Want some creative Lent activities for families and children this year? Nope, thought you didn't. Because, if I know you well (and I'm starting to think I might), I know that you show up to this blog exhausted by parenting and life and everything in between. You really don't need anything … [Read more...] about 30 SIMPLE LENT ACTIVITIES FOR FAMILIES
Seasons
HOW NOT TO TALK ABOUT YOUR IN-LAWS
A couple of weeks ago I was having a text conversation with my sister-in-law about some of the family arrangements for Christmas. At one point, I was about to type a reply saying, "Your family is ridiculous!" Allow me to back-track and give some context. I get on really well with my in-laws, and … [Read more...] about HOW NOT TO TALK ABOUT YOUR IN-LAWS
‘BABY SHARK’ NATIVITY SONG (AND THE ADOPTIVE ROLE OF JOSEPH)
One of the important spiritual preparations I've made this Advent to enable my heart to draw closer to the Christ-child, to recognise the wonder of God-incarnate, sent from heaven to rescue us from ourselves, is... ...to re-write a Nativity version of "Baby Shark". Yeah, that kind of sums up my … [Read more...] about ‘BABY SHARK’ NATIVITY SONG (AND THE ADOPTIVE ROLE OF JOSEPH)
WHAT GOES IN OUR ADVENT BASKET?
The kids and I love Advent, and all the fun preparations for Christmas. We have loads of little traditions that we look forward to, and try to focus on sharing the story of Jesus' birth in creative and fun ways. One of these traditions is our Advent basket. You may do something similar in your home … [Read more...] about WHAT GOES IN OUR ADVENT BASKET?
END-OF-TERM TEACHER GIFTS: ARE THEY COMPULSORY?
It's that point of the year when we're all (figuratively, if not literally) crawling our kids to school, fingernails scraping the parched grass as we pant towards the finish line of next Friday. Of course, we're aware of just how much our children's teachers have done for them this last year, and we … [Read more...] about END-OF-TERM TEACHER GIFTS: ARE THEY COMPULSORY?
WHY MY SON TORE UP HIS MOTHERS’ DAY CARD (AND IT’S NOT WHAT YOU THINK)
As an organised, sentimental yet time-starved Mum, my approach to archiving all those special bits and pieces that your kids produce (and which you want to keep because, my gosh, some of it is truly awful), consists of throwing them all into named box files. It works pretty well: each child has a … [Read more...] about WHY MY SON TORE UP HIS MOTHERS’ DAY CARD (AND IT’S NOT WHAT YOU THINK)
SHOULD WE AVOID MOTHERS’ DAY JUST BECAUSE IT’S HARD?
Every year Mother's Day rolls around. And every year I see a barrage of comments on social media or blogs about how hard Mother's Day is for many people. And every year there's someone who's calling for the whole thing to be abolished. I do wonder whether Mother's Day - like many festivals, special … [Read more...] about SHOULD WE AVOID MOTHERS’ DAY JUST BECAUSE IT’S HARD?
5 FABULOUS THINGS YOU CAN DO WITH YOUR FAMILY THIS LENT
After the long Autumn term - which feels like it'll never end - this term, by comparison, goes in a flash. Linger in January for a moment too long, and suddenly it's Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday and BANG! We're into Lent. I love using the seasons and festivals to make some family traditions and … [Read more...] about 5 FABULOUS THINGS YOU CAN DO WITH YOUR FAMILY THIS LENT
THE UN-BIRTHDAY: CELEBRATING THE BIRTHDAY OF THE CHILD YOU HAVEN’T MET
I wrote the following nearly two years ago, on the occasion of our twins' first birthday. Today, our twins turn one. I haven't yet met them, but I love them already. We need to celebrate - and yet how does one celebrate the birthday of someone they've never met? Someone who is already so firmly … [Read more...] about THE UN-BIRTHDAY: CELEBRATING THE BIRTHDAY OF THE CHILD YOU HAVEN’T MET