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November 2017

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Christmas preparations are in full swing. People start to decorate their homes, buy gifts for loved ones, organise Christmas parties. Everyone is getting into the festive spirit in one way or another. But this time of the year can be bittersweet when you live abroad and you are spending Christmas away from family. This festive season is all about quality time with your loved ones, so homesickness strikes even more than usual during Christmas period. You watch everyone around you enjoying that precious time with their families and you can’t help it but feel a bit envious at times. During twelve years of living in the UK, I spent Christmas away from home quite a few times. Some of them with friends, some with my boyfriend, while others I just worked all the way through. Now, that we have a daughter, I think it’s safe to say that she is our…

What can you do in winter with a toddler or a young child? Days are getting shorter and when it’s cold outside, it can be very tempting sometimes to stay in all day. But you can certainly have lots of fun together, even in winter months. Get ready for some winter fun with kids; toddlers or older. Here are just a few ideas for some winter activities that are great to keep the little ones busy and active. Some of them are great to do in the run up to Christmas to get you into the festive spirit. Others are for wintertime in general. Go and see Christmas lights Or even better go and see the Christmas light switch on event in your town or city. If your child is too young to stay out until late or you’ve already missed the big event in your city, don’t worry. There…

Christmas in Slovakia is a lot different than Christmas in the UK. Understandably, there are various traditions and customs, food, but it doesn’t just end there. We get presents earlier, and who knows, you may even find yourself swimming in a bathtub with a real fish. But before we get to that, let’s start from the beginning. What are Slovak Christmas traditions? How exactly do Slovaks celebrate this festive season? Typically, people start to get into the festive spirit during Advent, which begins on Sunday four weeks before Christmas. During this time, people prepare themselves for the birth of Jesus. In most Slovak households, Christmas is celebrated in a Catholic way. Christmas wreath becomes an essential part of many homes as soon as the Advent starts. It’s decorated with four candles, and each Sunday during Advent one more candle is lit. People start to thoroughly clean their homes, buy the presents,…

My toddler loves climbing. It’s by far her most favourite thing to do. Nothing comes even close. From the moment she wakes up in the morning, till she is finally ready to go to bed in the evenings, she wants to climb. ALL.THE.TIME. She started climbing even before she learned how to walk properly. At first, I was feeling excited and extremely proud of my little girl. Another milestone. You know that feeling, don’t you? When your baby surprises you every day with new skills that she’s mastered. But these feelings didn’t last too long. Anxiety over this behaviour soon replaced the joy. The life with a climbing toddler It’s been about five months of her climbing on top of tables, chairs, high chair, sofa, even kitchen tops and us pulling her down and saying no. We try to find other distractions and explain to her that it’s really not safe for her…

What are the ideal Christmas gifts for 18 month old toddlers? I’ve been thinking really hard about what to get our daughter for her second Christmas. There are some traditions that we want to follow every year with her but apart from that it I had no clue. It’s not like you can just ask them for their wishlist. And they seem to be interested in anything else rather than the pile of toys that’s sat in the corner of the room. I’m pretty sure your toddler already has a whole load of toys which she/he doesn’t even play with. The house is getting more and more cramped with all the plastic stuff that hardly ever gets used. So, even though I know my little one will be getting a couple of new age-appropriate toys anyway, I want to get her some practical, more useful things as well. After a…

Toddlers. An unpredictable bunch of little humans. Flying with a toddler is a totally different league than flying with a baby. Many of the tips and tricks that apply to flying with babies won’t apply to toddlers. I remember how nervous I was before our first ever plane journey with the little one. She was only three months old then. It was by far the easiest trip with her abroad. And as the time goes, flights are becoming more and more challenging. The worst so far was the most recent one. I was THAT mum with a toddler, who would scream on top of her lungs. Throughout most of the landing stage. Oops, sorry fellow passengers, especially to you, young and carefree travellers sitting right next to us. I know you were hoping for a quiet and enjoyable flight at your last row seats. Know that I was hoping for the…

Planning a move to the UK or just want to find out more about the country? There are certain things about Britain you won’t necessarily know about until you move here. So, after living here for over a decade, I’ve learned a thing or two about British culture and way of life, Here are some fun facts about Britain you should know about, so you can fully embrace the new culture and all its little quirks. Tea is a way of life, no kidding British people love to drink tea. All the time. And it’s not just any tea you will know from your home country. Tea in Britain comes with milk. Yes, milk. To the rest of the world that might be an unusual combination, but after a while of living here, you too will start to enjoy drinking your tea with milk. Trying new things when you live…

I can’t believe another year is coming to an end already. It’s that time of the year when many people start thinking about Christmas presents. Before I had my daughter, I always left my Christmas shopping to the very last minute. Last week, even the last day or two was nothing unusual for me. But last year, it was our baby’s first Christmas. And I remember I was a bit clueless about what would be the best gifts for her. Apart from thinking about gifts, there are also traditions. Christmas goes hand in hand with traditions. Keeping some from your own childhood is a great way to introduce your baby to your family’s heritage. But as a new family, it’s also time to create new traditions and memories that will live through many Christmases you as a family will have. The little one was only six months old last Christmas, so…