Rainy Weekend

There was some of this...
...and lots more of this....Apologies for the terrible photos - all due to a combination of my cheap camera and terrible weather as shown by the giant puddle. Although Alex and his pals Zach and Tobias just loved those puddles. They all ended up covered in mud to their waists and soaked to the skin. Not that they minded one bit. Then when the rain finally defeated us we retreated indoors to decorate the tree. Alex just loves the tree. He had such fun opening the Christmas box and hanging baubles up. I forgot to take any photos as I was just enjoying the moment so much. Having children of your own makes you remember just what a special time Christmas is for children. It's truly magical.

I did manage to cobble together a few more presents on my list. Being on a very tight budget this year and also not having the energy for crafting in the evenings I had to come up with some new ideas. I have been noting the wonderful ideas floating around in the blogosphere recently and have bookmarked them for next year instead. I especially love Bella Dia's advent activities!

For the children in our swimming group I dug out some Christmas tins I got on sale last January and filled them with chocolate coins. I remember loving chocolate coins as a child so hopefully they will all enjoy these too. Cost about £1.00 per tin.

A chef's set for kids from Wilkinson's for under £5 for our playgroup's Secret Santa. (I really should make this myself but I went for the stress free version!)

China egg cups shaped like vintage VW camper vans - a bargain at £1.49 in Cancer Research Shops. I got a whole load of these for all my nephews and nieces. I quite fancy one myself.

The 4 babies that arrived this year are getting white onesies with a little patch cut from some cute superbuzzy fabric on the front. (Yes they will be made by me!)

Sister in law is getting a little jug with some ingredients for hot chocolate to go with it.

Still a few more to go though.