Gift Guide - Toddler Stocking Edition

Toddlers are one of the easiest people I have to purchase gifts for this Christmas, of course, I have a two-year girl, however, some of these you could use for different ages or girls boys as well. I have decided that this year I am going to only going to do stocking gift guides the reason behind it is because I prefer to purchase people smaller gifts which mean so much to them. I will say that Jess this Christmas is going to get a toy kitchen I think from us as her main present because this is something which she adores at nursery and she loves pretending to cook for us all of the time as well.

In this gift guide, they are items which Jess already owns nothing is actually her presents the reason behind this is she was with me when I was photographing and some of her presents are actually hidden already.


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Supporting Small Business

Tomorrow is actually shopping small business Saturday I think it is a day which has come over from the US and it is always the first Saturday of December. If you have read my blog, previously you will know that I like to support smaller companies whether that should be companies who make bows or toddler clothing to beauty products and candles.

As Christmas approaches quickly and many of us are still yet to purchase gifts so those who we love why not have a look at some of the smaller companies. Today I am going to share with you 9 of my favourites who I have either used this festive period or have used in the past don't forget some of these people run them as a hobby on top of the full-time job and the majority of them are also parents.  These companies can change people's lives forever so please support them.

If you are looking for a blanket for a toddler or a baby this festive season I would recommend checking out gladragscustomcloths. This is a company who I used very recently and Jess adores her buggy blanket so much that she actually gets very annoyed if I do not pick it up when we go in the pram. She has a wide range of fabric so you can customise what you have it does not have to be Marvel like mine and the fleece on the back can be changed to be brushed cotton and the colours can be personalised as well. We have has so many compliments on our blanket in the few weeks we have been using it so if you want something a little bit different I would recommend checking them out I think this cost me £20 so it will not break the bank. 

 A company who I know I have mentioned previously is a bow come true I actually got some bows for the rugby final back in August and Jess's Birthday bow from this company. Along with a handful of other bows, I have not actually purchased her Christmas ones yet however, there is a penguin one which I have my eye on and a few more so beware I am sure a bow haul will be coming up before Christmas. If you want your little girl to have something pretty in her hair these would make an amazing gift, they would be great in a stocking you do not just have to get festive ones she still is making normal ones which you can wear all year along and they are such a reasonable price of around £2.50. You do not have to be a toddler to rock a bow either.

 Another, company that I have used a couple of times now and would recommend is Pretty penguin clothing. Recently, I purchase Jess a children in need skirt from this store and she has so many compliments on it when I took her to nursery. They are such good quality fabrics in a lot of different designs I think we currently own about 4 different skirts they also do bibs, leggings and rompers. I am unsure what size they actually go up to so this is going to have to be something which you might have to contact them about. I have my eye on a few more skirts for the future which after Christmas I think I am going to purchase. These skirts wash so well I could not be more impressed they are only £8 for the size which Jess needs which is crazy as that is cheaper than some of the high street stores.


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10 Ways To Save The Pennies This Christmas

Christmas can be an expensive time of year but it does not have to break the bank. This year we are trying to save money because we are actually looking to purchase a house our first family home next year so of course at them moment every pound matters because we know getting the deposit and then all of the other hidden costs is going to cost a fortune.

This year we have set budgets for people so that we do not go crazy when we are shopping and spend way to much money. We are lucky and do not have a lot of people to buy for I think in total it is around 10. However, anyone who has a toddler knows that you can blow your budget just thinking about it because you want to make them have a great time and toys other things such as clothing you want them to dress in are not cheap. So today I am going to share with you ways that we are trying to save the pennies this Christmas.

- The first tip I would say is set a budget we have done this for example we have different budgets for different people with people like our parents having a higher budget than my brother. Having a budget means that you are less likely to end up spending more than you planned.

- Don't be afraid to shop early if like us you see something which you know is going to be perfect for someone and it is discounted maybe in August pick it up make a note of what you have purchased though so you do not end up having too much for one person. This is what I did with Jess's book advent calendar I made it when the works had their 10 books for £10 offer.

-  Shop around the amount of times I think I have found a really good deal to only find that it is actually cheaper on amazon than it is in the store advertising the discount. I always check if the item is not one on the cheap side the price on Amazon and even have been know to do it in store because I have the app on my phone.

- Shopping online google discount codes valid for that shop sometimes you can get as much as 20% off and sometime free delivery which is always handy because all them £3.95 delivery fees add up and could nearly be a budget for a person. While on this topic if there is an option of free click and collect to store rather than paying the deliver fees why not do this. I have done it in a number of stores including Sainsbury & Next.

- Cashback sites such as Quidco and Topcashback can be your best friend recently when renewing the car insurance I used this site and managed to get £29 back by going through this site and on a recent  Christmas present I managed to get a couple of pound back on a purchase. Every little bit helps I am trying to remember to do this throughout the year.

- If you are purchasing experience days do not go straight to Virgin Experiences shop around for example last year I purchased a fast car experience day I actually managed to save over £100 by shopping around so it is worth checking sites such as Buyagift, Wowcher, Groupon & Travelzoo all of which I have used and would recommend.

- Need things such as small socking fillers head to places such as B&M, Home Bargains, Pound stretcher & TkMaxx they have a fantastic selection of things which are not too expensive for example I know  you can get things such as sweets for a fraction of the price in their I have been known to purchase them before. Sometime you can get gift sets for a fraction of the price of Boots and Superdrug so it is always worth checking out.

- Something which I have been known to do in the past is trawl eBay sometimes you can get unwanted gifts for a fraction of the price I have done this for people's birthday's in the past. I have also purchased clothing which can be only worn at occasions such as Christmas which has been hardly worn I have found this is a good way to be able to get items such as Christmas Jumper's for Jess. Don't forget you can also sell your unwanted items and make some cash I know this is what I will be doing with some of Jess's old festive outfits.

- Use Loyalty cards last year I has purchased Jess a car seat from Boots which meant that I got a shed load of points.I actually saved them and used them at Christmas when I needed to purchase some gifts from there I think in the end I got around £70 worth of gifts for around £7 which is amazing and I did not do anything. Boots was the cheapest place to purchase the car seat and I got the gifts as a result. This year I haven't shopped in Boots as much so will not be able to replicate that crazy amount but even if you just have £5 worth of points its always worth cashing them in during the festive season.

- Looking to purchase a gift card try purchasing them off Zeek which a website that is the main marketplace for giftcards either buying or selling. People sell them as they are from stores which people do not end up using so it means that you can get them sometimes for as much as 20% off. You could use them to purchase gifts or give them too people as gifts as long as you know they may not have that long left on them.

What are your top tips to saving money this festive season?


Charlotte x
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Jess's 2nd Birthday Haul

As you might know on the 15th September Jess turned two I know where had my baby girl gone now she is a grown-up little toddler who loves been super independent. On the run-up to her birthday, I have been reading up on what other people had been purchasing for their toddlers because as you might know, Jess is rarely at home because she is in full-time nursery and this means she does not actually get a lot of time spent at home to play with toys.  So I thought I would share with you what Jess actually got for her birthday.

I am not bragging about what she got because I know she is a very lucky little girl people did not have to spend any money on her however they did and I am sharing with you the lovely gifts she got.
First of all is the card which we actually got Jess usually I wouldn't include cards in a post like this, however, I had it specially designed from the lovely handmade_by_bubblestorm on Instagram. Jess is paw patrol mad and I had been trying to find one which was paw patrol with daughter on with no much success so when I found this lovely lady I knew I had to purchase. I think either the crayon and colour of Skye it was £5 as part of an offer she was conducting one Friday. I would recommend checking her store out because she does amazing cards.


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Keeping a Toddler Entertained Indoors

If anyone has a toddler like mine who loves to play outside. You will know how hard it is to keep them entertained when they are unable to  get outside because it is raining outside. Jess for one really hates been inside. There is only so many cartoons she can watch on the tv before she starts to her really bored and she doesn't have the attention span yet to be able to watch films.

Since the weather this summer seems to have been really hit and miss one day she will be able to go outside and enjoy the sun and the next day it will be horrible and have to be a day in. At the moment she is going to nursery around 3 days a week which is great and really handy should the weather be really rubbish them days as nursery can keep her entertained . However, on the days that it is horrible I have had to become creative and have some ideas of what to do because we can not be running to soft play like everyone else because those places give mummy a headache and are also bad for her bank balance.

Due to the fact that Jess is hardly in it does mean that some days she will be very content just playing with her toys because they are all new again to her and ones which she might not have played with for a while. I recommend rotating your child's toys around every couple of months so that they get to play with everything and it doesn't always mean you have to fork out for new toys.

Having fun with paints is something which we have done as well. A while ago I think it might have actually been way back at Easter time we popped to Asda and they had large rolls of paper for around £1 and also had some finger paints reduced due to a battered box. We decided that we would tape the paper to the floor so that did not end up moving and Jess ending up painting all over the floor. I would recommend getting some paints and some coloured pencils because it helps children become so creative and i know it is something which keeps Jess occupied for a long time on a rainy day.

Yes this picture is from nursery and I promise she was not crying because she was in the ball pit she just didn't want to leave nursery. Jess is lucky to have a ball pool at her nannys unfortunately currently we don't have the room for her to have one at our house which is a shame because she loves playing it in so much. She will pick the balls up and tell you the colours of the balls as well as playing pass with you and having a whale of a time. You can pick ball pools up for around the £10 mark and then it is just getting the balls I would recommend around 100-200 for the chad valley one that is the one which she has at the grandparents house.

Blowing bubbles is another fun thing to do if it raining sometimes we will blow them in the house and sometimes when Jess has a bath. There is nothing more that she loves that to chase them and help try and pop bubbles. I managed to pick this huge litre bottle of mixture from the works which is not a place I would normally have thought to visit looking for bubble mixture.  I recommend looking in stores such as this home bargains , B&M and such for cheap toys and activities. I must admit I am always keeping my eye out in these kind of stores for things to keep Jess busy.

Speaking of baths sometimes we have a lot of fun when it's raining by treating her to a lush bath bomb and then getting her bath toys out . I have known her stay in the bath for up to an hour and half which then makes her so tired and she has to go for a nap which means that she is entertained for even longer. Sometimes we do not even use lush we use her normal bubble bath because we keep lush for a treat.

What do you do to keep your toddler entertained when the weather is rubbish?

Charlotte x