I have to admit I didn't have time to think about Christmas. I spent the two weeks before hand working ungodly hours at work to try and get things looking somewhat tidy. I came home aching and stressed from exhaustion and went to sleep and did it all over again. But come Christmas Eve when I got in the car and drove to Portsmouth I knew it would be worth it. I had 4 days off and I couldn't wait.

Working in retail means that having time off over Christmas is non existent but luckily for us the way the days fell meant we had more than 1 day to spend with our loved ones. I could put to the back of my head all the abuse customers gave me for things being out of stock and all the times I wanted to tear my hair out when a kid knocked over a whole display of books.

This year we spent Christmas in Portsmouth. The boys headed down a few days earlier and I followed on Christmas Eve once I had finished my shift. As soon as I got there I was handed a drink, told to put my feet up and relax. It's all you really want at Christmas. It was magical to snuggle down with Max and read some stories as he fell asleep next to me, putting out milk and biscuits and seeing Max's face when Santa left some footprints behind!

I can honestly say we were spoilt rotten, some kitchen appliances that I'm already obsessed with, tickets to Harry Potter Studios and a Vtech Smartwatch which hasn't left Max's wrist. It was lovely to spend Christmas day with the inlaws having a quiet day.

Boxing day however was the complete opposite! All the family over, drinks, games and laughter galore. I've not cried laughing so much for such a long time! I sometimes find it hard to relax when we visit the inlaws as normally we are only there for a day and I'm driving us home so it was nice to know that we had some time to unwind.

Sunday was a day of rest. Having a lazy meal out with Scott and playing with Max's toys. It was a wonderful Christmas had by all and perfect to unwind after such a stressful few weeks at work. Now to get ready for school!

We've done a fair few Christmas shows this year and thought that the last one should end with a bang. Which is why we picked to see Christmas Spectacular at the Regent Centre in Christchurch. 

If you're looking for a show to lift your Christmas spirits then this is the one. The charming play will leave you wishing that you could have your own robin to help you along the way. Otto and the Robin is on most mornings and afternoons between now and December 24th so don't miss out!

There's nothing better to get you in the festive spirit than to go see a show. Each year since Max was little we've made a conscious decision to either see a panto, play or concert to get that festive feeling, and this year was no exception. We've packed this year with more Christmassy shows that I can count and this was the first, (and the one I was most excited about!) Peter Pan at the Lighthouse in Poole.

We love Christmas in our house. Not only do we get to spend time together, buy gifts and see family, but there's always so much going on. I'm always a bit gutted when I realise things have happened and we missed the chance to see them. Here's some things happening in the Bournemouth and Poole area that aren't to be missed! I've we've headed down or been to watch it then I'll be sure to list the review's below.

• Peter Pan - Lighthouse Poole (read my review here)
• Otto and the Robin - Lighthouse Poole
• Snow White - Bournemouth Pavilion
• Christmas Spectacular - Regent Centre, Christchurch

 Now that Max is at school I don't get to do as many Instagram outfit posts as a school uniform is hardly a stylish thing. That's why I love the weekends as Max gets to pick his outfits and play about with what he loves to wear.

Max is a defiant little lion. He knows what he likes and will definitely be vocal if I try and pick his clothes for him. I swear I wasn't so style aware at his age! This weekend we went to Pompey to spend time with the in-laws as they didn't come to Max's birthday party. We had a great time and Max was thoroughly spoilt with some new joggers and slippers for lounging around in after school.

Max is obsessed with this jumper that his auntie Jess gave him for his birthday. He's dubbed it his "Bieber Jumper" as it's quite long in length like the ones Justin Bieber wears (yes I know!) He's also grown to carrying a bag all the time so he can pop his toy phone and fake laptop in there to "blog on the go". I'm raising a male fashion blogger it seems!

We were kindly given the Superhero Hoodie to road test which is a perfect fit for us as Max is convinced he is a superhero in disguise. It's a perfect fit and a great design with a mask attached to the hood with poppers. We've had it for a couple of weeks now and the colour and design has lasted well in the wash and it's Max's go-to jumper. He even wore it for a non uniform day at school and we had many parents ask where we got it.

I love that it's a lightweight hoody so he can wear it with a thin top underneath. It's perfect for this weather as we love to layer them up and keep him warm. I would 100% recommend this hoodie for any superhero you may know, and at £13 is a perfect stocking filler for Christmas!


Note: We recieved the umper in exchange for a review but all opinions are our own.

When Max started school I was really apprehensive. I've always found it tough to make mum friends outside of blogging as let's face it, we can all sympathise about press releases and juggling a full time hobby and kids. But knew I needed to push myself when it came to school gate mums as Max would be with these kids for the next 6 years at least.

I'm fortunate that I've found a lovely group of mums and all our kids have grouped together to become really good friends in class. We walk to school with some of them and have play dates with others and we are even planning mum's nights out (whether it actually happens we don't know!) but I know it can be tricky to get to that stage so here are some things that I found helpful.

• Find out who your child plays with - You don't really want to be making friends with a parent if your kids really don't get along as it feels like a forced friendship on them. Having said that it's good to talk to everyone as kids seem to pick and choose friends as fast as they change their socks.
  
• Don't hang back - I've seen a few parents hang back in the playground and stand on their phones at the back. It makes them seem a mix of unsociable and as if they don't want to talk to anyone. I found that when I started approaching a couple of the mums it became so much easier to chat each time we turned up at the school gates.
  
• Suggest play dates - We started off by mentioning to a few mums back in September that we would be taking Max to play in the park across the road after school one day and they were welcome to join us. We ended up making it a regular thing and until recently when the weather turned it was a great way to sit and chat with a new face.
  
•  Find mums on the same school walk as you - We are lucky that we walk to school along a main road. This means that several of his school friends walk the same way. So as the kids walk along together it's given me a chance to talk to the mums and make friends that way.
  
• Join the PTA - When Max started school, the first thing my mum said was to join the PTA. It's a great way to get involved with the school, find out what's going on and make friends with other mums. Most of the other parents in the PTA have kids in older years but it's great to chat to people and make new friends.
  
• Don't be afraid - At the end of the day you are all there to ensure that your child has a good education. You don't need to show off, be the loudest or even the best you just need to be you. Go there with a smile on your face and catch the eye of someone and you never know what might happen.

On Tuesday Max turned 5. It's hard to believe that 5 years have flown by this fast. And I'm dreading how fast the next 5 years will go.

We held a birthday party for him on the Sunday before as he's never had a proper party before. We spent a while deliberating where to host it and thought about halls and bouncy castles but in the end settled on a soft play party at Lemur Landings.

Many of you know that we love Lemur Landings. It's a massive soft play centre based at Tower Park in Poole. There's enough there to keep the kids busy for hours with a giant climbing frame, a rock climbing wall, nerf gun area and bits to keep the tiny ones entertained too.

Opting for a soft play party meant that the centre themselves did all the hard work when it came to food, drinks and party bags. All we had to do was turn up with a cake and candles and sit back and enjoy the morning.

I was originally a bit worried as I had no control over anything and had left his first party in the hands of people I didn't know but I had nothing to be worried about and the party went by in the blink of an eye. We even had a visit from Lewey Lemur which the kids absolutely loved.

We had an amazing time and loved the fact that the kids were allowed to stay on the site after the party had ended as they had a bit of energy left in them and wanted to continue playing. We even managed to get some of them up the rock climbing wall which they loved!



Overall I was so impressed with the level of service we received and the value for money that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend a party to any of our friends and family. In fact several of Max's school friends are now booking parties there as we had so much fun!