Category: Christmas

1. Tweets on the Tower : BT Christmas Campaign

   Posted on 5:20pm Thursday 19th Dec 2013

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   We were asked to get involved in a very exciting campaign today and it is all about Twitter. Now anyone that knows me also knows that I am addicted to social media, so when we heard about the BT Tweets on the Tower campaign, I knew I wanted to be involved.

   Every year we send Christmas cards, letters and text messages to our loved ones but how awesome would it be to have that special message shared across the BT Tower for millions of people to see? Completely amazing right? Well @bt_uk are offering each and everyone of you the chance to do this and you could have your personal message displayed on the information band of the BT Tower just by simply sending a tweet!

   

   So what is it all about?

   • To get a message displayed you need to Tweet your Christmas message to @BT_UK with the #TweetsOnTheTower hashtag between 19^th-21^st. 
   • Tweets will ideally need to be between 70 and 100 characters long. The best Tweets (in terms of content, humour, charm and relevance) will then be selected with the display going live from 4pm, each day.
   • 12 Tweets will be displayed every 2 hours, with each Tweet having between 10 and 12 minutes of air time (Over 100 Tweets will be shown over the three day period).
   • The original tweeter will be sent a return tweet featuring a Vine video clip with their tweet on the Tower, which they will be able to share via social media.

   How can you get involved?

   • People can get their own festive message onto the information band of the BT Tower by tweeting @BT_UK using the hashtag #TweetsOnTheTower
   • Selected messages will appear from 16.00 to 22.00 between 19^th – 21^st December
   • A Vine video clip will be tweeted to each lucky winner for them to share

   So what are you waiting for? Go, go, go .....

   Disclaimer : This post is brought to you in association with BT.

2. On the nineteenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me ....

   Posted on 9:58am Thursday 19th Dec 2013

   .... a guest post from another lovely lady! (I am desperately trying to maintain a rhyme)

   Today's post is brought to you with love from Angela at www.thereandbackagainamotherstale.com  

   
   I have such happy memories of Christmas that I want to continue some traditions for Joss, and make some new ones too, do you have anything that you do every year and it doesn't feel like Christmas until you've done it?
   
   I want to share a big tradition for us Geordies - Fenwick's Window - on Northumberland Street in the centre of Newcastle, at this time of year you'll see people young and old lining up to peer into Fenwick's Window.  It sort of appears overnight (elves?!) and I usually walk past with my eyes closed for a few weeks until 1st December, savouring the moment as it's such a  big part of my Christmas memories.  
   
   A different theme each year, from Christmas with Santa and little green Aliens a few years back, to the year when no-one really liked the music, I'm pleased to say that this year they've got it spot on, fairytale magic, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack Frost, Santa's workshop and gorgeous fairytale music, Joss was entranced as we queued to see the display and so was I!  

    

    

   
   There was an older lady ahead of us in the queue, she hung back a little to see Joss' reaction to the lights, music and figurines, it really warmed my heart that young and old got so much pleasure from sharing a Christmas tradition, as we neared the end she grasped my hand and said "what a lovely little girl you have, Merry Christmas pet" - a big grin and a wave from Joss and a cheery greeting in reply from me and we were back to shopping  with a warm feeling, so from my family to yours, Merry Christmas 2013 pet!

3. On the eighteenth of Christmas my true love gave to me ....

   Posted on 8:02am Wednesday 18th Dec 2013

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   ..... a guest post from Emmy's Mummy.

   Will my Christmas Tree ever be the same again?

   I love Christmas. Everything about it gets me singing Christmas songs, dancing around and being silly. I was like this pre-children however now they are here their excitement spreads.

   

   Emmy's face is a picture when she see's pretty lights and decorated trees.

   When the postman comes she is desperate to know if it's for her. 

   She get that Father Christmas will be coming and knows he comes through our front door as we don't have a chimney - we have a special Santa key which is left out for him. 

   She loves to help decorate the house ready for Christmas.

   Lights are hung 

   Mistletoes ready for kisses 

   We hand make decorations every year and Daddy and her decorate the tree together - it will never be symmetrical as I would have done in pre-children days but it does look pretty. 

   Tinsel, baubles, lights and hand made ornaments.
   

   It looks pretty and she is proud.
   

   That is until whirlwind Harry awakes.
   

   Baubles are scattered, bowled, bounced and thrown.
   

   Lights and hand made decorations are broken.
   

   Tinsel worn as scarves, belts, flung over shoulders or even used for tug of war.
   

   The tree over turned too many times to mention.
   

   This is our Christmas and I wouldn't have it any other way!

   There will be years of prettiness to come when the both get older.

   This is their way of embracing the festivities and they love it.

   

   However, my poor tree has suffered - will it ever look the same again?

4. On this day of Christmas, my Secret Santa gave to me .....

   Posted on 2:29pm Tuesday 17th Dec 2013

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   Secret Santa is something that happens in an office or within a close circle of friends and it is always kind of exciting to wonder who is buying for you and what you might get from "Santa" (or be a little scared that you may be getting this years "joke" gift). So what do you say when you get asked to join in with Debenhams Secret Santa ...... with a group of amazing bloggers? The correct answer is yes of course.

   So what did we have to do? It was a tough job (!!) but bloggers can be a tenacious bunch and this particular group certainly rose to the task. Debenhams simply gave us £80 (yes eight zero .. how fabulous is that?) and we had to find out what our allocated blogger would like by simply reading their blog. How hard could it be?

   Now lets be honest, I love buying presents but trying to select the perfect gift for someone who you don't necessarily know in real life is a challenge. That is not to say I didn't enjoy spending hours browsing round the Debenhams site looking for gifts and I "may" have bookmarked a few things for my own Christmas list but I have my fingers crossed that my "Santee" (it is a real word you know) likes the gifts I selected.

   You can therefore imagine my excitement when a selection of Debenhams parcels arrived at my door. The packaging was ripped off way before I thought about taking any photographs, or indeed saving them for Christmas Day and look what I received ........ 

   

   
   

   Debenhams Secret Santa by littlelilypadco featuring Lancôme

   The Lilypad blog is often very focused on the girls so I was amazed that my Santee managed to get anything for me but wow wow wow! Chocolate - yes. Scarf - yes. Lancome perfume - yes. I am beginning to think I should ask my Santee to talk to my other half! (joke).

   In all seriousness, I was most touched that my Secret Santa ordered gifts for my girls and despite my best intentions at hiding it from them till Christmas Day, the Tea Party Paint Set has become a permanent fixture on our kitchen table. Painting it over and over again, thank goodness you can wash the paint off and create more carnage ... oops I mean designs. I suspect I may need to get more paints before Christmas.

   

   Working from home means that there are some things you miss out on (and I don't mean the office politics) but this has been an amazing opportunity, a great adventure and I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

   So who do I think my Santee was? Honestly? I genuinely have absolutely no idea!!

    

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   Disclosure: for the purpose of this post, Debenhams gave me £80 to spend in their online store for another blogger and I received gifts in return. All thoughts, opinions and paint covered kitchen tables are our own.