Mum in Zone One

Christmas Top 5 (Plus a bonus)

I love Christmas music of many different genres. I’ve chosen a few songs here that you might find encouraging, in no particular order. I even made a Spotify playlist, although Spotify have added some other songs to it. As ever, I’d love to hear your favourite Christmas songs. Do get in touch and let me know!

Who would’ve dreamed? Sovereign Grace

I heard this performed by a band at the school carol service at work two years ago and it’s really stuck with me. Such a beautiful tune and glorious words. “But to this little town of no great renown, The Lord had a promise to keep.” Let the sense of anticipation build in your home this advent!

Messiah, You Have Come by Skye Peterson

We first heard this song when we watched an Andrew Peterson concert online and he invited his daughter up to perform. I think it was 2021, when we were covid-weary, and this mellow little song just hit the spot. Sometimes you don’t feel like bopping around to Wizzard. Sometimes you want a gentle song like this to warm your heart. “Oh the baby in the manger Would trample over death.”

When the Fullness of Time Had Come – Randall Goodgame

This might be my favourite. It’s not even a traditional Christmas Bible verse. It’s beautiful, it’s amazing, it’s sweet. It will teach you this verse, and the reference, in the English Standard Version(!): ⁴But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, ⁵to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. ⁶And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” ⁷So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. (Galatians 4:4-7)

Happy, Happy Day – Colin Buchanan

Colin’s Christmas album is absolutely brilliant. I have a particularly fond memory of my children singing this song at the top of their voices whilst doing some sort of insanely messy crafts. But the whole album is top notch and full of joy. Our family nativity play always ends with a positively frantic rendition of ‘On that very first Christmas.’ If you’re wondering why all my suggestions are so mellow, crank up some Colin and enjoy yourself. “Angels singing, Do Not Fear, Christ the Servant King is Here.”

Joy, Seeds Family Worship

We love the memory verse songs from Seeds Family Worship. They are fantastic at getting scripture into your memory, where they will stay for good. They’re supposed to be for children, but we all know the adults need them just as much. I remember driving up the M1 singing Joy with my husband. We were both marvelling at how brilliant it is. His favourite part is the same as my favourite part (I wonder if it will be yours, too). The children weren’t involved in this conversation! But the song does feature in our annual nativity play. The Lord Jesus really is good news of great joy for all the people. Belt it out.

(Fun fact about driving home for Christmas: Chris Rea, who sang ‘Driving Home for Christmas’, is from Middlesbrough like me. So when I’m driving home for Christmas, I’m driving to the place he was thinking of when he wrote that song. Top to toe in tailbacks indeed.)

Bonus track:

Lapwing, Hope Christmas Gets You to Me

In 2020 I got in my car one day just at the moment that Radio 2 were playing this song. It was the first (and possibly only) time it’s ever been played. Later that day I found out that the band is composed of some dads from my nieces’ school gate. What were the chances? They were in shock as suddenly thousands of people were watching the video they’d made in Glasgow city centre.

“Cause I’m missing the touch of the ones that I love,
Couldn’t care less what’s under the tree;
I don’t know what I’m getting for Christmas this year,
But I’m hoping it gets you to me.”

We were absolutely desperate to see our family that Christmas. The words really resonated. Then, Boris Johnson cancelled our trip. We didn’t get to see each other after all. Gifts were frantically posted. I had to race to Asda to buy food for Christmas dinner. My sister-in-law had an enormous turkey crown to go round 5 people. I wept in my husband’s arms.
But God is faithful. Christimas wasn’t really cancelled. Jesus is more than enough to celebrate. This song is a good reminder of what a blessing – a bonus blessing – it is to be with family at Christmas.

5 Affordable Advent treats

(plus a couple which are less so)

Most of these ideas are not especially Christian as such, but are a way of celebrating the season of advent and Christmas that the whole thing is full of joy and the children have happy memories of family Christmases. I want my children to associate advent and Christmas with excitement and joy because the Lord Jesus is our Emmanuel – God with us in the flesh.

Amidst all of this silliness and pretty, sugar-plum cosiness we always try to make the Lord Jesus the focus. We read Scripture every day with our kids and we have a family nativity play – which essentially involves the children reading out Scripture whilst wearing homemade costumes. Please don’t think I’m suggesting you lose focus on Christ. Without him, all of this is just tat.

Here are just a few ideas of how we do have festive fun in our family, which might give you some ideas that you haven’t tried before. I’d love to hear your ideas. If you can’t comment below (?), send me a message on Instagram!

A Christmas lights drive. This is actually one of my favourite things to do in the run up to Christmas. It does require a car, which admittedly night not feel affordable. But of course you could go for a walk around some Chrsitmas lights. Most places have a street where the people go all out with their Christmas lights. I like doing this in the car because we can eat snacks and listen to Chrsitmas music and everyone is contained. The streets are always absolutely heaving, but it’s the one time it doesn’t really matter as our sole purpose for being out is to look at the buildings. (If you’re in London, beware the congestion charge!)
Hot chocolate with marshmallows. I always hide a tray of hot chocolate somewhere silly, like in the oven or in the bathroom, and the children love it. (I got this idea from Rachel Jankovic at Canon Press.) Last year I found some M&S gingerbread men that sat on the edge of the mug, which were fun. (I think they were called – somewhat inappropriately – hangovers?) If you don’t fancy hot chocolate, you could have “festive” s’mores* – especially if you have a BBQ or fire pit. But I’ve been known to toast marshmallows on our gas hob. It’s less picturesque but children don’t care! If you use chocolate orange segments I’m sure that makes them festive.
*If you’ve never had s’mores, in the UK we tend to toast a marshmallow and stick it between two chocolate digestives. In the USA they use something called Graham crackers which we don’t have here, but I’d say a digestive is just as good. With these things, it’s your enthusiasm that will make such a simple thing into a treat. Plus, you know, the sugar.
Christmas Workshop: I once bought a paper crafts Christmas book from the book people, before that company disappeared forever. It was a cheap book but now seems to be unavailable. I can’t tell you how many hours of fun we had with that book. It was simply a book of different patterned craft paper, with five or six ideas for what do to with it. But without that book, we can still have laods of fun making paper chains and ‘snowflakes.’ You don’t need to use festive paper but you could do it with some cheap wrapping paper and the children will really enjoy it. You could always suggest they decorate their own bedrooms with their creations! Unless you’re happy to string up their paper chains around your living room, which I’m sure would look lovely. As with everything, listening to Christmas music makes this a party.
Fun fact: In Norway it’s traditional to invite people over to make festive crafts and do your Christmas baking. They call it Juleverksted (or Christmas workshop). Of course, in Norway everything looks beautiful and smells of pepperkake (gingerbread). But I’m sure your children will love your version!
Read a Book! In December 2020 when we couldn’t see our relatives, my husband printed out copies of CS Lewis’ ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ and we read it together as a family. Each person had a different character to read out. Although we haven’t done this since, I think I’m going to try it again this year.
If you think your children wouldn’t go for this, you could always just embrace a Christmas movie night by making popcorn and cosying up under your favourite Christmas film – The Star is a really good Christian one. (I also recommend A Muppet’s Christmas Carol, which is remarkably faithful to the text! More so than the Old Vic’s production of A Christmas Carol, which I do not recommend.)
NEWSFLASH: If you’d like to try ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ this year (which I’m excited to watch), it’s available to stream for free on Apple TV+ on 14th and 15th December. You do not need a subscription. This film ends with Linus reading Luke 2.
Another fun thing we often do is a sort of festive photo booth. You might have been to a party where they have a big selfie camera and some props with a fun background. But you could do this in your house with some Santa hats or some silly glasses etc. My children love using the photo booth app on my computer. You might (might) even end up with some nice photos to send to your relatives.
A similar thing which our kids find hilarious is the Elf Yourself app. They can spend ages making a hilarious video and then when it’s done you can send it to friends and family. It’s very silly indeed.

Bonus: Ideas for when you can afford to spend a bit more:
– Ice skating: I do recommend this if your children can manage it. There are some beautiful spots and there’s something very satisfying about doing something so active and then ending with a nice hot drink. (We go home for the hot drinks, we’re not made of money!) If you’re in London, the Battersea Power Station ice rink is worth a visit.
– The theatre: It’s a great time of year to get your children into a live show of some sort. If you can’t afford a big pantomime (they are pricey), there are local plays and pantos all over the country that are a lovely night out. Some places have a ‘pay what you can’ policy – just Google ‘Pay what you can’ and your town/city name. There also might also be some music concerts happening in local churches etc. that your children might be able to engage with. I think live performances are inspirational for children and if you’re able to do it, it’s really worthwhile. But if you can’t, please don’t feel sad. Your children only really need God’s word. Anything else is a bonus.

Advent 2024: Christmas Gift Ideas

My Christmas gift idea posts have been extremely popular in the past. And I’m OK with that! Even though my blog is really supposed to be about following Jesus. You can find my previous posts here, here, here and here. I can’t remember what I said but I assume I still stand by these recommendations!

Here are 5 ideas for 2024, in no particular order:

This may seem an unusual idea for a Christmas gift but I do highly recommend Brad Franklin’s book, ‘When Sorrows Like Sea Billows Roll.’ The book review can be found here and you can buy it here. (It’s in the sale! I paid twice that a few weeks ago for my copies which I’m giving as gifts.)
Every year I give my mum a photo calendar full of photos of our family. I always get myself a copy, too. I enjoy making these and I especially love looking at them. This is a great gift for grandparents.
I also made a photo book this year after a wonderful time hosting my brother and his family. I ordered a second copy and gave it to my niece for her birthday. Maybe you know someone who’d appreciate a photo book! I use photobox but I’m sure there are other good sites.
Portable charger – my eldest asked for this for her birthday and I imagine many teens would appreciate one! You can buy ones with built-in cables which seem to be very handy. This way hopefully their phone won’t die when they’re out and you’re trying to call them!
Bop It! This is an oldie but a goodie. But only if you can stand the noise – unless it’s for someone else’s child! In which case just go for it. Personally I don’t mind noise if it’s keeping children occupied and doesn’t involve a screen.
Splendor – This is a board game my sister-in-law bought for my children last Christmas. A family game is a great gift idea and this one is easy to pick up and my children really like it. My 10-year-old enjoyed it but I’d say 8+ could probably get into it.
Bonus: Stocking filler ideas:
To me, stocking fillers are not expensive. Perfume is not a stocking filler. These ideas may be obvious to you but I hope they might spark some inspiration!
– Fairy lights
– A baking kit from the supermarket (like 12 cupcakes or cookies etc. To be done on 27th December when you’ve run out of ideas!)
– Any sort of small puzzle or build-it kit eg. fake Lego or fake Meccano-style things. Gives the kids something to do for 10 mins on Christmas morning. (Flying Tiger is good for this kind of thing.)
– A book of paper aeroplanes (you can get origami versions for those who feel they’re too grown up for this!)
– A little card game to play at the table – they sell these in the supermarket.
– Pants and socks
– A hot chocolate bomb or “spoon”.
– Nail varnish
– Lip balm
– A new toothbrush
– An ‘erase your face’ cloth – bamboo cloth for removing makeup
– A magazine or comic, rolled up
– A Puzzle book
– Sweets/chocolate
– Fruit!
– Stationery

I hope you found this helpful. I love giving gifts. It truly is a blessing. And in doing so, whether it’s a small, homemade gift or something expensive, we reflect our Heavenly Father, who has given us the most precious gift. As my man Colin (Buchanan) says, ‘Jesus is the greatest gift that there could ever be!’

Advent Calendar – of sorts

Happy Advent, my lovely faithful readers! Who’s excited? I am!!

I had an idea to do a sort of advent calendar of blog posts this year, with a short encouragement or tip 6 days a week throughout advent.

But then I decided that for those of you LOVELY people who subscribe to my blog, it might get irritating to receive an email from me nearly every day.

Therefore, since I don’t have the technological savvy to allow you to ‘pause’ my emails, I’m instead going to group the posts together. I’ll be sending one each Sunday evening, which includes 6 different ideas. I expect you’ll read them all at once, but this way you have a week to get around to it!

I do hope and pray that these posts will encourage you and give you a little boost when you’ve got sellotape stuck to your sock and you’re a teeny bit sick of hearing Wham!’s “Last Christmas” for the forty-seventh time, and you realise you’ve forgotten something very important that somebody needs tomorrow for school. (Of course it would be best if you didn’t end up in this situation in the first place but I’m just being realistic!)

Love you all. See you on Sunday for 6 Gift Ideas.

Book Review – When Sorrows Like Sea Billows Roll

I’ve been reading a brilliant book that I think you all should read. You can buy it here. I’d suggest you by 5 copies and give them out to people you love.

It’s an extraordinary testimony of how the Lord sustained a family through the unimaginable. It’s the sort of story that would keep you awake at night, worrying it might happen to you. Except that if you read the book, you won’t do that. You come away with a bigger view of God’s goodness, faithfulness and generous provision.

The chapters are short, so this could be read by a new parent who’s not getting enough sleep, or even by someone who is suffering a hard time themselves. Brad Franklin is honest and down to earth and clearly has a pastor’s heart. He’s full of encouragement. Every time I’ve picked this book up to read a section, I’ve come away feeling encouraged. It’s quite miraculous.

If you don’t want to know the story, just go ahead and buy a copy here. As always, I’m not getting anything for telling you this. I was given a copy of this book by a lovely lady who actually reads my blog (Hi Catherine!) who I met at a wedding. My decision to recommend the book to you was entirely my own.

SPOILER ALERT: Read on if you’d like to know the context.

Brad Franklin’s wife Megan died very suddenly at the end of December 2019. She was eight months pregnant with their seventh child. The child survived, but as Megan went to be with Jesus, Brad was left alone with seven children, including a newborn.

Except he wasn’t alone. This is the story of how God provided for him and his family. I know some of his boys because I work in their school. They are a delight. I wish this hadn’t happened to them, but I trust that God in his wisdom is working for their good. And reading more about their story has helped me to see that even when the unthinkable happens – yes, even then – God is good.

If you’re having a hard time right now and just trying to keep your head above water, here are some words from Brad:

Christian, if the sun goes down and you still trust in Christ for your salvation, if you still love God and want to serve him – that day is a success. Whatever else happened that day, God has kept you. That’s a good day. (p.138)

We will all suffer in this life. Jesus said we’ll have trouble. Books like this can help to prepare us for hardships, and equip us to help others through those times, too. God gives us church family, and he displays his glory through them. This is largely a book about the glory of the church. Brad writes, ‘I so desperately wanted God to be glorified in healing Megan. That didn’t happen, but he was glory in ways I didn’t anticipate.‘ (p.93) I know, this brought tears to my eyes as I read it in an A&E waiting room a couple of weeks ago.

Praise God for his manifold wisdom. Brad isn’t just saying these things because they sound like the right things to say. You can tell that he really means them.

When things get serious, or even tragic, knowing Jesus really does make all the difference in the world.

‘When peace like a river attenders my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll,
Whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.’
Horatio G. Spafford

“In this world you will have trouble.
But take heart! I have overcome the world.“John 16.33

I don’t work Mondays

This morning my son asked me, “Do you work Mondays?”

He asked because I work at his school and he wanted me to carry something into school for him. I had to disappoint him today because I don’t work Mondays. I work 3 days a week at the school.

I don’t know about you but the summer mornings before school are even busier than usual. Here’s what my morning looked like:

My eldest needed ingredients for a cookery lesson so as well as getting the usual lunches ready I was also busy measuring out flour into a freezer bag and wrapping up a single egg in an egg box. (I did ask her if the school had considered buying a dozen eggs and asking everyone to bring in 5op, rather than getting 12 girls to each bring in a single egg. What could she say? She’s not in charge.) Thankfully she is organised so had already gone and bought the tomatoes and grated cheese she needed. Legend.

The aforementioned son has a cricket match this afternoon so as well as reminding him to have his lanyard on and telling him where his tie was I prepared a box of food for him so he doesn’t arrive home absolutely ravenous. I then tried to smear a bit of suncream on him and checked he had a cap and called after him (through the entryphone, like a madwoman) to check he had water with him. I then phoned him when he was on the bus to double check he did actually have water and wasn’t just saying that so I’d let him leave and he wouldn’t be late. (His match is about an hour’s drive away and I’m still waiting to hear if he’ll be brought back to school or whether I need to go and collect him. Eek.)

My younger son is doing ‘bikeability training’ this week so needed to cycle to school. In theory this is no bother but when I asked him when he’d last ridden his bike he said ‘that place we went when it was Martha’s birthday’ (Centerparcs), which was in the Easter holidays so his dad had to go out and check his tyres and do whatever other mysterious things need to be done to bikes before you can go anywhere. He also needed his swimming kit which was in the wash so we had to gather together a spare set. Not a big deal. So far it’s 8.03 and things are going OK. Between cycling and swimming I’m not sure he’s going to do much English today but I’m happy for him.

This was also the morning when, in preparation for the school fair, we needed to take in prizes for the tombola, i.e. toys/games that children would like to win. We have a different school fair offering each week at the moment. Last week it was a cup of sweets. The first year this whole situation caught me out but now I see it coming round the corner and am quite prepared. Remembering to take the things in that I’ve bought feels like the real achievement, especially when I was having to remember the bike helmet and the swimming and the flour and eggs and the water and suncream mentioned above. (Please, please never assume a parent is forgetful when they forget something!)

In between these activities I was merrily putting loads of washing in because while the sunshine may give my son sunstroke today, it will also dry my washing. Which for a mother of four, is such a treat. And I was also running a small cafe – making porridge, sunny-side-up-well-done-please-eggs on toast, peanut butter sandwiches (not toasted) and jam on toast. Some would argue that I should just dump some Weetabix down and tell everyone to be grateful, and I would find it hard to argue with them.

I say all these things not to moan. I actually love being at home and being able to get everything ready for my children. I want them to have what they need. Plus I have energy in the morning. (This evening, when we have boxing club, drama club, piano lessons and a possible drive to Teddington to collect a dehydrated cricketer, I may struggle.) I say this for two reasons:

Perhaps you had a similar morning and it’s nice to know you’re not the only one. Keep going. Your children are blessed and it’s not too long now till the holidays.
Perhaps it’s more accurate to say that I do work Mondays, after all.

How about you? Do you work Mondays?

Greetings from the Mr Beer Fan Club

Have you been following the Post Office scandal? If you’ve never heard of it, here’s a summary. I’ve been listening to the Public Inquiry* for weeks. That means listening to key witnesses being grilled by barristers for hours. It’s an easy thing to have on while I’m hanging the washing out etc. because it’s very calm and methodical – although occasionally totally gripping. I keep bringing in my children to watch key moments. (The boys got quite into the Paula Vennells bit but I think they’d just watch anything to be honest.)

There’s so much we can learn from the whole situation, as a society and as individuals. But specifically from the Inquiry I have a few thoughts I’d like to share:

People do not like to admit bad motives. It’s hard to say “I’m sorry”, but saying “I’m sorry that happened,” “I’m sorry we didn’t realise” or “I’m sorry I was too trusting” are all much easier than saying an absolute sorry. For example: “You’re right, I cared more about myself than those other people so I lied. I’m so sorry.” Nobody has said that (yet). Of course we see this right back in Genesis. Adam and Eve didn’t say sorry at all, they just blamed someone else. Since I know I’m a sinner, I should be able to admit when I’ve done something that’s just plain wrong. And since we know true forgiveness, we can give true apologies. What freedom!
We should be careful not to say or do things that we’re not prepared to defend. Some of the witnesses have had a really hard time in the box, and I’d hate to be them. So it’s worth wondering, ‘Could I be in that position?’ I hope and pray that if I ever have to explain myself in court, it will be over something I’m willing to die for. I’d love people to be able to say of me what they said of Daniel: “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.” (Daniel 6:5)
I’m so thankful for our justice system. This whole inquiry must be costing a fortune. And it won’t lead to any convictions because it’s a fact-finding process. If the Crown wants to charge someone they will have to go through a trial. More money. But isn’t this wonderful? I’m so glad we live in a country where justice matters enough to spend money on. And we have lawyers that say things like, “What your reaction was is a separate question to what the facts are” (Mr Beer, KC). Facts! Which leads me onto my final and favourite point…
The truth matters. Our culture likes to pretend that truth is relative. It’s all about interpretation; nobody can tell me I’m wrong. But when it comes to people going to prison for crimes they did not commit, the whole country is united against that. Suddenly we all see the difference between true and false. The postmasters themselves can’t get their lives back, but they are desperate for people to know the truth. If your whole community thought you were a thief, the truth would matter to you, wouldn’t it? Because there is truth, and there are lies. And they’re different, and it matters.

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

This isn’t a plug for the Post Office Scandal, but if you are interested I recommend the Great Post Office Trial podcast on BBC sounds. It’s not for the faint-hearted.

Just Be Honest

“How’s your week been?”

This is a question we get asked at church. It’s a good question! I wonder how you feel about answering it? It might depend on who is asking and whether they seem genuinely interested.

Sometimes your week has been so terrible that you’re not sure if you can talk about it, or whether the person innocently asking the question is ready to hear it.

I recently asked someone how their week had been and he said, “It’s been a really hard week.” Then he told me something really upsetting that had happened. I felt really sorry for him but I was so glad he actually gave me an honest answer!

Depending on what kind of church you go to, you may or may not feel comfortable expressing deep emotions in church. It might be that you can be totally honest with your church family, especially those closest to you. You might not feel that you have to put on a brave face for church and tell people “God is good” even when you’re feeling crushed. But sadly many Christians do. And if believers are not prepared for the reality of suffering, they may even walk away when things get really tough.

That’s why I love this book.

‘Just Be Honest’ is written for Christians who are hurting and for those who know someone who is.

Clint Watkins is very honest about his own experience of losing a child and how he struggled with God and with the weight of the grief. He gives us, from Scripture, permission to wrestle with the Lord, and to struggle. Many years ago my pastor said to me, ‘struggle is a sign of life.’ Dead things don’t struggle. Struggling doesn’t mean you’re failing. It’s a normal part of the Christian life:

God welcomes his people to worship through tears and pray without pretending. Aches, questions, and tears are a heritage of faith handed down to us through the generations. We belong to a legacy of lament. p.18

God’s people have always suffered. This book helps us to be honest about it and take our pain to the One who can heal us.

As well as being honest with God, this book is also about being honest with each other. He addresses those who need support and how they should let others in, as well as those who want to help but don’t know what to say and don’t want to say the wrong thing. He gives practical advice as well as spiritual encouragement, drawing on his own experiences:

This is the simple power of Christlike compassion. Show up. Shed tears. Lament, listen and love. p.143

Even while I was reading this book, I had several conversations with people where the words of the book came to mind. I suppose one reason for this is that, when you really stop to look around, there are people struggling and suffering everywhere. Yes, this is a wonderful, beautiful world. Yes, we have the victory in Jesus! Hallelujah!

But we’re also in the world that’s blighted by sin and Satan. We’re in the world where hopes are dashed, sickness thwarts and death separates. So we need books like this to help us shed God’s grace and light onto the path when grief or trauma is blocking the view and our loved ones can’t see a way forward. And when we’re the ones struggling, we need to go to the One with whom we can and must be truly honest.

Our grief was not ours alone to bear. Through lament, our friends and family took hold of our heartache. They made our sorrows their own. Our questions became their questions. Our groans became their groans. Their cries on our behalf resounded: we were not alone. p.113

Christmas Shopping 2023

In previous years people have quite enjoyed my Christmas gift ideas, so I’ve tried hard again this year to make some good suggestions for you. I hope you’re excited about Christmas and not feeling stressed about the shopping. My previous years’ posts are here, here and here.

I’ve been reflecting on how amazingly generous God is, and what a privilege it is to be able to celebrate him by showing generosity to people we love. (Let’s try to keep that in mind when we’re in the queues or we’re behind on the wrapping!)

For Baking Lovers:

My daughter loves to bake and we’ve enjoyed a few recipes from the the ‘Fitwaffle’ lady, Eloise Head. For her 14th birthday this month her aunt bought her the ‘Baked in One‘ book and a 20cm square tin to go with it. (Every recipe in the book can be baked in the 20cm square tin.) I thought this was a really lovely gift. Maybe check out her videos to see if it’s the sort of thing your baking-lover would enjoy.

3D puzzles

My son really likes building 3D wooden things. In fact, so does my husband. They’re a step up from those dinosaur ones you get in museums or owl ones you get at the Wetland Centre – you know what I mean. There are loads on Amazon. If you’ve got a tween who’s good at puzzles they should be able to do it – perhaps with the help of a willing adult. (Not me, sorry. I’ll be baking something from Fitwaffle.)

2D Puzzles

If you know someone who likes a good jigsaw at Christmas, I think this would be a lovely gift – it’s a different jigsaw to do on each of the 12 days of Christmas. Here’s the Waterstone’s link to buy it but it is sold elsewhere. Each jigsaw is quite small but I think it’s a fun idea and could be enjoyed by little ones and oldies alike. The description says ‘Minimum Puzzle Dust’ which is a problem I didn’t know I could have. I’m grateful to have it kept to a minimum!

Cool notebooks

This website, Atoms to Astronauts, has some unusual notebooks. They’re not cheap – it’s a small business – but would be a lovely gift if within budget for a teen if you’re stuck for ideas! They’re made in the UK.

For Bible-readers who like pretty organisation…

Someone bought my daughter some index tabs for her Bible and they’re just the sort of thing that many girls her age (or even women my age) find really satisfying and beautiful. They also help you find the Bible book you’re looking for. There are a selection at Cheerfully Given.

For the Home

My daughter has been making and selling macramé plant hangers and they’re lovely! They’d be a great gift for anyone with a house plant. If you’d like to buy one, you can go to Vinted or message me on Instagram.

This is an idea I wish I’d seen when my children were younger. It’s a picture frame with storage so you can store your children’s pictures inside and then just keep adding the latest picture to the front. It’s easy to open the front of the frame and add the latest picture. This would be a good gift for a toddler who’s already got enough toys, or for a family who’d appreciate the neatness of it. (I’ve put a link above but there are a few different companies making them.)

For babies and toddlers

I’m sure any parent appreciates a gift that can stack for storage. We like these stack and roll cups from Fisher Price. They’re simple and pleasing.

The other thing that’s good, although not as stackable, is this ramp. Apparently this is good for a child’s development. I’m sure that’s true. And it’s one of the few toddler toys we’ve kept.

Books

The Dreamkeeper Saga books are a good option for children who enjoy fantasy books involving dragons etc. My ten year old enjoyed ‘The Dragon and the Stone.’ He said he liked the magic in it and that ‘foes become friends.’ Mysterious!

I’ve also heard very good things about the Green Ember books so we’re going to try those out this Christmas. They’ve got rave reviews so I’m looking forward to it.

For tight budgets remember that some Christmas cookies, baked with love, are a thoughtful gift. It’s also a lovely idea to frame a good postcard, and nice white frames can be bought very cheaply in the supermarket.

Suggested by a Reader

One of my Instagram followers suggested the Yoto player. I’ve never seen one in real life but perhaps you should check it out. We do love an audio book in our house.

I hope this has been helpful for you. Do comment below if you’ve got a brilliant idea you’d like to share! Happy Shopping x

True and Proper.

This weekend Mum in Zone One is 10 Years old! Thank you to those faithful readers who have been with me since the beginning – and to those we’ve picked up along the way! Please do tell your friends about it if you think they’d be encouraged.

The reason I started this blog was to encourage people – mums in particular – and to share real life and perhaps sometimes make you laugh. I wanted to lift up our eyes to Jesus in the midst of all the crumbs and chaos of parenting littlies. My second post, (10 yrs ago minus a week) was ‘Push, Push, Glide‘ about my daughter’s 4th Birthday. It seems funny to me now that the 4th Birthday of my eldest felt like such a milestone – but I know it really was.

Now of course, she’s 14. Soon I’ll have 2 teenagers. If you have a spread of ages in your household you’ll know that this means I get woken up before 7am by a bright-eyed tot and am still up late in the evening, sipping hot chocolate and talking to a wide-awake, suddenly-ready-to-talk teen. It’s an incalculable blessing. This lifestyle also requires me to spend myself for others in ways that don’t always seem reasonable! Do you ever just lean against a wall for a minute and wonder if someone could make you a cup of tea?

I recently read a great little book called ‘Sacrifice‘ by Simon Guillebaud. It’s very short – I read it in two sittings: one on the Victoria line (which is competing for the noisiest tube line in a field of strong contenders) and one in a soft play area (um – yeah). In summary I’d say it’s a massive kick up the backside for a self-care-giving generation. (I’m really holding back in my description here; you can fill in the blanks I’m sure.)

The book focuses on this verse from Romans 12:

Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship.
Romans 12:1

I wonder if people often think of worship as something glamorous and public – hands raised, heart abandoned etc. But if we mention ‘sacrifice’, I think everyone knows that as something hard. Hard, but glorious. In the UK we’ve just observed Remembrance Day, when we remember those who’ve fought for our freedom in conflicts – many of whom have offered their lives in sacrifice for ours. We know that sacrifice is not easy and it’s selfless. That’s why we remember them.

God, our most loving Heavenly Father, tells us that offering our bodies as a living sacrifice is our act of worship. So we’re not worshipping God if we’re not offering ourselves. And if we are offering ourselves freely to Him and to others, this pleases Him. When we set aside what we want and live for others, in order to honour God, then he is honoured.

So it’s worth it. It’s worth the late nights and early mornings, the driving around on a Friday night when you’d rather be on the sofa watching ‘All Creatures Great and Small.’ It’s worth wiping down the table and sweeping up the crumbs, knowing you’ll have to do it again in a few hours. It’s worth the meal prep, the uniform scrabbling, keeping up with the school newsletters, the Bible crafts, the 2am Calpol administration, the unfathomable laundry. It’s worth standing on the sidelines in the freezing cold and the discipline and the gift wrapping and the list making. If we offer these things to our families and to God with joy and a thankful heart, we’re spending ourselves on what really, really matters. It’s not waste. We’re investing our time, energy, all our resources, by offering them to the One who really deserves to be honoured and, in His mercy, can really bring fruit from all of this.

We won’t get everything we want. Then it wouldn’t be sacrifice. Guillebaud put it like this:

‘Our verse tells us that we are to be ‘holy and pleasing to God.’ The issue is full, undivided consecration, which means being dedicated, set apart for God. It involves surrendering our disappointments, hurts and fears, our longings, dreams and aspirations, our finances, health and hobbies, our family, friends, the lot… Holiness encompasses everything.’ p. 30.

Over the years I’ve lived in Chelsea, I’ve had to let go of some of my dreams. I’ve had to trust God and be willing to obey him. I’ve been disappointed. I’ve longed for things I wasn’t allowed to have. But even for that, I’m grateful. Idols give us what we want – for a short time. Because idols don’t love us. They’re like an unkind parent who leaves their child in front of a screen all day and lets them eat sweets until their teeth fall out. But not my Father. My Father loves me. He has set boundaries. He tells me ‘no.’ I dread to think where I’d be now if he’d given me what I wanted.

So let’s keep going. Let’s rejoice in the unseen ways we can serve others, offering it all up to God as our true and proper worship. Let’s trust God more than what our eyes can see. Let’s make our own cups of tea and be cheerful about it.

(If you’d like to hear a podcast episode on the topic of worship, featuring my husband Mike and myself, you can find it here or search for Delight Podcast Episode 12.)