2018 - The Dainty Moments - A Family & Lifestyle Blog

In our house Christmas truly is the most wonderful time of the year. It brings back such wonderful childhood memories for me; my mum was Mrs Christmas whilst I was growing up, our house was always insanely decorated and for the whole countdown of December we did something magical.

Although I remember getting presents and that super excited feeling coming downstairs to see 'he had been' it's the memories that didn't cost a thing that make me have that warm fuzzy feeling inside. Noah is 8 in January and I know that I don't have many years left before he loses the magic and every year I have left I'm going to make as magical as I can.

We focus on the season and not the actual day, it's the traditions you create with you're family that are carried inside a person, not a toy.

Here's a list of traditions that we have in our family that make the Christmas period magical and memorable in our house.

1. Decorate your tree. Whether you go to a farm and pick your own or have one you use every year make decorating your tree super special. Play some Christmas music (Heart Xmas has got you covered) make some hot chocolate and let the kids go wild with the baubles...you have all the years when they're older to have a perfect tree.

2. Make some ornaments. Every year the kids make an ornament, most of them have the year on and some are completely designed and made by them. The look on their faces when they're on the tree will never be found with a store brought decoration.

3. Visit Christmas Fayres. They're on all the time in a variety of locations, you don't have to spend any money just soak up the atmosphere and listen to the choir sing Christmas Carols.

4. Camping around the tree. This is a new one for us this year, earlier in the year we made a den in the living room and watched a film. We're going to recreate this but with a magical Christmas twist.

5. Elf on the Shelf. Chippy the elf has a been visiting us for 2 years now and we love having him around. He brings so much joy and mischief to our home. He starts the year with a big North Pole breakfast and then sticks with us until Christmas Eve. Such a fun simple way to bring magic into the countdown to Christmas Day.

6. Christmas Eve box. When I was younger we always got a Christmas eve present, normally a DVD and I loved it. Chippy brings a Christmas Eve box for kids, filled with goodies which I'll pop in a separate post. The kids feel so special every time they open it and see what they have.

7. Gingerbread baking. Baking at anytime of the year is wonderful but the smell that comes from baking with cinnamon is just so festive. Getting messy and letting the kids really help, they won't be judging if the outcome is Pinterest worthy or not they'll just remember spending time with you.

8. Visit Santa. It doesn't matter if you go all out or visit him at your school fair, it will still be magical for the kids and you're heart will want to burst watching them with him.

9. Giving back. We're very aware that our kids don't go without and want them to always appreciate how blessed they are. We choose something each year most years more than one to help them understand the importance of helping people who aren't as fortunate as they are. Ones we've done in the past are the shoe box appeal, local food bank shop, donating old toys to the charity shop, items for the homeless and the reverse calendar. I'm always looking for new ways we can give back, let me know if there's any you do.

10. Visit a Crib service. We go to the same church every year and the service is so sweet. Theres something about leaving the church once its dark, wrapped up that feels so joyful. It's the last thing we do before we head home on Christmas Eve and get ready for Santa.

There are so many opportunities to make this season magical, but you have to be the one to make it. Don't wait until next year the time is now. I can look back over the years and see how easy it was to please them and how already the traditions are staying with them. Don't put too much pressure on yourself or over complicate things. Make it magical and treasure every second of it because it will fly past and you'll never get those moments again.

Not all of these will be meaningful for everybody, but for me and my family they the bring the warm fuzzy feeling I felt when I was a child. There the things that brings us together and help us create memories that I hope they will carry with them for when they have their own families.

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Nearly 8 weeks ago(!!!) early on a Saturday morning we dropped the children at Jay's parents and set off to start our long child free weekend in Dublin. Jay had booked it for my birthday as a surprise, every occasion he out does himself. I can't wait until my 30th next year ;)

We flew with Aer Lingus for the flight out, in the teeniest plane I had ever been on, there were only 38 of us. By the time we had gone up it was time for us to come down the flight was just under an hour.

We arrived at Dublin Airport and jumped in a taxi, the journey was around 20 minutes and cost 25 euros. We stayed in The Westin Hotel, which was located right in the centre of Dublin and within walking distance of everything. Which to my husbands delight meant we didn't use one taxi throughout our whole trip. The hotel was part of Marriott group and really did resemble its 5 star rating. We were collected outside the hotel by the bell boy, who promptly took our bags to our room. The check in process was smooth and the receptionists were really helpful with local information. The hotel was a grand Georgian property with a lot of original features, it had 5 floors of accommodation and also boasts a gorgeous bar and restaurant.

We had a Classic Queen Room and was perfect to act as a base, it was a small room, neutrally decorated with a gorgeous marble en suite. Perfect for us as we only had two nights and didn't plan on spending much time in there. There were a few room choices so if you were there longer you might want to look at one of there suites.

We went straight out to experience The Temple Bar, it was jam packed but filled with happy chilled people listening to a fantastic Irish performer. I wasn't expecting the most iconic tourist attraction of Dublin to feel so authentically Irish. We had a few drinks in there and decided we would find somewhere to have dinner. We opted for The Bank, it was recommended by our hotel as somewhere with great food and a relaxed atmosphere, exactly what we were looking for. It was really grand and busy, you couldn't reserve so we put our names on the list and went for a cocktail at the bar. I didn't take any pictures whilst we were in there, we were having such a great night, it was the first evening we'd had without the kids in a really long time. Like any parents who get excited and start having a few drinks at 3:30pm we were fast asleep in our room by 9:30pm.

We had booked to have breakfast at the hotel which I'm really grateful for, there really isn't anything worse than having to find somewhere in the morning when you're hungry and in need of tea. The selection was great, they offered traditional Irish cooked breakfast and huge range in there continental side.

We spent the day exploring Dublin, we must have done at least 20,000 steps, firstly we took a stroll down Grafton Street and had a look around the famous Brown Thomas. I must have sang the Ed Sheeran Lyric every 100 yards....when in Dublin. At the bottom of Grafton Street you're met by the gorgeous St Stephens Park, this reminded me so much of London, how you could be in the middle of a busy city but it be so quiet and serene. There was an art exhibition all over Dublin on the Sunday and the gates were lined with artists showing off there work.

We were handed a free map of Dublin and to be honest it was one the things we used the most over the weekend, apart from looking like a massive tourist we could easily navigate our way around and walk directly to where we wanted to go. We found Merrion square and the rows of gorgeous Georgian doors, they were a delight to walk by. We walked around the square and found the famous Oscar Wilde statue, what a dude he was.

We decided to free style our way back just get lost in the streets of Dublin, we were not disappointed.

For our final night out we decided to book the gorgeous Fire Restaurant and Lounge. It was a really stylish, sophisticated venue and the menu was incredible with a huge range to choose from. We ate at 5pm so it was still relatively quiet, which was nice because I can imagine later on when it gets busy it would be pretty loud in the main restaurant. The staff were really accommodating and friendly.

After dinner we popped back to the room and got changed into Superga's, one thing to remember is in Ireland and most European countries nobody wears heels out. I wasn't over dressed for the restaurant we ate at but massively over dressed for Temple Bar. We spent most of the night in Buskers Bar, the live music was absolutely fantastic and the atmosphere was something else.

Our final day was spent at the Guinness factory, it was something on Jay's list from the get go. I would absolutely recommend it, its a self guided tour so you can spend as much or as little time there depending on what you want to get out of it. I would recommend getting your tickets online before, we walked straight passed the queue and didn't wait at all.

You can take part in the tasting experience, where you start by smelling the ingredients that are in Guinness and then get a mini pint and are taught how to drink it.

With your entrance ticket you get a free pint at the end of your tour, there are two options you can head straight up to The Gravity Bar and have one poured for you or you can take part in The Guinness Academy where you're taught how to pour the perfect pint in small groups. This was well worth the 10 minute wait and you even get a certificate at the end. We then took our pints up to the Gravity Bar to enjoy the 360 degree views.

And then it was time for us to depart, just two nights but a perfect break. It was everything I had anticipated Ireland to be and more. Even the most touristy locations were still authentic. It's a really expensive city I wouldn't say anymore than London but even the casual off the beaten track pubs are around 7 euros a pint. There is live Irish music on all day, everyday in all sorts of different pubs and I really couldn't get enough of it. We've got plans for the rest of Ireland when the kids are a bit bigger and I can't wait to see more.

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