I remember growing up waiting so patiently for December 1st to come around. You see, growing up in church meant that Auntie Barbara, Doris and Daphne all made sure to get me my own advent calendar on top of the one already been given by my parents and soon I had five advent calendars lined up, some making it til Christmas day and others consumed before

As with most things, living more sustainably often takes a mindset shift. With the switches below, it’s unlikely that in a year 4 craft competition Heppy won’t have a shiny, glittery, luminous green offering (there’s nothing wrong with this), but she certainly will have something just as cool made from things we can find, probably cost less and is way kinder to the planet.

I thought I’d write a quick blog with some ideas on how it’s possible to reduce waste with art supplies. Before you know it it’s so possible to have a cupboard full of googly eyes, glittery craft paper and plastic glue sticks. I’ve found some really simple solutions that will mostly save you money but more than that, cut down on plastic and toxins too!

I’m a secondhand geek. There’s a running joke in our family that if you want something, anything…i’l be able to find it second hand for an absolute bargain price. Like the Kayak we got from facebook marketplace for my father in law’s Christmas present, the le creuset frying pan my dad really wanted but was way out of budget new and the cashmere ‘Caramel coat’ that I got from ebay for £5 but was on their website for £200- oh and let’s not forget the double medela pump I needed whilst in New Zealand because mine had stopped working and after scouring multiple used sites found a lady on the other side of Tarunga selling one barely used.

I love advent. I love the anticipation and the preparation and I’m not even gonna pretend that I’ve not peaked too soon this year? Anyone with me?

Before I had my own kids I was a live-in nanny and I remember each year their mum would put slips of paper into each pocket of their calendar and they would run down the stairs each morning with squeals of delight, fending each other off to be the first to see what the activity for the day was and I remember my own delight as a kid as my mum handed me the dairy milk calendar. I’d always dreamed of the rituals and traditions I could bring into our home when we had children and have loved hearing of others, especially traditions from different cultures like Parols, bright and colourful lanterns placed inside the home in the Philippines, and those in Poland cleaning their homes from top to bottom to make it perfect for the arrival of Jesus.