Best advent calendars for teenagers 2025 (UK)
From beauty and gaming to chocolate and refillable options, these are the teen advent calendars worth buying in 2025. UK-only picks, current prices: last updated September 2025 Teenagers can be notoriously hard to please, and finding the right advent calendar for teen boys or teen girls is even trickier. Don’t panic – we’ve done the hard work. This post is freshly updated for 2025 with the very best advent calendars for teenagers in...
The REAL Polar Express Bell.
Remember the First Gift of Christmas? The Polar Express Bell? Well, we know you do, because we’re getting LOADS of people searching for one for themselves. We first featured the official Polar Express Bell ten years ago – and every year we get a rash of people searching for one. Because there is just ONE official Polar Express bell, which is genuinely a bee-yoo-tiful Sleigh Bell. JUST like the ‘First Gift of...
‘Our top 5 family card games for Christmas’
Don’t know about you, but our Christmas is filled with silly games in the evenings; no TV for us, we spend hours playing parlour games, family card games, Pictionary (our own version; no board, a hat full of Christmas-themed paper slips, and yes, we might even have our own flip chart & stand…) and the like. Every year we add a couple of new ones, but every year some of the old faithfuls come out again –...
The Best Cheese Board – yes, of course you (don’t) need one.
I’m a sucker for a perfect cheese board. Of course we don’t get it out every week. But everyone loves sitting around at the end of a meal, nibbling on the cheese and accompaniments as you ‘fill up the corners’, finish up the wine and relax in the glow of a few hours spent in lovely company.And of course at Christmas, nothing beats it – and not just for when you’re entertaining. In the odd quietness...
Better-Than-Butterkist Crunchy Butterscotch Popcorn Recipe
While we were photographing for our ‘Ingredients for a Family Movie Night’ post, I happened to post on my Instagram Stories that I was making Crunchy Butterscotch Popcorn. I immediately and repeatedly got asked for the recipe – so here it is. We happen to have our own home-grown popcorn expert. Years ago, a very young Boy was fascinated by microwave popcorn – it was a rare treat, but watching it expand and pop...
3hrs of Original Tom & Jerry Cartoons for FREE! *happy*
Ten years ago, my then-small boys’ favourite TV watching pleasure was Original Tom & Jerry Cartoons. So much so that I tweeted this – (oh my days, those baby boys are all gurt big & man-sized now) The response was fast and universal. There was simply an outpouring of affection for the cat & mouse duo, squeaks of agreement and a lot of “my-son/daughter-loves-them-too!”. Whether those sons were 2 or...