox poo, although, she's not too keen getting her paws wet, so no jumping in the water from her.

We've only started subscribing to Netflix since a few months and one of the kids favourite cartoons the kids love to watch is DinoTrux. It's a Netflix original cartoon from DreamWorks Animation. So when we were sent a box of DinoTrux toys, the kids were rather excited.

Both Summer and Jacob love dinosaurs, and, Jacob especially loves anything that is mechanical. DinoTrux is just that, a mix of part-dino and part-mechanical.

Yay! It's Christmas next week - can you believe that? We here, are very excited. The kids have been doing their nativity plays, we've been to see Santa a couple of times and we're getting ready for the big day. And, doing lots of festive arts and crafts is one of our favourite things to do during this time.

So we were excited to take part of the LalaLoopsy Christmas Campaign.  We were kindly sent a Lalaloopsy Princess Mittens Doll with Pet, along with a Christmas star and lots of stick on gems to decorate the star with.

Me&i are a Swedish company, who produce fun, unique and colourful clothing for both adults and children. The way they reach their customers is unique as they operate through a network of agents across the country, who host parties for you in your home and other ways. 

Me&i sent us a couple of pieces to review, to try the items out and to learn more about the company and how they do it.

Last week we were invited to Wyevale Garden Centre in Bressingham for afternoon tea with Santa. 

This was our first visit to see Santa this year, and it's safe to say the kids were rather excited.  We booked our table at 3pm, and we joined another family to an hour and half of festive fun and tasty food. 

I love Christmas decorations that are just that extra little bit special, whether they are personalized or it's something you collect each year and add to (we have a few snowglobes with the year on). These are the dec's I get excited about getting out every year and putting on display.

I love cheese. I'd picked cheese over chocolate any day. I always make sure there is cheese in my fridge - my dogs love it too.

The great thing about cheese is it is very versatile and can be enjoyed at any time; it can be a snack, added to a meal, added to lunch, as a dessert, or even breakfast. Cheese is the perfect sandwich filling or melted on a jacket potato.  My favourite party food snack is cheese and pineapple on the cocktail stick. I love cheese hot or cold, and It partners up perfectly with a nice glass of wine.

Lily’s Driftwood Bay, is a cute and adorable show that kids love. It's on Nick Jr, Netflix and Channel 5’s Milkshake each day! The cartoon is based around the adventures of Lily;  a six-year-old girl with an imagination big enough to create an entire island! Sweet and charming, but rough and tumble in equal measure, Lily lives an idyllic life with her Dad in their beach hut, where the sand dunes and sea provide the perfect backdrop for her remarkable imagination.