I am so looking forward to the holidays and some down time with my family. Our plans are to take it easy, see lots of friends and family and cook and eat lots. Before I sign off I just wanted to wish you all a wonderful festive break filled with love and joy! Thank you for visiting the blog, for your comments, for your likes and for your support. My blog is my baby and your support means the world. Here’s looking at an even bigger and better 2016. I shall see you all back here in the new year (but there will be an ebabee shop update before then). Happy & merry everything! – nomita x
Entries Tagged as 'Christmas'
Happy 2016!
December 24, 2015
Free Christmas gift tags to print 2015
December 22, 2015
This year I have been super disorganised with my Christmas shopping – I’ve still got nearly all of it to do. Eek! Really panicking now. I’m guessing most of you are all done shopping and wrapping. But if there are any last minute types like me, while I can’t do your Christmas shopping for you, I have rounded up some of the best free Christmas gift tags to print. Some are cute and colourful – perfect for kids gifts while others are more minimal and stylish. There are lots to choose from so when you do wrap your gifts, you can finish them with one of these free gift tags.
1. These minimal gift tags with messages would look great on presents wrapped in kraft paper.
2. These colour in printable gift tags are such a great idea – print and let the kids colour them in.
3. These simple & stylish gift tags would look great on any colour gift wrap.
4. How cute are these colourful gift tags? Just adorable especially for a child’s gift.
5. These monochrome gift tags have handwritten messages on each. Pair with black wrap for a stunning looking gift.
6. These fun cowboy santa gift tags come with a colourful Texan twist!
7. These super sweet little animal gift tags are a cute addition to any gift.
These are my favourite free Christmas gift tags to print that I found this year. But if you want to check out some more, take a look at my previous years round-up as there are loads more there. Here’s where you’ll find my favourite free Christmas gift tags from 2014.
6 creative Christmas gift wrap ideas
December 7, 2015
December is a month of giving gifts in our house. Not just with Christmas but also Anya is a December baby so we have birthday gifts to give too. For me, the gift wrap is just as important as the gift. After all it’s the first thing the person sees. So I love the idea of making my own DIY gift wrap as it makes it so personal. Recently I’ve been finding loads of gift wrap inspiration so here are 5 of the best DIY Christmas gift wrap ideas to inspire you too:
I mean how cute are these sparkly animal gift wraps? I’ve seen animal gift wraps before but I especially liked the sparkly touch on these.
These are two fun ways to get creative with ordinary wrapping paper. With the first, just stick some pompoms on and use a bit of bakers twine or ribbon to finish and you have a unique gift wrap. The second is so pretty too – you can find the tutorial here. You can take this idea and make cut out trees, snowmen or whatever you like.
Another option is to go minimal and stylish with your DIY Christmas gift wrap. While you can buy beautiful cloth gift wraps like the one above, you can just as easily use something you have at home – think tea towels or scarves. I love the idea of giving a gift where the wrap is part of the gift too. And the second gift is just so stylish, no? I love the marble paper and the idea of using mini honeycomb balls as decorations.
I’ve saved the cutest till last! For all those little gifts, I can’t think of a cuter way to present them. Not just for kids, but if you’re giving a piece of jewellery, what an adorable way to gift it to her or him.
So, have these DIY Christmas gift wrap ideas inspired you to get creative with your wrapping? Which one do you like best?
Royalty free illustrations for bloggers & creatives
December 3, 2015
Today I’m going to let you in on a little secret. I discovered this great site that I think you will love whether you are a blogger, a creative or someone who likes to craft. It’s not always possible to design and create all your own images so this is where ink nest comes in. For a small fee, you can buy loads of beautiful hand drawn illustrations that you can print out and use as you wish – from making Christmas decorations to designing your own blog layout to anything at all. The possibilities of using these beautiful royalty free illustrations are endless.
I’m thinking these beautiful illustrations on ink nest can be used to make Christmas stuff, kids party decorations, house warning cards, thank you notes and so much more. And besides parties, you could create posters for your kids rooms, your own personal note cards, garlands for your home – really the possibilities are endless.
But the best part of all is that if you’re a blogger, you can even use these hand drawn royalty free illustrations on your blog to design your blog or to create free printables. How great is that? Each set of printables, which usually includes around 15-30 images, costs $10 and you are free to use pretty much as you wish – but do check the terms & conditions for full details. Also if you sign up to the newsletter you get a cool 20% off your first purchase.
I’m in the process of decorating Anya’s room and I’m loving the possibility of using some of the cute and quirky illustrations as posters for her room. But most of all I’m thinking about how I can use them on my blog to create stuff for you guys – some free printable gift tags maybe? Or a free downloadable calendar for 2016? So many possibilities… how will you use these? You’re welcome 🙂
Ebabee Christmas Gift Guide 2015: Gifts for under 20
November 30, 2015
Sometimes when time is short and you’ve left stuff to the last minute, it’s handy to have one place to go to, to find all your gifts. That place for me is Little Flea – a one-stop place where you find all the best baby and kids brands from small, independent retailers. Rather than trawl the entire web looking for christmas gifts for kids, I find it a lot easier to go to Little Flea where I still get lots of choice but save a lot of time too.
In our home, Anya’s birthday is just a little before Christmas. That means December is full of presents for her – sometimes too many. So what we do is give her a big present for her birthday and small, inexpensive stuff for Christmas. I always get her birthday present organised in time but with everything going on the little Christmas gifts often get left till the last minute. So today I headed to Little Flea to make a list of possibles for Anya and while I was there I picked out some of the best little gifts that you too can get for under £20 with many that are under £10 too. Here are my picks for the best Christmas gifts for under 20:
1.rain cloud bath toy | 2. set of fruity bookmarks | 3. lion cushion soft toy | 4. sunny yellow peel of nail polish | 5. unisex knee high bear socks (blue or wine) | 6. set of superhero masks | 7. flower series sonny angels | 8. colourful wooden rattle | 9. pom pom hair clips | 10. penguin art print | 11. wooden aeroplane toy | 12. woodland doll toy | 13. artistik herve tullet drawing game | 14. mouse doll rattle
P.S. I have lots more gift ideas you can take a look at including gifts for babies, some fabulous book gift ideas and more.
DIY Advent Calendar: Santa & the elves
November 26, 2015
It’s that time of year – time for my annual DIY advent calendar. Since I shared my mini forest DIY advent calendar last year, I have had so much love for it. It even got featured in Marie Claire Maison. Wow! So this year the stakes were high – I’ve also had readers asking me months ago what I was going to make this Christmas!
I went through a few DIY advent calendar ideas but in the end I loved the idea of making santas and their little elves. Aren’t they so Christmassy and cute? I chose different sizes as they not only look great but also allow me to put different size gifts under each one. I love making my annual advent calendar to share here and inspire others but also it’s Anya’s favourite part of Christmas by far. She adores the little surprise that each day brings and that makes making my own advent even more special for me.
To make this DIY advent calendar you will need:
24 craft cones in different widths and sizes
acrylic paints (in your chosen colours)
a fine black pen
mini felt balls
number stickers
glue
First of all get your cardboard cones and using a pencil mark out the outline of the hat area and face for the santa cones. Also mark out the little face area for the elves.
Next paint the santa hats in your chosen colours, paint the beard bit white and the face bit in a skin tone colour – I used an acrylic paint colour called antique white. Similarly paint the elf cones and their faces. Some colours will require two coats for a better finish otherwise the cardboard will show through.
Using a fine black pen draw on little eyes for both the santas and the elves. Glue the felt balls on to make santa’s noses and thats the cones done. Either use number stickers to number the cones or you can even paint or write them on. Finally, add little gifts, notes or whatever you like under the cones and you have a super cute advent calendar.
What I especially love about this DIY advent calendar is that it’s simple enough for kids to make. Just get them the cones and they can create and decorate the santas as they wish. Also once the advent calendar has been used, you can easily turn these santas and elves into hanging Christmas tree decorations. Do you make your own advent calendar? I’d love to hear about what you make.
{I bought the cones on ebay but they are easily available from craft shops as are the felt balls.}
Ebabee Christmas gift guide 2015: Books
November 24, 2015
Books are my favourite gifts to give kids. For birthdays, for Christmas gifts, for any occasion at all. With so many fabulous kids books out there, it’s not hard to find the perfect book for any child. Here I’ve compiled a list of some of our favourite books – some of which we already have and others that are on our wish list. I’ve mixed up the selection to include picture books, art books, activity books, educational books and more.
Anya’s Christmas gifts always include books and usually a selection of different types like the ones I’ve suggested here. The one that I am looking most forward to buying her this Xmas is The School of Art which I have browsed through and it looks great not just for kids but for adults too. The books I’ve picked are for a range of ages from toddlers to 10 year olds so there’s something for everyone. The ages though are just rough guides, not set in stone.
Here are my best kids books gift suggestions for this year:
Ebabee Christmas Gift Guide 2015: Gifts for boys
November 17, 2015
Yesterday it was all about the girls so my next Christmas gift guide, has got to be all about the boys. If you’re a regular reader you’ll know that I don’t do plastic toys, battery operated toys or anything like that. Instead I prefer toys that require imagination and encourage creative play. So you’ll find lots of fun wooden toys, games, crafts and more. Many of these gifts would work for girls as well, including things like the superhero dress up set – after all girls can be super heroes too, right?
Here are some of my favourite Christmas gift ideas for boys:
1. wooden binoculars | 2. billyburg quirky cashmere soft toy | 3. cute goat tee | 4. petrol blue superhero cape and mask | 5. London jigsaw puzzle | 6. wooden fishing game | 7. build your own boat | 8. circus stamp set | 9. pirate colour in and pop-out art set | 10. moustache knee high socks | 11. set of 5 handmade wooden racing cars | 12. superhero wall or table lamp | 13. wooden football game | 14. magnetic wooden construction set
P.S. If you want more Christmas gift inspiration, take a look at our Christmas gift ideas for girls, baby boys and baby girls.
Ebabee Christmas Gift Guide 2015: Gifts for girls
November 16, 2015
With Christmas fast approaching, I thought I would share my next gift list. This is a list of lots of gift ideas for girls aged mainly between 4 and 7 years. I’ve tried to mix up the suggestions as not all girls like girly things so I’ve included building toys and superhero stuff too. There are quite a few crafty things too as I always believe in giving gifts that encourage imagination and creativity. So here are my top Christmas gift ideas for girls:
1. felt fox handbag | 2. sheep knitting toy craft | 3. pink butterfly wings | 4. surprise cone with lots of goodies inside | 5. Christmas gingerbread biscuit baking kit | 6. cute cloud plate | 7. waist ribbon party dress | 8. raccoon knee socks | 9. make your own wooden jewellery craft | 10. Design Your Own Superhero Cape | 11. set of two rattan hula hoops | 12. magnetic blocks building set | 13. ice-lolly soft toy cushion | 14. my longest jigsaw puzzle | 15. colourful tin teaset | 16. eskimo doll | 17. grey play tent | 18. bad eye lily doll
P.S. Here are some Christmas gift ideas for baby boys and baby girls.
Ebabee Christmas gift guide 2015: Gifts for baby girls
November 9, 2015
Earlier today I shared some adorable Christmas gift ideas for baby boys. Now it’s the turn of the baby girls. I had such fun putting this list together because everything is so, so cute! While I’ve called this a baby girl gift list, there are lots of things here that would work just as well for a baby boy too.
I’ve picked a selection of toys, clothes and useful things all with gorgeous design and lots of cuteness for babies aged 0-2 years. So here are my favourite Christmas gift ideas for baby girls:
1.baby bear shaker toy | 2. dusky pink cotton twinset | 3. melamine bunny plate | 4. ricepuffy soft toy with knitted hat | 5. pingo the penguin soft toy | 6. cosy cocoon sleeping bag | 7. wooden heart wall music box | 8. reversible bunny bib | 9. knitted cloud sweater | 10. wooden baby rattle | 11. origami boat bath toys | 12. apple pillow | 13.pull along wooden train