And just like that, Christmas is here! Our tree is And just like that, Christmas is here! Our tree is up, the Santa hats are out and the first doors on our advent calendars are open.

I love this time of year. It is my favourite. And it’s one of the few times still full of magic even as an adult. I’m going to be soaking up every minute of joy the next few weeks bring and I hope December is full of moments of joy for you too.

Happy December! 🎄
AD | Christmas has arrived at @thelexiconbracknell AD | Christmas has arrived at @thelexiconbracknell and there’s so much to entertain the whole family whilst you do your Christmas shopping! 

Visit The Lexicon Glow Room for a magical light experience that will dazzle you with 20,000 LEDs. It feels like the room goes on forever! Then, take a dip in the Light Pool, a magical ball pool with golden balls to be found and prizes to be won!

If that wasn’t all, have a photo in the giant Christmas bauble ‘sparkling selfie station’ and follow the Twinkle Trail, spotting baubles in shop windows to collect the clues and enter to win fabulous prizes this Christmas. Plus, share your sparkling selfie station pictures, tagging #thelexiconbracknell or email them to marketing@thelexiconbracknell.com and you will automatically be entered in a competition for the chance to win a restaurant gift card too. 

There are also special performances from local choirs, bands and singers and even the chance to meet Bluey, Hey Duggee and Chase from Paw Patrol! You can be sure that a trip to The Lexicon will have something for everyone over the festive season this year. We loved our visit to The Lexicon last weekend and know we’ll be back again before Christmas!

Find out more on @thelexiconbracknell website.

#TheLexiconBracknell #Merry&Bright
AD - Press Trip | What a lovely evening that was! AD - Press Trip | What a lovely evening that was! We had our first Glow Marwell experience tonight - and we loved it. It may even be the best light trail we have been to.

We spent well over two hours at @marwellzoo, enjoying the light installations, indulging in the food stalls and cafe, toasting marshmallows and even meeting Father Christmas! 

Glow Marwell was such a nice way to kick off the festive season - and it’s on all the way through December! If you’re looking for a really nice festive activity the whole family can enjoy, this could definitely be it!
AD | Are you looking for gifts for the grandparent AD | Are you looking for gifts for the grandparents this year? @famileo_uk is a wonderful gift, giving the recipient a personalised gazette of family news regularly throughout the year - and it costs from just £5.99 a month. 

Multiple family members can use the same subscription, all posting messages to be added to one gazette - and sharing the cost of the subscription too! It’s great for parents, siblings and children to all share their news with grandparents each week, fortnight or month. 

We’ve been sending my dad Family gazettes for a while now and he absolutely loves them. It means we tell him all the little things that are happening and not just the big news you remember to mention in phone calls. The children get to upload their own messages to their grandad and it’s definitely made them feel closer, building a stronger relationship despite living far apart.

Find out more about Family over on the blog - link in bio - and buy a subscription for your nearest and dearest this Christmas. It’s a gift they will definitely love to receive.
Two weeks of Fred & George! I won’t be doing the Two weeks of Fred & George! I won’t be doing these updates every week but I like having somewhere to put all these photos!

They’re now three months old, super loving and happy, making biscuits and purring constantly.

They stay in ‘their’ room overnight but explore the house during the day, getting more confident as time passes. They even got to the point of relaxing on the sofa with us last night.

Fred & George are now very much part of our family and I can’t imagine them not being there now - even at 7am when they’re miaowing at the door for breakfast!
AD | Stuck for screen-free entertainment that your AD | Stuck for screen-free entertainment that your kids will love? Claim your FREE Banjo Robinson activity pack today!
 
Reading for pleasure is a key indicator of a child’s future success, but if your child doesn’t love to read, what can you do? We know it’s not always easy keeping kids entertained and away from screens, so we’ve partnered with the award-winning @banjorobinson to gift you a FREE activity pack, worth £9.99.

Here’s a little look at the Banjo Robinson subscription - Troy loves it! Travelling to world with Banjo is so much fun! You can read our full review over on the blog and claim your free activity pack too - link in profile.
A whole week of Fred & George. We weren’t meant A whole week of Fred & George.

We weren’t meant to get more cats just yet but sometimes the universe sends you things when you don’t expect them.

These little guys needed a home and a family to love them. And we had a home and a lot of love to give. We still miss Leia but this pair are definitely helping make me feel whole again.

They are both used to us now, and love us. They’re less nervous, give us cuddles and let us pick them up. They’re still living in our spare room but starting to explore the rest of the house under supervision. 

They play fight constant. Love toys, especially a crinkly feather thing on a string attached to a stick, and love being up high. They are an awesome pair and we are so glad to have them.

Thank you @millbrook_rspca @rspca_official for trusting us with ‘Lonestar and Starfish’. We could not love them more. 

#catsofinstagram #catstagram #catsofig #catsofinsta #catlovers #adoptdontshop #rspcarescuecat #kittensofinstagram #kittens_of_instagram
[AD - Press Trip] I’ve just finished writing abo [AD - Press Trip] I’ve just finished writing about our half term break at @pottersresort and it’s over on the blog if you want to go have a read.

I wanted to put some of my favourite photos on the grid too as the kids did so many fun activities - they had THE best time. 

Giant swing, segways, climbing, archery, laser clays… there was so much to do that we couldn’t fit it all in - we need another trip!
And there ends our October half term - well, apart And there ends our October half term - well, apart from Troy who has a bonus week off!

This half term has been pretty lovely. Troy had his school residential the first weekend and then we had a really lovely few days in Norfolk before heading home and picking up two new members of our family - Fred and George. 11 week old rescue kittens who have pretty much stolen our hearts.

It’s been so nice to have a chunk of quality time with this pair and now I’m looking forward to the Christmas holidays. These two are the best company and I really do live for the school holidays. 

How has your half term been?
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Collaborative posts · July 6, 2016

Renting in London: Everything You Need to Know | AD

*This is a collaborative guest post

The average rent for a London flat is now £1,676 – or £55 a night – which has increased by 30% in the last four years. This is now so high, that you could live year round in a hotel in Dublin, Rome, Paris or Brussels for the same amount of money.

Obviously the price will depend on the location of your rented property and costs will differ depending on whether you are renting a room within a house of looking for a space of your own.

But despite these costs London is still an attractive destination to move to with many still choosing to rent due to unattainable deposits and mortgages. In fact, itis expected to become a city of renters by 2025, with just 40% actually owning their homes – compared to 2000, when 60% of Londoners owned a house either outright or with a mortgage.

So, if you are one of those heading to the bright lights of the capital city, here is everything you need to know about renting in London:

Space will be limited

Remember this flat, described as ‘a mattress with walls’ that was available to rent for £700 a month? This is an extreme example, but most rental space is actually very limited in London. Whether you are in a studio flat or have a box room within a house, finding space for your belongings won’t be easy. You can however take advantage of self-storage like this one in Heathrow – it might even help you to save some money.

You need to budget for more than your rent

Council tax can vary significantly from borough to borough. Westminster has among the lowest in the country, at £678.14 per year, while Kingston-on- Thames charges over a grand more at £1,678.65. Are bills included? Some properties will do this, particularly if you are looking to move into a house share – which means you won’t get any unwelcome surprises landing on your doormat.

Travel Costs

Living outside London can be costly and time-consuming, but depending where your home is in comparison to where you work, so can living within it. Make sure you take travel times and costs into consideration when choosing your rental property.

Be wary of letting agencies

Letting agencies will charge you for everything and anything they can from ‘admin costs’ to inventory fees’ which can add a whopping £239-£600 to the cost of moving. If you are going through a letting agency, make sure you go through a reputable portal such as rightmove.co.uk. You may also want to look on Spareroom or Gumtree – which is often a friendlier, more flexible and slightly cheaper agreement.

Find a flatmate

If you are planning to move to London on your own, then you might want to find a flatmate first to share the costs with. But how do you find the right person among the concrete jungle that is London? Well, you could try SpeedFlatmating – kind of like speed dating, but to look for a roomie rather than a partner.

There are even cheaper options available

Organisations such as camelotproperty.com, adhoc.eu or ambikaproperty.com offer indefinite-term ‘guardianship’ schemes. These place tenants in empty buildings to keep squatters away and maintain upkeep. The downside – you can’t choose who you live with and you may be given very little notice to leave. But you could be living anywhere from a school, to a warehouse or even a vicarage!

Ask plenty of questions

Is the area safe? How easy is it to travel around the city from here? Where is the nearest bus stop/tube station? Where is the nearest shop/pub? How noisy is it at night? You have to live there so you want to make sure you will be happy and comfortable doing so. The area is just as important as the property itself.

The most important thing is to do your research and be aware – if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. However, decent rentals can be snatched up the day they are listed so keep a close eye out at all times.

Renting in London: Everything You Need to Know

In: Collaborative posts

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Hi everyone! I'm Donna. Mummy. Blogger. Social Media Manager. Traveller. Lover of stars, rainbows and gin. Firm believer that tea and cake can fix most things.

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