Christmas Fun...In A Garden Centre....!

I know a lot of my posts have been Christmas related lately and it's probably only going to get worse - so I'll apologise now to any Scrooge-Likes out there now.

How can I not write about it though - there's just no denying that the Season To Be Jolly (Fa La La La La!) is well and truly upon us.

I'm really all excited this year too.

I've bought my first few Christmas pressi's this afternoon...which is slack by a lot of people's standards I know....but I'm getting there....all be it a tad slowly...

I've booked my place on our annual Family Pre-Christmas Meal.

And I've visited my favourite garden centre to check out their amazing Christmas decorations.

Now, I know, visiting a garden centre wouldn't fill most people with joy, and to be honest, at any other time of year it doesn't appeal too much to me to be perfectly honest.

But at Christmas - well, at Christmas it's a whole different story.

Woodbank Nurseries in Harden, Bingley is spectacular over the festive period and I just love browsing around.

They have such a fantastic selection of Christmas decorations, Christmas trees, and even huge, white, very magical looking unicorn and reindeer statues.

I could walk around for ages. 

Every display is colour coordinated and arranged with such precision, I can't imagine they are easy to put together.

Every tree is packed full of colour-complementing decorations that just work so well together and create a real classy, festive look no matter what your Christmas colour scheme is.

I think I could do with the person who is responsible for these creations to come and decorate my tree at home for me!

They are just beautiful.

But no Christmas-y outing would be complete without a visit from Santa himself, and Woodbank do have a Santa's grotto on site for the kiddies to visit.

Me - well I made do with finding this huge, very jolly looking version

Very festive.

Oh, and of course, Christmas is all about the children.

My very own Little Elf seemed quite taken to a few of the more novelty items the store has to offer - the cheeky monkey.

Out of all the beautiful decorations on offer, I spotted two things that I just simply have to have

My addiction to Stag's will be fed with this lovely elegant silver creation, and the beautiful white angel wings will look fantastic in my living room.

Both are certainly not just for Christmas either - they'll be out all day, everyday.

I'm sure a few other lovely things will make their way into my basket too.

I'm Back At The Gym: Fitness, Fitness, Fitness

Well, the inevitable has happened - and to be perfectly honest it simply had to.

I went back to the gym tonight, after a very long and lazy five weeks away.

I actually only meant to miss two classes, but then blogging; the cold weather and home life just kind of spiraled and took over really - I found any excuse possible to not motivate myself.

As much as I enjoy exercise, I really do need pushing into it.

Once I'm there, it's great and I never regret going and I always feel lousy if I don't exercise - very sluggish, bloated and just plain yakky really.

And with a little fact I found out recently hanging over me, that physical strength and mobility begin to decline at the age of thirty (www.multipower.com/uk), and with my very own thirtieth birthday approaching fast - very fast indeed - I need need need to get a routine started again....

...ASAP!

I do try to not beat myself up too much about it all though.  I'm on my feet running around after teenagers all day, everyday at work, and afterwards, I look after my son, clean the house, do the school run and the shopping....

I'm very rarely still (no wonder I'm always tired!) and it all counts as activity at the end of the day.

But, for me, five weeks away from the gym is such a long time and I'm determined to throw myself into it all and kick-start my gym obsession again.

I haven't always enjoyed the gym or exercise though.

Up until a few years ago, I would never, ever have taken myself inside one.  However - one fateful day, I did - I ventured to a Circuit Training class, where I could work, in the main part, at my own pace, and this set the seed - I haven't looked back.

I absolutely love it.

I'm not a huge fan of the tradmill/rowing machine kind of workout though.  I will do them if I really have to and sometimes having a little bit of "me" time, sticking the headphones on and having a long treadmill run really does help to de-stress and gives me a little bit of breathing space away from everything, and I do feel fab afterwards.

But my all time favourite type of workout simply has to be the intense cardio, body shattering, instructor led classes, like Body Pump, Body Attack, Body Step and my new favourite, HIIT.

They all have you running, jumping, squatting and literally sprinting around for anything between thirty minutes to an hour, to fast paced music, with an instructor screaming at you to do better, which is just what I need.

But the pain, oh it can be a nightmare at times, but I plough through and I always feel like I have accomplished something afterwards.

I always go back for more anyway.

There are lots of things available to help with the recovery of muscles after one of these really hard, punishing classes too - protein shakes and fit protein are designed specifically to boost carbohydrate levels in the body, and I suppose they give you that extra push to be able to do more and to go further.

As far as diets and healthy eating plans go, I've probably tried everything on the planet to loose weight over the years, but the thing I've found that works best for me is a low fat healthy eating plan that allows me to eat the carbohydrates required to workout properly, and to eat the proteins needed for healthy muscle development.

Healthy eating helps a healthy lifestyle and really does help to loose weight.

And of course I love the odd treat - but who doesn't...

All in moderation though.

So, that's the first class this week done and dusted, now to keep the momentum going.

Here's to a healthy, fitness filled Christmas and New Year

*Sponsored Post

Book Geek Alert: Author Signing Event

The time has come to admit it, openly and publicly to all...

My first ever visit to London a few weekends ago (see here and here) was purely arranged so that I could attended...

A Book Convention

There - I've said it.  It's now out there - I'm a total book geek...and I love it.

Actually, if I'm honest, it wasn't a real Book Convention at all, but was a brilliant, amazing, fantastic (should I go on?) author signing event, organised by Totally Booked.

Myself and three of the other ladies from our Orchard Book Club booked the tickets months ago, and travelled down to London especially for the event.

Of course we fully took advantage of our "Ladies Weekend Away" status, and ate, drank and had a ball, but this event was total priority to us all.

And Oh My Goodness, how nervous were we!!

We arrived at the very swanky Hilton Metropole on Edgewere Road, which is where the signing was being held.

After an alcoholic beverage...purely for "calming-medicinal-purposes" of course, we changed into our official Orchard Golden Apple T-Shirts...in the loo...like you do...and then the nerves just seemed to hit us from nowhere.

The room next door was filled with some of our favourite authors, all waiting to speak to us...

EEK!

It was honestly like being back at school, getting ready to enter the biggest exam of the year.

Nerve wracking.

And this probably wasn't helped at all by the fact that we did look a teeny bit as though we were on a school trip stood in our fantastic, uniform outfits...or that we were asked to wait in an X-Factor like "holding room" for fifteen minutes.

But then - we were in.

A room filled with books, and authors, who were all more than willing to sign autograph books, novels, have photographs taken, and even give us free things for Orchard type giveaways.

Such lovely ladies.

And they all loved our Golden Apple autograph books made by the very talented Dinky Apple Design.

It was total adrenaline overload - I don't think I have laughed and smiled so much in ages.

It was genuinely an awe inspiring day.

The three of us even had our first taste of "fame" too when a lovely lady ran over to us exclaiming:

"Oh it's the Orchard Book Club"!!  Can I have you're picture"

Why yes, of course you can.

Autographs anyone...???

The amount of books I bought was crazy, but I couldn't resist.  I mean, meeting the author and having a personal message in the front of it from them - Of course I was going to spend way too much cash.

We were so shattered by the end of the event - but it was definitely beyond worth it.

So, there we go - I have just cemented my Book Geek Status 100%.

Ah well - roll on the next event is all I can say!

Edinburgh 2014 anyone...?

And a little 'Note To Self': Take a very large suitcase to Edinburgh for the mountain of books to be purchased!

A Little Bit Of Technology This Christmas...?

So, today saw the release of the XBox One, and my goodness, don't I know it!

The men in my house - one is aged eight years, and one, well, he is aged a tad over thirty years - have both done nothing but rave about their need to have this console in the house, and today - the release day - has been the worse by far.

Totally Computer Crazy.

So, why so excited?

Well apparently, the new generation consoles - the XBox One and the PS4 - are "taking console gaming to a whole new level" (I quote the Hubby here).

So naturally, these are going to be the sought after Christmas item to have Santa bring down the chimney this year, and I know for sure that Old St Nicholas had better have reserved one for this household.

Or there could be tears....

And I'm not too sure how my eight year old would react either...

Computer's are bound to be craved for by the kiddies - young and old - we really do live in a technological era - even my Grandma adores her Nintendo DS.

Everyone wants to own the latest "it" thing.

And my home isn't any different.

We already have a Nintendo 3DS, and a PSP, both of which help to make car journeys incredibly peaceful if nothing else.

I don't mind my son playing on these because I can monitor what he actually is playing, and encourage the more educational games where I can.

Educational technology also branches out into things like tablets that available for younger children, where development can also be supported through learning apps and programmes.

So - back to this year's "must haves".

The XBox One sounds pretty fab and it is very obviously "built for the future".

To be honest, a lot of the technological jargon is lost on me, however, I do find it amazing that it will recognise voices and will switch on when you say "XBox On", and it will even turn on the TV.

I am keen for my son to have one, because he really does enjoy his computer games - in moderation to everything else of course - and we already have an Xbox 360, so the XBox One seems like the natural progression.

Games such as the Lego series; Minecraft; and the ever changing Skylanders are all XBox friendly, and they provide lots of entertainment, as well as being age appropriate for a younger child too.

Of course, older "children" don't miss out either, with the Assassin's Creeds, the Grand Theft Auto's and the Modern Warfare's available to keep them interested.

But I'm much happier to hear that Lego have brought a new superhero game out, "Marvel Super Heros" and that the new Skylander's Swapforce is available just before Christmas.

Very Helpful Stuff.

Of course, all of these fab games are available for the PS4 too, however this is a little bit of a mystery to me I must admit, but it sounds quite fantastic too - it apparantly "puts gamers first" and offers "stunning graphic performance".

What to choose eh.

I have to admit, the only thing I find a tad annoying about having a gaming household, is the noise.

Honestly the music on some of the games is enough to drive any sane person a little mad, and I have come to the conclusion that only one of two things will save my sanity this Christmas:

1.  I make sure we have a gaming headset to plug into the console and block out all of the noise,

or

2.  I invest in another suitable TV specifically for gaming purposes, and allow my son to have it in his bedroom.

Now, Option Two is the one that my son has been trying his damnedest to get, for well over a year now, but I'm not convinced that it would be all that healthy for him to be allowed a TV of his own just yet, mainly because I know I would never see him - he would be constantly shut away in his bedroom at every given opportunity.

Which I don't agree with, and I don't want either.

Nevertheless, I decided to indulge his wishes a little, and asked about the type of TV he would like if and when he was allowed one - and well - the ones he came up with...wow...they were bigger and fancier and a whole lot slimmer than the one I have in my living room.

Oh, and it would have to be HD to make the graphics better - of course - silly me, how could I possibly forget that.

The winners of his vote were:

Sharp LC39LE751E 3D Full HD Smart TV with Freeview

Toshiba 32inch LED HD Ready Freeview TV with built in DVD player (very important apparently for watching films at a sleepover!)

How old is my child again....?  Sometimes I wonder...

So whilst the jury is still out on Option Two, for a good few years at least, Option One, our Gaming Headset Option, is a great idea and I would recommend it to anyone who is thinking of  buying a console.

Simply for the peace they create.

At the moment, the range of  headsets available for the new generation consoles is fairly limited.

Gioteck however, are due to release some fantastic looking PS4 gaming headsets within the next few weeks, just in time for the Christmas rush, and I'm sure they will fly off of the shelves.

Each headset is designed for a different purpose - more details can be found here...I for one really like how they look!

Very Futuristic.

I just hope the XBox One will have a nice little range like this too.

So you see, it's quite easy for the kiddies to keep up with the latest technological advances, and to stay up to date with their friends, and all whilst having a little bit of education thrown in for good measures.

Perhaps a new generation console will make it into your house this Christmas

*Sponsored Post

W7 Makeup Haul

I've come to love that moment when the postman is spotted wandering down my street, because I just can't help but hope and pray that he will have a fantastic little package especially for me.

He very recently actually did meet up to these very high expectations (he often (very often!) disappoints I'm afraid because he tends to bring me nothing but bills...yak) by delivering a very lovely surprise, in the form of some loot from the lovely people at W7.

W7 are a fairly new, up and coming make up brand, who are currently in the process of adding the finishing touches to their website.

Which I don't doubt will have me spending a fortune...

W7 stock cosmetics galore - from nail polish to bronzers to concealer to lip-gloss - they have everything a girl could possibly need.

And they have already featured in Reveal Magazine

So naturally, this little gift from the postie had me doing a happy dance whilst I dashed inside, very eager to cast my beedy eyes over everything.

Excitement overload.

First up, I found this very eye catching, bright packaged, "Eyelust"  mascara.

I'm a tad rubbish at wearing mascara everyday, but I am definitely not a fan of my teeny tiny rubbishy eyelashes, so when this fluorescent tube fell into my hands, I got straight to it.

The applicator is quite thick and picks up just the right amount of mascara, and it makes application really quick and easy.

It worked wonders on my lashes and I even had comments from my work colleagues at how nice my eyes looked.

Naturally, after compliments, this is now in the "daily use" section of my make up bag - I love it.

Next up is this very bright pink, very glittery blusher.

Now, I do wear a blusher daily, but usually one that is not as bright or as glitzy as this one.

I would definitely have to save this for nights out when I want a little bit of sparkle.

To tame the pink down a little, I made sure that I used the blusher very sparingly - just a little dab on my blusher brush, gave a rosy finish and avoided the dreaded clown look.

A little goes a  l-o-n-g  way!

It is very, very girly.

Another extremely girly item was this hot pink lipstick.

The colour is very bold, and very, very pink.

So pink in fact that I have to admit, I wasn't brave enough to go all out and try this myself.

I'm a little bit of a lipstick-phobe and only purchased my very first one recently (see here), plus I don't think my skin tone would have done this any justice at all.

But not to worry - my little sister saw it and claimed it immediately anyway - and it does look very pretty on her.

One of my favourite pieces from the haul was this dark grey eye-shadow, which too, has added sparkly glitter.

I initially thought this would be a very dark colour on the skin, but in fact it was quite pale, which I really liked.

Building it up in layers did help to give a more dramatic look though if desired - it is perfect to help create a smokey eye effect.

And whilst we're on the subject of eyes, this waterproof brow pen is something I would never even have contemplated buying before.

I have really dark brown eyebrows (so the pen matched perfectly) which are quite thick anyway, so adding to them with a brow pen never even occurred to me.

However, I am proven wrong.

Using this pen, a little apprehensively at first I might add, helped to define my brows more, and really improved how they looked.

Definitely my surprise product of the day.

Last but not least, we have this cover stick with tea tree oil.

I somehow constantly put off buying a cover stick and then always end up regretting it when the dreaded spot outbreaks begin.

This one was really easy to use, and it covered imperfections brilliantly.  I dusted my usual bronzer over the top, and it disguised the cover up really well.

And because it has tea tree within it naturally, this helps to eliminate and control the spot breakouts anyway  which is a bonus.

Oh - and it smells really fresh and clean too.

So a massive thank you from me to W7!

My make up bag is full to bursting with all of these lovely things.

I think I'll need to invest in a new one in time for the website launch

*Samples provided for review

A UK Winter Break Or Two

It seems at the moment, that everything is stress, stress, stress - I never seem to be still.

And with December slowly looming, I can't see this mega-crazy fast pace slowing down anytime soon.

A-R-G-H

I think I need a holiday.

A weekend away could be an absolutely amazing "calm before the storm" remedy, to really chill me out before the craziness of the festive season begins.

And where better to relax and escape to, than an amazing luxury, countryside hotel - and one that is close to home, to avoid any long haul driving would be perfect.

Relaxing luxury in the country doesn't get much better than with the beautiful five star Wentbridge House Hotel in West Yorkshire.

Set within an amazing twenty acre garden, Wentbridge House Hotel is full of history and character.

Built within the 1700's, it was originally home to the famous Leatham family, and even served as the headquarters of the British Army during World War Two.

Now a beautiful, forty-one bedroom hotel, with a 2 AA fine dining restaurant, this would be a fantastic location to rest, relax and de-stress just before the festivities of Christmas begin.

Wandering the gardens, relaxing in the luxurious bedrooms or taking a stroll around the pretty village of Wentbridge, there are lots of low-effort things to do and see.

I would seriously feel like a Princess staying here.

Luxury at it's best.

The hotel is close to the A1 too so is within easy reach of  Leeds, York and Harrogate - perfect for last minute Christmas shopping.

Personally, I'd settle for snuggling up in a warm corner with a good book, simply letting the world outside vanish for a while.

Bliss.

And Wentbridge House Hotel have some fab deals too, all specifically catered for relaxing and unwinding

Chilling out at a discounted price - it just gets better and better.

But this easy, slow pace unfortunately can't last all of the Christmas period.
There's that inevitable Christmas shopping to attend to.

And what better place to do this than in London.

I visited London for the very first time last weekend, and am still in awe of how fast paced and busy everything is.

London shopping is without question, fantastic, and where better to begin than on Regent Street.

Hamleys; Topshop; Liberty and Swarovski, there is no doubt at finding everything possibly needed and more.

With arms laden down with masses of shopping bags, St Georges Hotel on Regent Street would be an absolutely perfect place to stay once the heavy duty shopping is out of the way.

The lovely hotel suites would be a fantastic place to rest and recoup after a busy day of retail therapy, whilst the dizzy heights of the fifteenth floor Heights Lounge Restaurant and Bar would undoubtedly provide amazing views whilst spending time refueling.

I would be very tempted too to take advantage of the hotel's central location, and make sure I visited the nearby West End to see a fantastic show and make my stay even more memorable.

I'd be hoping to spot a famous face in the hotel bar too!

Well - a lady can hope.

All this holiday planning got me thinking of the beach and the sea, and I decided that I really needed to consider a trip to the seaside.

Me and the Hubby have loved wandering the beaches and paddling in the sea in the past.  It's great to just have time together enjoying some peace and quiet.

Taking in some of the beautiful countryside is great too, and not something you really can appreciate living in a busy, built-up town.

A few days "out of the loop" enjoying the simple things is always a good way to re-connect with a loved one.

Ox Pasture Hall in Scarborough is simply stunning, and the perfect place for a romantic getaway.

Luxurious, picturesque and award winning, the hotel offers a perfect location for snuggling up in front of an amazing log-fire with the love of you're life and relaxing to the absolute maximum.

Located only two miles outside of Scarborough, within the North York Moors National Park, the stunning views provide an amazing backdrop for a fantastic, romantic stay.

A fab way to finish off the Christmas period in absolute relaxation and style I reckon - I think I may have found the pressie that's going at the very top of my Christmas list anyway. 

All this planning has got me itching to book a getaway and enjoy a little more of the loveliness the UK has to offer.

It really is the perfect place for a few days away, no matter the time of year

*Sponsored Post

My Guilty Festive Fashion Pleasures

Guilty Festive Fashion Pleasures?

Yep, I definitely have a few of those I'm afraid.

At any other time of the year, I like to think I follow the fashion trends...or at least I try to.

I know what I like, and I like what I know.

But come the 25th December - all the rules are well and truly out of the window, and it's every festive, colourful, garish item for itself.

I want it all.

Cheap Christmas tack will definitely be involved in my outfits for Christmas Day - and why not.

I usually even try to stretch out my "tack wearing" for as many days as possible, it's fab.

There's usually some kind of flashing, overly large, garish jewellery item, which I will need to replace this year as last years has vanished over the past eleven months.

Perhaps Santa wanted to take it back to the North Pole with him for Mrs Claus....

Anyway - I do have a flashing tie - which I will be wearing with absolute pride for work one day.

Never one to normally wear a blouse or a tie, I'll style this up in a "School Christmas Uniform" sort of way- I know the kiddies will love it...or hate it...but I can't wait.

I also dug out my special Christmas Washing Up Gloves - especially for the Hubby to use on Christmas Day, because, well, I'm just nice like that.

And I'm sure no Christmas would be complete without a novelty hat.

This is actually my son's Elf hat, but I do have a Santa Hat which is probably hiding away with the Christmas Tree at the moment.

I do have Christmas socks too, because I just hate having cold toes, and I'm not ashamed to say that these little beauties come out at any opportunity, and are not just for Christmas.

And why not - reindeer, pom-pom's, furry insides - they have the lot!

I love the print...so much so that I have a knitted purse to match them.

Yep - I'm guilty of matching a purse to a pair of socks...but it's Christmas...it's surely allowed...?

Although I love all of these things, my all time, most guiltiest festive fashion pleasure just has to be Christmas Jumpers.

I do absolutely love them, and as you can tell, I have acquired quite the little collection.

The brighter, crazier and more 'noveltier' the better for me.

I was even 'told off' by my nephew last year for wearing my Mickey Mouse sweatshirt weeks after the New Year...but I just couldn't help myself - I love it.

And this year, I have not one, but two more to add to my ever growing collection.

I just can't wait to get them on!

So - having an amazing five festive Christmas Jumpers, I'd say that without a doubt that they are 100% my Guilty Festive Fashion Pleasure.

If you want to see lots more Guilty Festive Pleasures, then make sure you check out www.clothingattesco.com

There's a chance to vote for the look you love the most, and even possibly win a fab £25 F&F voucher to spend just for casting your vote!

I'm sure there's some fantastically festive creations to be found

A Just For £5 Wishlist

I think I'm becoming little bit of a thrifty shopper when it comes to buying things for myself...that or I'm really getting into the Christmas spirit and becoming a total Scrooge....

Either way, I love love love a bargain and have been on the look out lately to update my wardrobe as cheaply as possible.

And then I stumbled across Just For £5 and naturally I had to have a look.

Just For £5 have been a part of the retail market for a massive ten years already, supplying other industries with five pound products, but have recently decided to branch out themselves and offer an online shopping service.

And I'm pritty glad that they did.

I found some really nice pieces on their website, and to be honest, I got really excited at just how nice the things were for such a low price.

I put together some of my favourite finds - the majority of them I will be purchasing come pay day too.

Footwear:

I seriously fell in love with all of these boots.
They are amazing, cute and are available in a range of different colours too.

Personally, I prefer boots in blacks and browns, so I would be choosing these options if I were buying, but the styles are just what I was looking for to get me through the coming winter.


Trousers:

Pairs of jeans and trendy work trousers for only five pounds - well - that's me sold.


Tops:

There is a whole load of varying style tops available, including jumpers, blouses and shirts, and these are just five of the pile that I could have chosen to include.

I really enjoyed looking through the different sections of this website.
I found some fab accessories and amazing bags too that I haven't even touched on within this post.

I'm handbag/accessory crazy I'm afraid, and could very easily pick at least twenty things from these sections alone that I'd like to buy.

Out of the fifteen items that I have included, I want them all - and if I did buy the lot, it would only cost me £75!

That's £75 for five tops, four pairs of trousers - two being jeans - and five pairs of boots...oh, and a pair of shoes!

Does it get more of a bargain than that - I think not.

Visit Just for £5 and see what you can pick up

A Little Trip to London Town

I can't quite believe that it's a whole week ago that I set off for a weekend in London with the ladies.

My first visit to our capital ever, and it was brilliant.

Very tiring and very busy, but brilliant non the less.

Myself and my friend Nicola, set off at 5am last Saturday morning (ouch I know!), and after a very uneventful, pritty nice, easy going train journey, we arrived at London's King's Cross Station at around 7.30am.

After a coffee and a little bit of people watching, we ventured into the Harry Potter 9 3/4 shop (see here) for a little bit of a browse.

Once I had been dragged out, kicking and screaming, we decided to have a leisurely stroll to our hotel, which Google Maps informed me, was about half an hour away.

Thank goodness for wheelie holdall bags is all I can say.

But, we didn't get lost once and arrived to meet the lovely Rachel in one piece...despite a few back-alley-wrong-turns.

EEK!

I did the whole touristy thing, and with Rachel as our very lovely, London-Experienced tour guide we hit:

~ Camden Market

~ Ventured onto The Tube a few times

~ Ate some lovely food and drank some lovely (very lovely!) drinks

~ Took in the sights

And of course, browsed the amazing shops.

I never thought there could be a whole store dedicated to M&Ms...let alone a store with four floors, but M&M World certainly proved me wrong

And Hamleys was amazing, but I made a mental note to never take my eight year old there - unless I had won the lottery beforehand of course!

Major Toy Overload.

By the time we reached our hotel in the evening, and I had calmed down from the heart palpitations from having to cram on for my first ever Tube ride - a Tube that was so packed full of people that it was almost an impossibility to get the three of us on I might add -  I think curling up in a ball in bed would have worked quite well.

But Oh No - out came the Champers, on went the glad-rags and back to Camden we went to schmooze with the London folk on a busy Saturday evening.

Dirty Martini was our first port of call - definitely my kind of atmosphere and the music was right up my street, but I'm sure the Northern Girl within fainted a little when she saw the Southern prices of drinks

Ouch!

We contemplated taking a Tuk-Tuk ride, but decided to stroll...or rather dash...as fast as our heeled feet would take us, back thorough the cold London streets to our hotel, where we had "one for the road" and then climbed, shattered, into bed.

London was fantastic, and it definitely did treat me well - I can't wait to go back again.

At least next time, I'll know that an armpit to the face is an accepted, and quite a normal expectation for a trip on a London Tube.

You really do learn something new everyday

Monsoon Children Range

Christmas is well and truly here it would seem.

I know this for certain the second that the Christmas advertisements start to be shown on TV.

They kind of cement it for me - the ads are on, Christmas is on it's way.

It's really quite exciting.

Especially when the adverts are as cute, as sparkly and as fun as the one for the Monsoon Children range.

It's so "Christmas Magical"...but majorly cute too.

It really can't fail to get you into the Christmas spirit - all the cute kiddies in their best Christmas outfits, having fun, being cheeky and causing havoc to the very fun, very seasonal Christmas music.

So sweet.

Christmas of course means parties, celebrations and special events will be plentiful, and we all want to look our absolute best, and this of course includes the little ones.

And as this advertisement shows, the range of clothes available at Monsoon for children is beyond fantastic.

So fantastic in fact, that I think I may have found my son's perfect Christmas Party Outfit.

Arnie Argyle Slipover - £20.00

Brian Shirt and Bow Tie - £18.00

Harry Herringbone Trouser - from £22.00

Boy Chelsea Boot - £25.00

Dom Duffle Coat - £40.00

I have always loved the clothes and accessories Monsoon have to offer.  Their style is very unique and immediately identifiable from their quality, luxurious fabrics and lovely, detailed finishes.

The Monsoon Children range is all about providing clothes for every occasion possible - from the everyday rough and tumble, to that cool, trendy party.

The outfit I have put together brings together both of these aspects.  It is smart (and warm) enough to look the part at any Christmas event, yet it has a real fun twist which really gives the outfit that little bit of an edge.

It's this balance that is oh-so-important for a fashion-conscious eight year old.

Thanks to Monsoon, Christmas will be all about looking amazingly good...well...it will be for the little man in my home at least.

Make sure you visit Monsoon and see this exceptionally cute range for yourself.

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