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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Blogging · January 13, 2022

The Highlights Reel of Life Online

I know I’ve mentioned a few times that last year was a hard one for our family although I’ve never gone into details. We spent the majority of the year not in a great place but thankfully, things have settled down now and life is good again. I’m pretty confident saying that right now, I’m pretty happy.

During our troubles last year, someone who knew what we were going through, and who followed me on social media, called me fake. They said that I was lying by not giving the full picture on my blog and social channels, by not talking about our problems and by carrying on as normal.

It’s something that has been playing on my mind and something that I have often spoken to friends about, both online and off. Not just over the last year but regularly since I started blogging. The topic often comes up – where do you draw the line when it comes to what you share online?

The Online Highlights Reel

Anyone with an online presence decides what they are comfortable sharing. It could be your dad with his Twitter account, still with an egg as his profile picture, having a rant at any business that upsets him. It could be your mum with her Facebook account, checking in to everywhere she goes and constantly putting up photos of her friends, the gym and the grandkids.

Or, it could be people like me. Influencers, bloggers and small businesses whose online presence has turned into much more than just a Facebook account to keep in touch with friends. There are many of us who have social media accounts that are either for our personal use, our business use or a blurry mix of both. And we all decide what we’re comfortable with sharing on them.

One thing we all have in common is that we will focus mainly on the good things. Like photo albums of years gone by, we share things that look nice, that make us happy and that we want to remember in years to come. It may be our newly decorated lounge, the new outfit we got for the cat or a new plant in the garden. It could be anything that brings us happiness. And it’s natural to want to share that happiness with others.

In sharing these things, and just focusing on the good, it isn’t lying, it isn’t fake and it isn’t deceiving anyone. It is purely showing the things that we are comfortable with sharing at any time in our lives.

There are often times where we, as influencers, also share the negatives. And I know from my experience that I have shared negatives along the way, often years after they have happened, in case they can help people. If I have had a life experience that I think will resonate with people and that I think may help someone else to come to terms with something that has happened to them, then I’ll share it.

But, there’s a caveat with that. I will share these things in my own time, when I’m ready. And over the years there have been a lot of things like this that I’ve written about. From my issues with my mother, to getting kicked out of home at 17, to being bullied at school and being raped as a teenager. Everything I have written about hasn’t been to document it but to try and help other people going through similar things. And, it’s cathartic to write about things and share them but often only when you’re strong enough to have your story out in the world for everyone to read.

A digital blueprint

And that’s the thing about sharing anything online. It’s there forever, for anyone to see for years to come. Even if you delete things there will be a digital memory of them somewhere or even just a screenshot someone has taken. Things you share online can be accessible indefinitely. Whether it’s a photo, a story, a heat of the moment tweet or a comment on a forum.

So is it any wonder that most people choose to mould their online presence into a highlights reel? Sharing the good things, the things that make them smile, curating a rose tinted version of their life without even really meaning to?

I’ve always shared the highlights of our life. But, as an influencer I don’t just share the big highlights, I share all the little bits too. My Stories are pretty much a run through of our day, each and every day. But, they are still the highlights. They’re the bits I think people will be interested in. But I also share the lows – the sickness, the plans being cancelled, the lockdown blues and a car crash I had a few years ago. It’s not all rose tinted here.

The Highlights Reel of Life Online

Privacy online

One thing many people don’t consider when they’re criticising the things people share online is privacy and I know many will say that influencers lost their right to privacy when they started posting online. But that’s simply not true. We expect privacy just like anyone else, we just decide where we draw the line.

But, often, the things we share don’t just involve us. They’ll involve our partners, our children, our friends and extended family. And when we share things we need to be mindful that we are adding to their digital blueprint too. Do they mind us sharing it? Will they mind it being online in 5, 10, or 30 years time? Is it really even ours to share?

And that is why I didn’t share the ups and downs last year. It was simply not just my story to tell. It affected a lot of people and it wasn’t something any of us would have wanted online in years to come. Also, whilst living through a turbulent few months I could try and carry on as normal online, use the online world as escapism and just keep the momentum going on social media. That way, whatever happened, at least my job would still be there at the end of it.

So, my life online is a highlights reel. It isn’t massively curated. It’s real and it’s me. But, it features what I’m comfortable with sharing at any one time. It could be the books I’m reading, the dinner I’m making or the sale bargains I’ve brought. And it will often feature Dave and the children. It’s simple and it’s a small window into our lives.

All followers have that window into bloggers’ lives and although that window shows a lot of it, it will never show every aspect of their life, every feeling and experience. But, I for one am happy just having that small window to see whatever those people are prepared to show us.

Life online is a highlights reel and I really don’t think that will ever change – and nor should it.

The Highlights Reel of Life Online

In: Blogging

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Comments

  1. Claire bayliss says

    January 13, 2022 at 9:13 am

    Very well said Donna. We’ve also been going through a very tough time, but you wouldn’t know that from most of my social media posts, just the odd bit I choose to share. Everyone has the right to share as much, or as little, of their lives as they wish, don’t let anyone try to tell you differently. In the public eye or not, everyone has the right to their privacy. I hope all is well with you all. Lots of love xx

    Reply
  2. Angela Webster says

    January 13, 2022 at 12:44 pm

    Very well said Donna, I think sometimes people feel entitled to know absolutely everything especially when you share some of your life online. I hope this year is a much better year for you and your family x

    Reply
  3. Maria Hughes says

    January 13, 2022 at 4:03 pm

    We went through the loss of my mum last year and it was something that I never mentioned once online – that was my private life and unrelated to my blog in my opinion.

    Blogger or not you are entitled to privacy.

    Reply
    • Donna Wishart says

      January 13, 2022 at 7:41 pm

      I’m so sorry for your loss Maria x

      Reply
  4. Lisa @ lovefromlisa.com says

    January 13, 2022 at 9:08 pm

    I love this post. Most people’s online presence has a massive element of showing the highlight reel, and you’re totally in your right to discuss and show what you want without fear of judgement from others. You have definitely shared things that you feel comfortable with, which I love and I love your point about what you share having a digital impact on those around you. I think your approach is fantastic and I hope you have a better year this year.

    Reply

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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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