Distractions

The Hague is a fantastic city to visit with children for a weekend break. It's small and not overwhelming and it has plenty of the type of culture to offer that will appeal to children.

Cookie mix jars are the perfect way to involve children in making favours for their birthday party.

Greek Kourabiedes and Austrian Vanillekipferl were a feature of Advent in my childhood. Little did I know they are related!

Making your own Christmas wreath is such a creative and rewarding activity, and doubly so if you do it with friends.

In the age of abundance so much is consumed and quickly disposed of. Wrapping gifts sustainably can make a very small but important difference - choose the right gift wrap and ribbon and learn a new wrapping technique that can reduce waste.

I participated in a mince pie taste test this week - it was more difficult than I thought it would be and the result was quite a surprise!

Who would have thought that you could make something so delicious from a tin of pureed pumpkin, but these biscuits are so delicious they will become a staple in our home every autumn. Because pumpkin puree comes in 425g tins, this recipe makes rather a large batch of biscuits, but I prefer that to having half a tin of pureed pumpkin left over that I wouldn't know what to do with (other than blending it into a vegetable soup). Having said that, the batter freezes very well and

Nature has been very generous this year, giving us an abundance of berries, nuts and acorns. And who doesn't love a conker when it first pops out of its shell, all shiny and smooth? The leaves are also about to fall down from the trees in all shades of red and brown, and they can make a beautiful table and window decoration. There are various ways to preserve leaves : Press them Dip them in wax (beeswax or paraffin) Soak them in glycerine The first method dries out the leaves

I used to work in a busy corporate job in London, and would sometimes go to life drawing classes after a long day at work. What struck me every time I went was how much this activity helped me to switch off from my day at work. The life drawing sessions always followed the same structure: In the first part, the model would change positions every 2 minutes and we had to sketch very quickly. The aim of this was to encourage us not to overthink what was in front of us, but to ge

Crafting at Christmas is a must in my family. But the run up to Christmas can also feel hectic, so here are some quick projects that you can turn to if you are itching for some pre-Christmas crafts.