The Countdown to Christmas is on!

There is only a couple of days left until December kicks off (how fast has the time gone), and everybody starts to tuck into their advent calendar. If you are after something a bit different this December to the shop bought chocolate filled advent calendar we've got some great ideas which are perfect for the lead up to Christmas for a family. 

You could fill this envelope calendar with positive messages for your wife/husband or partner to open every morning! Everybody needs inspiration in the morning! 

This advent calendar could be filled with little treats for the kids, little festive chocolates, a happy message or a pack of cards for them to play with. 

These matchboxes are a great idea for the lead up to Christmas, you could fill them with something different every day for a fun surprise.  

This peg idea is easy to do and would look very festive in your kitchen this Christmas, simply pin a little gift, message or sweets to the peg everyday!

A great Christmas decoration as well as an advent calendar, place little boxes of treats on the tree for the family to open everyday, when you get to Christmas day, you will still have a lovely festive tree for decoration! 

Which one is your favourite?

Who needs a real tree anyway?

The time has come to start thinking about selecting and putting up your Christmas tree and choosing your decorations. This year however, you could select a different kind of tree altogether, if the traditional tree doesn't take your fancy! We've found some great ideas for alternative Christmas Trees we might just have to try out at Ellie Ellie HQ! 

Made from cardboard, old baubles, fairy lights, pieces of wood or a wreath, these trees are a great way to show your festive spirit in a not so traditional way! 

Which one is your favourite? We may just have to try the cardboard tree at Ellie Ellie HQ!

Festive Ice Skating!

The festive season is upon us (our favourite time of year at Ellie Ellie), and a great way to get the kids and the whole family out and about is the Royal Pavilion Ice Rink in Brighton, which opens every November for ice skating!

Opening for the festive season, till January, the ice rink is a great excuse to try something different if you haven't tried it before, or get back on the ice for people who love skating. In one hour slots, you can book your tickets online and then all you have to do is turn up, get your boots on and get onto the ice.

For the kids, the pavilion have Mr Penguins, who help the little ones feel confident on the ice!

For more informaiton visit the Royal Pavilion Website and book your skating session!

Homemade Christmas Decs

Christmas is such a jolly time of year and there is no better way to prepare for the festivities than with homemade Christmas decorations. We've made a vintage inspired Christmas tree decoration, which can be made in different sizes for a hanging decoration, or be made slightly bigger for a table top decoration! It will look great with the rest of your Christmas decorations this festive season!

Firstly get all your materials together, now you don't have to use music score sheets, you could alternatively use Christmas wrapping paper or old pages from a book. You will need some scissors, 10 sheets of your chosen paper and a pencil and stapler.

Cut out a Christmas tree shape from all your sheets of paper. You should have about 10 sheets in total.

Pile your sheets up and then staple them all together in the middle of the tree shape.

This means you can now fold over all the sides of paper to start making the structure stand up

Voi La! You now have a standing Christmas tree decoration! This one is slightly too big to hang on the tree but if you make it smaller you can easily attach some string to attach it to the tree! 

Happy making! 

Tis the Season to be Jolly!

Mulled Wine is an essential tipple this festive season, if you have friends and family coming over this Christmas, it's a great recipe to leave simmering on the hob ready to be served when your guests arrive.

There are quite a lot of festive spices in the recipe but the more time you leave it to warm up the more time the flavours have to mingle with the wine (in the words of Jamie Oliver).

We can't wait to get cracking on our Mulled Wine Recipe, our recycled glass mug is the perfect way to serve you Mulled Wine this Christmas, with a stick of cinnamon and orange peel... Perfect!

How will you serve yours?

Try out this Mulled Wine Recipe for Christmas in a glass!

Christmas Markets!

Every year, towns, villages and cities get ready for their annual Christmas Markets, we've picked a few of our favourites we can't wait to explore!

Oxford Christmas Market: 11th December - 21st December
- Located at the heart of Oxfords historic Broad Street, Oxfords market includes a selection of Christmas gifts and seasonal treats.

Winchester Cathedral Christmas Market: 20th November - 21st December
- With an ice rink to keep the kids entertained, this Christmas market sees a bustling festive atmosphere with an array of Christmas gifts and festive food.

Brighton Christmas Fair: 15th November - 16th November
- In this two day Christmas shopping event, happening this weekend you will find loads of Christmas gift ideas, as well as festive home accessories and food and drink.

The Hop Farm, Kent - Weekends in December
- Hosting a series of weekend Christmas markets, you will find locally sourced products, crafts and seasonal food and drink at the Hop Farms Christmas Markets throughout December.

What Christmas Markets will you be visiting?

Ellie Ellie Wears

We love a pop of colour at Ellie Ellie, and our Building Brick earrings and necklace are the perfect additions to any outfit to give it a burst of colour. This dress from People Tree is great for keeping you warm this Autumn, teamed with tights (for extra warmth) and these black leather loafers from London Rebel. Finish off the outfit with our Building Brick Blue Earrings and Heart Pendant Necklace, for a burst of colour to brighten up the look! 

Dress - People Tree

Building Brick Mini Stud Earrings - Ellie Ellie

Building Brick Heart Pendant Necklace - Ellie Ellie 

Black Loafers - London Rebel 

Ellie Ellie's Late Night Shopping Event!

We are very excited to introduce our new Christmas shopping event launching next week for the festive season.

Our new Late Night Shopping Event will take place every Thursday leading up to Christmas from 6pm - 10pm. During this time, you can have a good rummage through our shop and enjoy free delivery on your order.

Our Late Night Shopping Event will start next Thursday on the 13th of November (Don't worry we will remind you). Our other events will happen on Thursday 20th of November, 27th of November, 4th of December, 11th of December and finally the 18th of December. Plenty of time to get your Christmas shopping done!

Happy Shopping from the team!

www.ellieellie.co.uk 

Homemade gift tags

Making homemade gift tags for Christmas is a great activity for the whole family, getting the kids involved and giving them a chance to be creative. Gift tags are so easy to make, and they can be made from any materials you have at home. They are a great addition to give with your gifts for grandparents and family from the kids.

We've get together some materials we could potentially use for our Christmas gift tags. We have some old music score sheets, old Christmas cards and some kraft paper. See what you can find and get it all together!

We are going to use the kraft paper for the gift tags, and then the little shapes made from the music score sheets can be glued onto the tag for a simple and vintage design. You can create the gift tag shapes easily and cut them out ready to be designed by the kids. 

We've simply cut out Chrismassy shapes and stuck them onto the tags, using a whole punch to make the hole for the string. They are now ready to be stuck on your Christmas gifts. Easy peasy! 

The circular shape we used to make a bauble shape, using a pen to create the handing string to finish off the design! 

www.ellieellie.co.uk 

Mature your Christmas Cake

Now it may seem very early to start thinking about Christmas Cake, but the earlier you start your cake, the longer it has to mature as you feed it with brandy, whisky or rum.

The Christmas fruit cake is a favourite on family's dining tables for Christmas Day, topped with icing or left to show the fruit cake it is a scrumptious addition to any Christmas meal. We've found a simple recipe for your cake this year, but start cooking your cake early so that you can feed it regularly for an even better taste!

Our set of Christmas Cake decorations are a great way to finish off your Christmas Cake! 

Christmas Cake Recipe!

Guy Fawkes Night!

An annual celebration on the 5th of November, Bonfire Night sees many cities, towns and villages celebrate with fireworks, bonfires and parades.

Whether you are celebrating at a big bonfire night event, with family or having your own party, we've got our bonfire night essentials.

Our Retro Sweets Jar Giant Marshmallows are great to toast on the fire

Great for the kids this bonfire night, this Make Your Own Toffee Apple Set is the perfect bonfire night treat!

Our Check Recycled Wool Rug is perfect for settling down (with a mug of hot chocolate) to watch the fireworks. 

Where will you be going to celebrate Bonfire Night?