I Love Autumn & Halloween… here’s what we got up to !
Spooky fun at the farm.
We went out for the day, to a nearby farm!
It was brilliant.
There was SO much to do.. we made wands, got sorted into our Hogwarts house, had a spooky trailer ride, explored the spooky maze, picked and decorated pumpkins, pettee guinea pigs & rabbits, looked at loads of other animals and had a bug trailer ride.
With our Nephews 💙
A great family day out, themed really well and with lots of fun to be had.
A fanily Halloween party for the kiddies.
We had a fun little family Halloween party at my sisters house.s
She set up some fun activities for them, we also had a buffet of party food, spooky tunes and Halloween pass the parcel.
Halloween at ours
Me & Tim always do a few Halloween traditions at home – these include carving a pumpkin (we’ve done one every year that we’ve been together) and I make us ‘Spooky Sausages’ which are meant to look like mummies.
I also like to watch horror films but Tim isn’t too keen on those so thats usually just me haha
Some of my favourites are Scream, Halloween, Hocus Pocus, Nightmare before Christmas and Nightmare on Elm St.
Our local cinema was showing some Halloween classics on Halloween.
Me and my Twin sister Sarah always watch horror films together so we went along and watched the original Scream! I can’t believe its the 25th Anniversay 😱
Scream is my favourite ‘Scary Movie’ and it was cool to watch it on the big screen.
For the final day of Blogmas I thought I would share some of the Christmas fun we’ve been up to on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!
Christmas Eve
Me and my sister continued our tradition of meeting up for a burger with our friend.
Obviously being 2020 we had to get it takeaway and outside 😷
So we incorporated a walk around the park and it was really nice (except the rain shower!!)
I had the Caffe Nero Mint Hot Choc finally, and it was so delicious and festive too
We also have a tradition of going around our local town to look at the christmad lights.
We keep an eye out in the weeks leading up to Christmas eve and there are a few that are always good too.
There were some brilliant lights on display this year.
Keepin’ it COVID secure by going in our separate cars and we just chatted over a voice call, worked pretty well 🤣
Left my Stocking out for Santa, obv!
Christmas Day
Me and Tim started the day with a delicious and festive nutella pastry Christmas tree & a cuppa!
Followed by present opening 🎁
My father in law provided a lovely Christmas lunch for us, we had my brother in law on Zoom, at the dinner table with us… very 2020!
We enjoyed a bit of a relax and a TV break before another family Zoom with a game of birds names.
We had the standard Christmas day buffet in the eve with the other half of our bubble, my twin sister, brother in law and nephews.
We had fun opening presents, had a bit of a dance and enjoyed some yummy food.
It’s been a strange one in the sense that we are all (hopefully) being more cautious than usual this year, but it has been fun to be able to keep some traditions alive and to get together, where possible, to celebrate
I really hope that you’ve all enjoyed your day 🎅🏻
Tier Four tomorrow! But we still have Boxing day Skype fun planned with a Christmas themed family quiz.
Stay safe and thankyou so much for joining me again for another fun, festive and unforgettable Blogmas.
As I have said many times, Autumn/Winter are my favourite seasons!
I know its chilly but hey, its England, we were made for this weather.
Plus, it’s so pretty 😍
Theres nothing like a crisp autumn walk, frosty, leaves crunching under foot, trees fire bright against a pale sky, wrapped up in cosy jumpers, a hot beverage in hand.
Now tell me that isn’t a delight!?!
Here are some of the ways I’ve been enjoying the Autumn so far!
• P U M P K I N • P I C K I N G •
Me, my sister and my nephews had a great time pumpkin picking, at a local patch 🎃
We went early Oct to get the most out of our Pumpkins.
I’ve used them to dot around the lounge to create a cosy, autumn vibe. Some will of course be carved on Halloween.
• A U T U M N • W A L K S •
I definitely have a new appreciation for walks since the lockdowns and the pandemic in general.
Theres alot of enjoyment to be had in the fresh air, amongst the trees and pretty plants. I loved our sunny summer walks but in Autumn it’s an even more beautiful experience.
• C O S Y • R E A D S •
…because I could read anywhere… but, theres nothing better than in my little reading corner, in autumn and winter, because it just feels even more cosy.
• H A L L O W E E N • F U N •
I am a big horror film fan so I enjoy the spookiness of Halloween.
Lockdown no 2 was announced this Halloween (Horror!) So I wanted to make it even more fun, because if you can’t enjoy the little things, (even when stuck at home) during a global pandemic, when can you!?
Over the weekend I ended up watching eight different horror films!
•Nightmare on Elm St (New) •Friday the 13th • Psycho (New) •Anabelle • Freddy Vs Jason •Nightmare Before Christmas •IT (The Original) •Hocus Pocus
We like to carve a pumpkin each year, because its just some harmless seasonal fun, and since I had a few from our picking spree, I carved a few.
As well as the films and pumpkin carving, we also listened to some Halloween tuness (until the X-Files theme freaked me out 🤣😱) we had Spooky, mummy sausages and jacket potatoes for dinner (because why should kids have all the fun) and Halloween Hot chocolates to round off the evening.
And a spot of Halloween Animal Crossing!
It was really good fun and it made us forget about the pandemic a bit, a fun weekend/evening spent together.
• P U M P K I N • C A R V I N G •
Because you have to do one of these every year! Come on now.
‘Parry’ By me & Tim My slight fail, HP lightening scar and glasses attemptThis was really flippin’ hard 🤣 Yes, I’m that cool.
… and yes I am indeed wearing a Bat onesie in this picture, my traditional Halloween costume/pumpkin carving outfit! 🦇
Don’t hate me cause you ain’t me!
• A U T U M N • N A T U R E •
• H U N T •
As a fun little pre lockdown 2.0 activity with my nephews, we went on a Nature Hunt.
They love running about in the park and exploring and they enjoyed it even more than I thought they would (so did I!!)
• B A K I N G •
I spent another lovely pre lockdown day with my niece 😊
What’s more cosy (and delicious) than baking!?!
We had a lovely time together ♡
Gotta love a Unicorn Cupcake 🦄🧁
& finally…
• B O N F I R E • N I G H T •
Again, due to Lockdown (thanks Rona!) we won’t be seeing people for a bit, but its timing did coincide with Bonfire Night and so we resurrected a Byford tradition, and got together to celebrate.
Outside, wrapped up, enjoying other peoples fireworks, sparklers, s’mores, soup, jackets, bangers, log burners and catching up!
A great evening! We missed this tradition last year as there was alot going on, so it was great to do it again.
It’s been a little while (probably the Summer hols) since I’ve done a little ‘life’ update and I love capturing memories on here. I think I forget to use my blog this way sometimes when I get carried away sharing about my hobbies.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed writing it!
I hope you had a nice weekend, it probably wasn’t the weekend we all planned or thought it would be.
So, we actually have a few traditions that we usually do at Easter but obviously this years a bit different (for now)
But, lets not dwell on what would have/should have been… So, what did we do to make the Easter weekend fun and what traditions did we manage to uphold in lockdown?!
Board games are a must!
We opted for LOTR Monopoly as we haven’t played it for a while and Monopoly is the Queen of board games, so it’s the perfect choice.
Plus, this one is great as you move the one ring along so you can either play a manageable length game or go the long haul.
We also got together on Good Friday night (on Skype) as we have been since this began, to do our weekly quiz night so that was good to get together that way.
Easter treats!
We also made the good old Easter tradition that is chocolate crispy cakes.
We made individual ones using shredded wheat, chocolate and Terry’s choc oranges mini eggs.
The large one was cornflakes, chocolate, cut up Creme eggs & lots of sprinkles.
Delicious!
Easter Sunday Breakfast 🍽
As a family, on Easter Sunday we usually get together, exchange Easter eggs, do craft with the kids and have a chinese takeaway for dinner (I know, traditional Easter food 😂 but that’s just what we do, my Nana started it!)
Our Asda Chinese ‘Takeaway’
It was nice to play games together, just me and Tim, watch some TV and have a few treats. (Well, quite a few treats but it’s one weekend aye!)
Plus, I had a nice video/call from my niece and nephews so that was lovely as I am missing them alot and I love to spoil them on special occasions like this. But, most of all I just love to give them a big hug and have some fun with them!
Let’s hope we’ll all be together again soon!
How did you get through the isolation Easter weekend?
Let me just start by saying Merry Christmas! I hope you all have the best christmas day with your loved ones. Eat, drink, be merry and care free.
Christmas eve pt 2
The evening
Here is the second half of our Christmas Eve adventures.
Our tradition, and one of my absolute favourites, is our Christmas lights tour of our home town.
We have usual hot spots that we visit each year but I also like to keep an eye out, in the few weeks leading up to Christmas, for any other lights that would be good to drive by.
My twin sister Sarah usually comes but she wasnt able to this time as she was working so my husband drove us, mum, and my two nephews around.
Once we had seen our share of lights we headed back to the boys house and gave them their Christmas eve boxes.
Once they had munched on some chocolate, it was time for Christmas PJs, setting up for Santa C and a festive bedtime story.
I got my two nephews and niece matching Christmas pjs, the same print but the boys were blue and Evie’s were pink.
They were lovely, and only £7 each from Asda.
I got them all a size up so they can have them for next year too.
All ready for Santa! 💙🎅🏻
Once the boys had listened to ‘The Night Before Christmas’ story and gone to sleep we settled down to have our Nachos and watch some Christmas tv.
We watched ‘Father Christmas’ and the Christmas Eve episode of Eastenders ready for tomorrow.
It was nice to chill after a fun but busy day!
& of course when I got home I had to get ready for Santa myself…
That’s it for another year of Blogmas, it goes by quicker every year!!
So, of course Christmas day is the big day we all countdown to but I love Christmas eve and boxing day too.
Over the years we’ve added traditions to these days as I think they are just as good a day to celebrate as the 25th.
When my nephews, and now my niece too, came along I started a tradition of doing them a Christmas eve box each.
Its just a few little fun things but it really builds the Christmas excitement, the day before, and I like that it’s my little tradition that I do with them ♥️
So, what to put in a Christmas eve box?
In loads of supermarkets and shops in town they are now selling either ready made or empty ‘Christmas eve boxes’.
I like to fill mine myself as my nephews and niece are all different ages and I like to pick things that I know they would like.
I picked up the christmas boxes I’m using last year…
Places like Wilko, Card Factory, B&M,The Works, Tesco, Asda all have their own ones on offer.
What do you put in it?
Here’s what I have gone for this year…
(This is the content of my nieces box, she is two and a half years old, but it’s not particularly girly, my nephews have got pretty much the same.) I will add some extra ideas at the end too.
A Christmassy story.
I love books and I think its so important to get children interested in reading. My Niece loves books so I got her this Christmas classic.
Christmas Arts & crafts
I love popping something fun in, and it gives you something arty to do on Christmas eve, to keep the little ones occupied.
I got my niece this little ‘Make your own wreath set’ she has her own little tree this year that she loves so I thought she would like her own Christmas wreath to hang too.
Chocolate coins
A christmas classic item and a nice little treat.
Some cute little Christmas bath puppets (although they don’t have to just be used in the bath!)
My niece loves a bath so I thought she would enjoy these in general, but also on Christmas eve when she is getting all cosy and ready for bed.
Christmas pjs/new pjs
And on the same cosy theme I got her some new festive pjs to pop on after her bath. I went for these super cute festive ones from Asda. I loved the print and they had ones you could get for different ages to match.
I got my nephews the blue versions so they are all going to be matching, super cute!!!!
A Christmas decoration
I saw these cute little decorations when I was shopping in Wilkinsons (Check out more of their collection here.
I picked up a cheeky elf one for my niece. They also had a santa, a snowman and a reindeer.
Cookies for Santa
I thought that these were a lovely way of adding to the age old tradition of leaving Santa a snack on Christmas eve.
This is a really simple cookie making set and then you get a few festive bits to decorate them.
Again, I thought this would be fun and a great way to get them into the festive spirit and keep then occupied on Christmas eve.
I thought I would also include this as they are super cute and great for kids. I have previously bought these for my nephews but as this is the year my niece will really be having a proper Christmas dinner I thought it was time she had one too!
Heres to a very important Christmas tradition, the start of the festive season…
… putting up your tree!
Here is ours this year.
Here are my little helpers! They loved helping me decorate the tree.
& of course we needed snacks to keep us going during the decorating process.
I put our tree up quite early this year (in the middle of November, dont hate me!!) I love it.
I love our red, gold and green themed tree and each year I buy a new bauble. This year I got us a few which will feature in another of my Blogmas posts (Affordable Christmas decs)
One of my favourite bits of Christmas is the build up and of course advent calendars are a big part of that.
I thought I would share with you guys which calendars I have this year.
This is the first time during a blogmas (& I think this is year 3 of me doing it) that I havn’t had a beauty advent calender. None of them took my fancy this year and the ones I’d had previously hadn’t changed a lot either. Plus is it just me or are they very expensive!!
So let’s take a look at the ones I did go for.
Chocolate first of course! And the king of chocolate, so it had to be, Cadburys.
I went for the ‘1994’ style edition as I thought it looked super traditional plus I’m a 90s kid so I thought it was cool.
I love having a little chunk of Cadbury chocolate every morning to look forward to.
I also got myself a colouring advent calendar too, just for a bit of fun!
You get a different picture for each day of advent and they are all Christmas themed.
It’s quite relaxing doing my colouring in the evening whilst I catch up on I’m a celeb.
I love an excuse for a get together and since I met my husband we have started up a little tradition on bonfire night.
We do usually go to a local fireworks display with our friends, as well, but unfortunately we couldn’t make it this year which was a shame!
But as the 4th was a Sunday and we usually head over to my father in laws for dinner, we were able to at least carry out our other bonfire night tradition.
It wasn’t too cold, just enough to warrant wrapping up and making yourself nice and cosy.
We had our traditional jacket potatoes and hot dogs to eat.
We followed that up with hot chocolate and baked apples, both of which were delicious and super warming.
It was so cosy sitting outside by the light of the tea lights and fires.
So yummy.
Inbetween the food we also had some large, gold sparklers to add to the bonfire night feel.
I love the smell of the fires and sparklers in the crisp, fresh evening air.
Gotta love a sparkler! 🎆🎇✨
& we even managed to finish up the festivities just in time for Doctor Who.
A lovely, cosy family evening. Good food & good company.
I hope you enjoyed your bonfire night celebrations!!
Roseanne Byford 