Book review: It Always Snows on Mistletoe Square by Ali McNamara

I can't believe it's been 10 years since I devoured my first Ali McNamara book with Step Back in Time – and what a delightful journey it's been. From Letters From Lighthouse Cottage and From Nothing Hill With Four Weddings... Actually through to her novels set in the fictional Cornish town of St Felix, such as The Little Flower Shop By the Sea (still my absolute fav!) and Cornish Clouds and Silver Linking Skies. Her books have whisked me away all over the UK, with different characters all with their own unique stories to tell. But one thing has always been consistent in her books: a touch of magic. Combine that with the festive season for her first Christmas novel, and you've got something truly magical. 

The Christmas Countdown is on... Getting Festive & Heartfelt with Moonpig

Happy December! 🎄 I have some very festive posts planned for this month, so sit back with a freshly baked mince pie and a hot chocolate and get ready for seasonal fun and recommendations. While for most people November is tinsel-free, I've been spending the last few weeks wrapping gifts and writing Christmas cards while listening to Josh Groban's "Noël" (the best seasonal album of all time), exhausting Netflix's Christmas catalogue, and I even joined the team of personalised card and gifting company Moonpig for a full-on festive event (#invited). There was a real-life Santa, fun workshops, and the opportunity to pet a polar bear. My festive season may have peaked before the official start of December...

10 Cosy New Books to Read This Autumn

As the days grow darker and colder, I bring out my staples for cosy nights in and weekends at home: festively-scented candles, my trusty checkered and wool-lined fleece blanket, warm-coloured fairy lights, and my towering to-read pile that has been building up over the summer months. Yes, it's the best time of the year for reading while snuggled up with a cup of tea! And today I'm delighted to share with you book releases from the past few months that are perfect to curl up with this autumn. Whether you love a good ol' Christmas tale, harrowing historical fiction, Sherlock Holmesque crime, magical middle grade, laugh-out-loud women's fiction, gripping YA thriller, or thought provoking non-fiction essays, this list of recent favs has something to delight readers of all tastes.

The Best Christmas Fairs in London + Ticket Giveaway

It may sound a bit early to start mentioning Christmas but I can't help it guys, I just love the season of joy so much. And with the first festive fair starting at the end of the month – the time has come for me to start planning which seasonal outings I'll be adding to my diary this year, which is a huge part of the fun in the lead up to 25 December. The first event to hit London calendars is the Spirit of Christmas Fair in Olympia and not only am I rounding up my favourite fairs to hit up this year I also I have an opportunity for one lucky reader to win two free tickets to the first one of the season!

Boxing Day and January Sales Haul

December 24th is an important day in my diary. No, not Christmas Eve... we don't celebrate that in the Netherlands (instead we have 1st and 2nd Christmas Day on the 25th and 26th), but the start of the online Boxing Day sales! Spending Christmas with my family back home means I'm never in the UK to hit the sales in the shops (not that I'd really want to during the sleep-eat-repeat routine that is the void between Christmas and New Year's, mind) so the online bargains are the ones to give me my annual shopping sales fix. I posted a Boxing Day Sales Haul on the blog last year and I thought I'd share them with you this time around as well 😊

LMTO's A Christmas Carol at the Lyceum Theatre

A Christmas Carol is a staple this time of year. After reading Mr. Dickens and His Carol and seeing The Man Who Invented Christmas (based on the similar premise of Charles Dickens writing his famous festive tale) in cinema recently, you might think I'd be all Dickensed out, but you'd be wrong. When the London Musical Theatre Orchestra announced that they'd be reviving their concert staging of the musical adaptation this year I added it to my calendar before you could say 'bah humbug'!

The Dickens Festival in Rochester

When I lived in south east London I loved exploring Kent as there are so many picturesque towns to visit, filled with cobble-stoned streets, castles, homely pubs and tons of history. One of the places I particularly enjoyed going to in December was Rochester as their annual Dickens Festival was the official start of the festive season for me. However, after moving to North London I haven't made the trip down for quite a few years – until now! I've been raving about the festival to friends, family and colleagues for ages and was excited to return.

Christmas at Kew Gardens

When I lived in South London I had a membership to Kew Gardens and I loved visiting during different times of the year; in spring to see the beautiful gardens in full bloom, in summer for a relaxing picnic with a good book, and in autumn for a crisp stroll while surrounded by reds and yellows. But somehow I'd never visited in winter time. Now living in North London, unfortunately Kew Gardens is quite a trek to get to and I haven't been in years. But when a friend invited me to join her on a preview night of Christmas at Kew my festive senses started tingling and I was more than willing to make the journey down to check it out.

Getting Festive With Maplin Electronics

I'm a huge Christmas geek and if I get an invite for anything with a festive angle, I'm in. And so with the promise of getting a sneak peek at some of the most exciting tech and toys for the holiday season – and the lure of a mince pie, or two – I set out for Maplin's headquarters last week. While it may have been the seasonal fun that captured my interest initially, it was fab gadgets such as a mini chocolate fountain (yes, it is as divine as it sounds), that have made my wish list a lot longer in the past week.

Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva

It may only 'just' be October but the festive season is less than two months away, so it's no longer too early to talk about Christmas, right? I mean, I've started buying my gifts for friends and family, and I may just throw in a cheeky listen of Josh Groban's Noel this weekend (the weather is definitely getting cold enough to warrant it). Amid the browsing of Christmas decorations and wish lists online it was inevitable I'd pick up a seasonal read this month as well, which very suitably was Dickens-themed.

Boxing Day Sales Haul

Throughout the year I don't tend to buy too much for myself (unless I really need it) but when the Boxing Day sales come around I'd like to treat myself to some extras. While I'm always in the Netherlands when the sales are on, there are plenty of shops that have great offers online too and so that is where I do my shopping (it means I don't have to go outside early either or queue!). This year was a little light on the clothes haul (what I usually splurge on), but I did pick up some great things at The Body Shop, Boots, M&S, Accessorize, Fat Face and Paperchase.

My Month in Favourites – December 2016

December is the month of favourites with my yearly round-ups of books and theatre having already gone up on the blog this week, and my 2016 in review to follow next week. That doesn't mean that I'll skip my monthly round-up though as there has been lots I've enjoyed this month and I want to share with you guys, including Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, RENT the Musical, Hygge, Vlogmas, The Netherlands, and Boxing Day sales!

My 16 Favourite Reads in 2016

What an amazing bookish year 2016 has been. I read a total of 103 books and managed to hit my Goodreads challenge once again (though, in fairness, it was lowered considerably from my usual target as this year has been far busier for me working wise and blogging wise and so I knew that elusive 125 books was out of reach early on. This is the year I discovered my love for beautiful non-fiction books, redisovered my love for young adult fiction, and I started collecting beautiful hardback to prettify my shelves. My favourite books of the year are mostly YA and non-fiction titles, though there is general fiction in there too, as well as a children's series I reread and fell head over heels in love with again. So without further ado, here are my 16 favourite reads in 2016!

Book review: Mistletoe on 34th Street by Lisa Dickenson

When Lisa Dickenson won the Novelicious Debut of the Year for Twelve Dates of Christmas, it propelled her into Hollywood stardom and she now spends her days hosting dance parties with Beyoncé and meeting up for regular coffee dates with her friends in Central Perk. Well, not quite. But she has written a host of fabulous books since, including You Had Me At Merlot, Catch Me If You Cannes and the brand-spankin' new Mistletoe on 34th Street, which brings Lisa back to her festive writing roots.

Book review: Christmas Stories by Scholastic Classics

I'm absolutely loving racing through the festive titles from my Bookish Gift Guide for the Holidays. The beautiful Christmas Stories anthology by Scholastic Classics was a particularly seasonal read that started to get me excited about the upcoming holidays. I mean, with words by Charles Dickens and Hans Christian Andersen within the pages, how could it not?

Book review: The Twelve Days of Christmas by the V&A

Sometimes a book comes along that is so stunning in design that the only logical response is to stroke the cover upon first laying eyes upon it. The Twelve Days of Christmas, using intricate patterns from the Victoria and Albert Museum's William Morris collection with new illustrations by Liz Catchpole, is one such a treasure. This is not a book that evokes emotion through carefully crafted words, instead it does just that with its beautifully designed pages.

Book review: A Christmas Cornucopia by Mark Forsyth

One of the books from my Bookish Gift Guide for the Holidays I was particularly keen to dive into, purely from an aesthetic point of view, was A Christmas Cornucopia. The cover design is beautiful, and printed in hardback this makes for a very lovely stocking filler. Not only that, but when I actually started reading it I was instantly hooked on the words hidden within this pretty little festive tome too, which were insightful and hilarious in equal manner. 

Literary London: Hogwarts in the Snow

First I don't mention Harry Potter for ages and then I can't stop talking about it! This past month has been completely taken over by the Wizarding World as I attended the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them premiere (squee), saw both parts of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in theatre (double squee), and I was recently invited to a special event at the Warner Bros Studios in Leavesden to see the glorious festive additions to the Harry Potter sets for Hogwarts in the Snow. It was a truly magical experience. Do sit back as I take you on a Christmassy ride through Diagon Alley, the Great Hall, the Gryffindor Common Room, and more.

Book review: I'll Be Home for Christmas anthology

With the start of December nearly upon us (yes really, better start planning that Christmas shopping!) I thought it was the perfect time to start reviewing the more festive titles from my Bookish Gift Guide for the Holidays. And I couldn't have picked a better novel than the I'll Be Home for Christmas anthology from Stripes Publishing. Not only is it jam-packed with a wide array of great stories from some of the hottest voices in British young adult fiction, but at least £1 from every copy sold goes directly to homelessness charity Crisis.

Country Living Christmas Fair 2016

Another week, another festive event! Last weekend I hopped on the tube for the Country Living Christmas Fair at the Business Design Centre in Islington. This is the seasonal fair I've been frequenting the most these last few years (previously covering it with my Woman's World hat on) and it's still one of my favourites. The exhibitors at the event really get that Country Living brand feel across, and so browsing the stalls feels like walking into the pages of the magazine. And this year the quality and diversity of the products on offer was even higher than before, with exhibitors ranging from very affordable to the much more luxurious end – and everything crafty, fun, tasty, quirky and unique in between.