The ultimate guide to taking your kids to Lapland

A family trip to Lapland will get you much more than a few cool (or should that be cold?) parent points, if you do your research and enjoy more than just a visit to Santa. Obviously you’ll want to check in with the big guy in red, but there's so much more to do than just grabbing some presents and making sure you’re not on the naughty list.

Read on to see what you should include during a trip to Lapland with the kids, and make sure that they'll never forget their snowy adventure. You might be surprised at how much there is to see and do that doesn’t involve grottos and presents.

Ways to Ease Pain After an Accident

Life can be unexpected. Accidents can occur at the most inconvenient of times and turn your life upside down. Suffering an injury is never pleasant, however you can take steps to increase the speed of your recovery and lessen your pain through various methods. Depending on the level of damage caused by your injury, you may have already seen a doctor or even stayed in hospital for a period of time. Whatever your accident might have been, here are a few helpful ways for you to ease your pain.

5 Unusual Things to Do in London

With nearly 2,000 years of history and a vibrant cultural life, London is so much more than Buckingham Palace and Big Ben. It has so much more to offer than just the usual big ticket attractions. Don't follow the crowd when it comes to exploring our Capital City, try a couple of these cool things to do in London with a difference...

3 Things You Can Do With Your Spare Room

You know what it's like when you buy a house. You go for one with a spare room, because you're either planning on growing your family in the future, or you have plans that it might be needed. And then you move in and can't decide what to do with it, in the immediate future.

There are so many options to go for and I guess it all depends on what you really could do with the extra space, within your family. But I thought I'd give 3 options of fairly neutral spaces, that can be used by all of the family...

5 Reasons Why You Should Consider A Holiday In Yorkshire

Yorkshire is an iconic region in England. From stunning architecture to friendly locals and delicious delicacies, there’s much to enjoy here. With Europe on the doorstep, when it comes to choosing a holiday destination, it’s easy to hop on a plane and travel somewhere abroad. There are many beautiful gems in Yorkshire that make great holiday spots, but if you need further convincing, check out these five reasons below.

Should Elderly Family Members Move in with You?

While nobody likes to think about their parents getting older, once you reach that age where you have your own kids, it’s common to start worrying about your older family members. People live for longer now, which means they have more complex needs as they get older, and while in British culture it’s not common to have multigenerational households, in other countries family members of different generations live together. So, if you have an elderly parent or family member who needs extra help, should you consider letting them move in with you?

Summer Giveaway

As Autumn is nearly here and we'll soon be saying goodbye to the lovely Summer weather, I thought I'd make someones slightly colder day a bit happier, by giving away a £20 Amazon voucher to one lucky winner. I prefer to give away Amazon vouchers as you can by literally most things there. From throws and hot water bottles, to a tipple or two.

My Tips For Online Dating

The world of online dating can be tricky at the best of times, and even harder for beginners. But if you've decided to venture into the online dating world, then you've already made the right choice. I mean, did you know that one-third of marriages now start online and every age demographic using online dating has increased in the past few years, so it's not just the young ones doing it.

Online dating is huge, there is no denying it, so if you’re looking for the best online dating tips to make sure that your dating journey is a successful one, then look no further as here are my tips for dating online, the best dating advice for novices looking to find their special someone.

How British Schools Fell for American Style Proms

Big dresses, huge cars, smart suits and lots of fun. What exactly is a school prom and how is it taking over from the school disco?

In recent years, the end of the British school year has become synonymous with students attending American style prom nights. Proms are big news in Britain these days. A formal party to celebrate an important date at school such as the end of secondary school or after completing school exams in Year 11.

Family traditions: How they build happier people (and how to create your own!)

When you think back to your childhood, can you recall any family traditions? For some people, the answer is solid and clear: every year, without fail, the family would pack up the car and trundle off to a certain caravan spot, or to a cottage, or to visit Grandma who lived further afield. For others, it might not be as clearly marked — they might have had a few quirky Easter traditions, or maybe Father’s Day was always spent at the riverside doing a spot of fishing, like Life of a Fisherman's Wife does with her family. 

Whatever traditions you had, no doubt they have created a fair few stories and memories to cherish and share. But did you know that family traditions can bring a whole host of psychological benefits, particularly for teenagers and young adults?

Does Natural Light Affect Our Health?

Us humans need sunlight in order to thrive and be happy in life. Natural light causes our bodies to absorb Vitamin D, which us in the UK can suffer from deficiency sometimes, due to our ever changing weather. But maximising our exposure to natural light both outdoors and whilst indoors too is one of the best things we can do for our mental health.

6 Tips For Planning Your Birthday Meal

My birthday is right around the corner and I'm wanting to go out and have a meal with some of my closest friends and family. It sounds like an amazing idea, but then the details come into play and it has been leaving me with more stress than excitement.

I can really see why people enjoy surprise parties more, as then the onus isn't on you to do the planning. But should you be planning your own birthday party? The answer is, I guess, sometimes. Gone are those years where mum and dad throw a tea party at home and you have soggy sandwiches and cake, and here come the grown up party where we drink gin and eat a 3 course meal.

4 Tips For Easy Boiler Maintenance

The boiler is the most important part of your heating system, and if it goes down, you can say goodbye to heating and hot water until it is fixed. As such, it is so important that you take good care of it in order to keep your home warm year in, year out.

Boiler maintenance starts with you, and even though a heating engineer will keep your boiler in good condition, there are also many things that you should do yourself to keep it running smoothly. So I thought I'd give 4 tips for easy boiler maintenance...

How to Dress a Newborn for Sleep in the Summer: 10 Steps

The last thing you want to see happen is that your newborn is too cold, however, at the same time, you also never want to make sure that your infant is overheated. Studies have shown that there is a link between infants being overheated and SIDS. With that said, as much as you don't want your baby to be cold, you want your baby to be cool temperature-wise. That is why you want to make sure that the infant boy, and baby girl clothes you have your baby wearing is appropriate for the current season. And, you want it to be especially lightweight for the summer.

Our Bandai STEM Ambassador Adventures and Win

Over the last few months we have been working with Bandai to review their range of National Geographic STEM kits for kids. You can look back to our Bandai STEM kits reviews if want to see our past posts about this range. 

We have been lucky enough to try out some fun and educational kits which have been a great way for my children to learn through fun and trying out new things to do. I think the boys will be sad not to receive our monthly bundle of STEM kits, as this is our final month as Bandai STEM Ambassadors.

We received 3 National Geographic STEM kits this month. Ultimate Play Sand, Shark Tooth Dig Kit and a Gemstone Dig Kit. The kids were really excited to get to work with the kits and get to try out the sand too as we've read that it's so much fun.

Reasons Why It's Important To Limit Your Children's Screen Time

(Licence: Pixabay)

How many hours a day do your children spend transfixed to a screen?

Whether they are watching YouTube videos on their tablets, playing video games on the TV, or browsing Facebook on their mobile phones, chances are, screen time is taking precedence in their lives.

Now, while there is no harm in a little screen time - we are all guilty of it - there are some definite reasons as to why you might want to place a few limits on your children (and even on yourself if you spend too much time in front of a screen).

My Top 2 Summer Fashion Choices

There are so many spring/summer 2019 trends, what's been featured on the catwalk, snapped in magazines, or hitting up our feeds on Instagram. And this isn't just a case of saying what you see, I'm talking about a proper look at those key pieces that you'll want to buy, the old ones you'll be digging out again, the new styling tricks that will turn everything around.