I chose this picture today because I am so proud of William’s absolute ability to lose himself in imaginary play. He totally believes in his imaginary friend the princess. He acts out stories all the time, some like Percy The … Continue reading
This Christmas was Matilda’s first Christmas and we had learned from Esther and William that though we wanted it to be special for her she would not really care either way.
In fact during the festive period she was at her happiest rustling wrapping paper from other people’s presents.
And when she was given a wrapped present of her own it did not remain hers for long as it was devoured by her paper ripping siblngs who have an insatiable appetite for presents!
With all of this in mind David and I decided not to wrap our presents for Matilda Mae and instead we created her a My First Christmas Box. In fact she had two of these, a present box and a sensory one. Let me tell you more.
My First Christmas Present Box
I found a large cardboard box and wrapped it in festive wrapping paper. I then put a BundleBean blanket at the bottom of the box on which to place the first layer of presents. Here we put Matilda’s first ever doll from Lamaze, a Tilly Tortoise from Kiddicare Lakeside, a beautiful monkey crochet hat and a Lilliputiens Nicky The Discovery Duck Activity Toy from Play Merrily which is just one of the greatest baby toys I have ever seen!
Over these gifts we lay more wrapping paper. The shiniest and noisiest we could find.
Then we added another layer of toys.
This layer was made up of traditional, wooden toys. A simple wooden aeroplane, a rolling shape sorter and an activity cube.
After a layer of gold paper we added some more presents. A soft stacker from Lamaze, a squeaky Penguin, some WOW bath toys, the book of One Snowy Night, a Haba mouse in a house from Play Merrily and a lullaby star show for her room.
We then added more wrapping paper on top of which we placed her stocking and some pictures made for her by Esther and William.
Inside her stocking Matilda would find a Brio rolling bell rattle, a wooden car, a wooden teething toy and some Christmas board / buggy books.
Her main presents this year were a floral rocking horse and a 7in1 EverEarth Activity Centre that she is sharing with Esther and William. It is a wonderful eco toy that they all already seem to love.
Matilda loved her box of presents. I am glad that we did not wrap them all individually. She had just as much, if not more fun this way and she got to keep the box!
The other thing that we did with all the presents for Matilda and the twins was to take them out of all their packaging and make sure that they were ready to play with as soon as they were found. It meant that Christmas morning was much less stressful and there was far less mess. A top tip to be remembered for next year.
Another thing that we will do again next year is have a Christmas Sensory Box.
My First Christmas Sensory Box
I have been researching sensory boxes for all occasions on Pinterest. It is an idea that I like and these are resources that are not only great fun for children to use but also for parents to create. I can see our Christmas Box now coming out every year and being added to in the way that we are constantly developing our family memory tree.
The Christmas Sensory Box is a box filled with festive things. I included:
red and gold tinsel
white soft furry baubles
white rough bristly baubles
a snow globe
reindeer decorations
snowman decorations
snowflake shapes
old Christmas card pictures
A soft nativity scene and characters
A small Christmas vocabulary book
wrapping paper strips
battery operated fairy lights
cuddly penguins
santa hats
santa decoration
metal snowflakes
Christmas carols CD (to listen to whilst exploring the box)
A fluffy robin red breast
a plastic Christmas pudding
a star finger puppet
an angel
an elf
Sleigh bells in varying instruments
Matilda loved exploring the sensory box and so did Esther and William. They learned the names of Mary, Joseph and Jesus. And of course, Father Christmas. They learned all the words to Jingle Bells and sang it all around the house whilst shaking their bells! The box was a success as a sensory activity and gave us all some shared festive fun. This was definitely the start of a Christmas tradition that I want to continue.
And one of the most magical memories for me of this Christmas, Matilda’s first Christmas, will be the 20 minutes or so we had together with this box of festive sensory fun before anyone else in the house got up. It was lovely! Made the start of our Christmas just wonderful!
Long may magical Christmas mornings continue!
What tradition did you start this year that you will definitely continue in Christmas future?
Today I tried to get THE shot for Esther and William’s thank you cards. This was my favourite And this is card we have made
Matilda Mae is 8 months old today.
She is a strong baby who loves a cuddle. Mostly when we are out and about I wear her and she now has sleep associations that we are trying hard to break. The biggest being able to fall asleep not on me.
She has never been one for sleeping in a buggy and I just assumed that with The Graco Evo it would be the same.
On New Years Day Esther and William wanted to get out on their scooters and I thought that the bright sunny winters day would be perfect for testing out nap time potential with the Graco Evo.
Snuggled up tight in the fleecy cosy toes that comes with the stroller and with an added woollen blanket for extra sleep enhancing warmth!!
The village where we live has a large playing field at one end with a sports pavilion and a fairly straight, smooth path perfect for scooting on.
Off we all went.
Esther and William scooted with Daddy on the path and Matilda Mae and I put The Graco Evo‘s nap time credentials to the test.
Matilda Mae likes to be jiggled to sleep and so I thought that an uneven surface would be best for getting her to drop off. We braved the rather soggy field!
The Graco Evo was easy to push and manoeuvre on the wet grass. I walked round and round the field leaving tracks in our wake. I did not notice any churning of the ground until David told me to look at the wheels. The exposed suspension springs were entirely caked in mud and adorned with leaves, twigs and who knows what else. I have yet to bring myself to clean the wheels. The frame of the buggy has been left outside until I have the time and motivation to do so.
Mud Mud Glorious Mud!
This is my first real negative for the Graco Evo. How much mud sticks to this part of the under carriage and how horrible it is going to be clean it after each muddy excursion. Not a job I am looking forward to!
I was pleasantly surprised though at how easy the stroller handles on the grassy surface and some of it was quite waterlogged.
The main thing though that I must share with you is that it worked. Operation Nap Time was a success!! In less than two laps of the field Matilda was asleep and stayed so whilst I joined in the scooting fun and played in the swings and slide with the twins.
So thank you Graco Evo for making that possible and enhancing our New Years Day.
I think one of the main contributing factors was that I could so easily adjust the recline of the seat. So she started upright and then I lowered her a little and then lowered her further still once she was asleep. I chose not to put her completely flat as she has a bit of a cold and so having a slightly raised head helped her to fall asleep more easily I think.
One huge benefit I discovered through this outing is that the storage basket truly is enormous. Even for a walk to the local playing field I have to pack full my Pink Lining Twin Change Bag and. guess what? It fits into The Graco Evo basket with plenty of room to spare!
Room on the Evo!
Think we might have to try a shopping challenge next. Can I fill the basket?
I will have plenty of time to do so if Matilda continues to sleep so peacefully in her chilli red carriage!
Sleep in Heavenly Peace
Sweet Dreams!
And so it begins. Twice before have I begun this challenge and twice have I failed. This time, this third time, I am determined to succeed. Photo 365. A photo a day to look back on as a reflection of … Continue reading
Before the dawn of 2013 I wanted to share some more Christmas with you. Today … our memory tree. Our Christmas tree changes slightly every year. The colours are red, gold and green and the decorations follow this theme on … Continue reading
As we are off to Coombe Mill for our holiday this year I thought I might start entering the Country Kids linky. Sorry to start with a review, I promise that next week I’ll do better x When asked what … Continue reading
On Christmas Day 2012 we booked a very special holiday for Matilda Mae’s first birthday in May 2013. We are going to Coombe Mill Farm. I have been wanting to go for over a year now and finally it is all confirmed. I cannot wait for our week away and for Esther and William, and Matilda Mae, to get really close to the animals. I know that we are going to have a wonderful time.
Because of this extra special family present I thought it fitting that I join in with Fiona’s Christmas Blog Hop.
So here I am.
Merry Christmas Everyone.
We have had a lovely time!
Christmas Eve
On Christmas Eve we had some friends round for a champagne brunch. It was a lovely relaxed day and we ate smoked salmon, scrambled eggs and muffins. Our friend brought round a Yule Log and cream which made the meal complete. We cracked crackers and exchanged presents and the festivities were truly begun. After watching The Snowman together we said our goodbyes. David and I took the children to the local crib service. It was lovely to hear the Christmas story and sing some traditional carols. I love Christmas Eve. Esther and William went early to bed and Matilda Mae was not far behind. David and I finished the final preparations for Christmas Day. I was a little disappointed that Esther and William are still really too young to understand the intricacies of our Christmas traditions. Next year I think is going to be our first truly magical year. I am excited for it already!
Festive Fashion!
Meeting Matilda Mae
Exchanging Cards
Giving Gifts
Sharing Stories
Our Christmas Star
What’s In Santa’s Sack?
Stockings
Secret Santa!
Christmas Day 2012
Christmas Day started quietly as Matilda and I were alone exploring her Christmas Sensory Box. I have put all the contents of this away now to recreate next year as all three of the children enjoyed playing with it through advent. On reflection I wish that I had used this early morning time to open some presents with Matilda Mae as she did not really get to open any of her festive goodies until the day after Boxing Day. William was the first to open his stocking with David and I in the lounge. He was so excited and loved each off the traditional toys he pulled from his stocking. I think for Esther and William these stocking gifts would have been enough. They could not believe their eyes when they found all the rest of their presents in the playroom. They delighted in each of their openings and it really was wonderful to watch them open and explore all of their new books, puzzles and toys. They even liked the hats that I bought for them!
We had a lovely breakfast of pancakes, maple syrup and bacon whilst watching The Snowman and The Snow Dog which Esther and William enjoyed much more than David and I.
We joined the rest of the extended family for lunch with David’s Mum and Dad. We do this every year so that all the cousins can get together for presents and for lunch. It was a lovely afternoon and all the children were really well behaved. I was very proud of Esther and William indeed. They were great company for the whole day.
In the evening I got my presents from David including a very cool wireless printer. Living the dream!
Christmas Sensory Box
Stocking Sound Machine
Traditional Toys
Break On Through
Scoot Scoot!
Rock A Bye Baby
Wheels On The Bus!
First Christmas Dinner EVER!
Boxing Day
On Boxing Day we went for a walk and a scoot around Bedgebury Pinetum. We then went back to Granny’s for lunch. Another lovely family day. It was nice to get home though, especially for the children who really wanted to play with their presents. And still had presents to open!!
Scooter Sister
Scooter Brother
Scooter Envy from her Graco Evo
All through this Christmas 2012 I have been thinking about what has worked and what has not in preparation for Christmas 2013 which I think will be our most magical yet as Esther and William will really be ready to believe. This year they loved Father Christmas and knew that something exciting was going on but next year I think they will truly love putting out food for the reindeer, baking cookies for Father Christmas and all those other traditional things. I cannot wait!
David and I have agreed that we will always have Christmas morning home alone while Esther and William are young. It is such a magical time for our little family and I want to treasure the moments and the memories for always.
Merry Christmas Everyone x
We wish you all the best for a happy and healthy 2013 x