Being on maternity leave this festive season, it means I've got lots of time to have some crafty fun with Carson - something I am LOVING!
I've stumbled across The Works when I was looking for inspiration and have found some little gems that I wanted to share with you...

He's super proud of his bauble (as I am of mine!) and it takes pride of place on the front of the tree.
Time needed: 30mins.
Cost: £4 to make 2 baubles
Ease of use: 9/10, Carson got a little frustrated at times because I was telling him to be careful with the pins.
Final Result: GORGEOUS!

I used to make my own mobiles as a child. I fondly remember my dad drawing then cutting out several mini Santas then a large one. We'd colour them in before he attached them all together with string.
I can't draw for toffee so when I saw this set for a solitary quid - I absolutely had to try it out. It comes with coloured felt pens and glitter glue and all the drawing and cutting out is already done for you.
Any child who loves colouring in will be happy for up to an hour decorating and glitzing up this decoration. Carson gives this a huge thumbs up.
Time needed: 60 mins.
Cost: £1
Ease of use: 9/10, slightly fiddly to attach the dangly images using the thin string as the holes are a little wider than the knots you can make. Tape fixes this easily.
Final Result: For a quid, it's a must-have for the kids.
Ahhh a snowy scene on Christmas Day. OK maybe that's a rarity these days, but you can create your own little one in a globe, that's also a fridge magnet!
Colour in the background image of your choice (there are 4 to choose from), then use the foam cut out pieces to create an overlay to add that third dimension. There's even googly eyes!
Cost: £3 to make 2 globes
Ease of use: 10/10 absolutely nothing stopped us!
Final Result: Magic.

This year though, I found a kit that were much much more cost effective - half the price in fact. Complete with hats, jokes, ribbons and snaps it really is fun constructing your very own 'personalised to taste' crackers.
Carson opted for a chocolate coin in his, whereas I opted for some scrummy Celebrations instead.
Time needed: 30 mins.
Cost: £5.99 to make 6 crackers
Ease of use: 8/10 - Slipping the tabs together and tying the ribbons is fiddly. Keep the kids involved and let them pass you the stuff as you need it, they'll only get really annoyed when they can't do it themselves!
Final Result: A personalised cracker with a joke and a hat - a lovely touch at dinner!

Time needed: If yes, then buy these!
Cost: £1
Ease of use: 10/10
Final Result: A hot Christmas dinner without falling over the kids!
WIN WITH THE WORKS!!
Take a minute and imagine what you could buy for £25. Now that you've imagined it, get entering below. That's right, I've teamed up with The Works to offer one of you lovely lot the chance to win £25 to spend with them.
There are no mandatory entries but if you do them all not only will you have a greater chance of winning, you will also unlock a free daily entry which could add a significant boost to your chances!
GOOD LUCK!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
*Please note that I received the above items free of charge for the purposes of review.
Win competitions at ThePrizeFinder.com
These look fantastic and the kiddies look like they had so much fun. I will be checking them out for sure as I know my sons would love making these x
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea to make your own Christmas decorations. By involving the whole family, you make the celebration more personal. I can see the pride on your son's face. Fantastic.
ReplyDeleteLove the little pic of Carson giving a thumbs up! I used to do loads of craft style bits with my daughter when she was small.
ReplyDeletefandabidozy giveaway
ReplyDeleteWhat fabulous ideas! I love going to The Works, there's always plenty of things in there to buy at really affordable prices in order to keep your kids entertained! I've found loads of books for my daughters there too for this Christmas!xx
ReplyDeleteHttp://www.itsalwaysdarkestbeforethedawn1.blogspot.co.uk
Thank you for another lovely giveaway :-)
ReplyDeleteGreat prize, both me and my daughter are bookworms so this would be amazing :)
ReplyDeleteThe Works is a great shop, good for bargains.
ReplyDeleteGreat giveaway- I love the works!
ReplyDeleteI love The Works - so can find so many great things there. Fingers crossed
ReplyDeleteLaura x
fab i love the works they have some great stuff
ReplyDeletethese all look fabulous thanks for the giveaway and merry xmas
ReplyDeleteThe Works is a great shop for books and art supplies. Great prize.
ReplyDeleteLove The Works - some super bargains!
ReplyDeleteI love the Works! Great prize!
ReplyDeletefor some reason i didnt think that Works would have Xmas crafty things, thanks for the giveaway)
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of making Christmas ornaments. I should try that with my 2 year old (if I can get her to agree to do something).
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic giveaway and Christmas guide - The Works are amazing and so affordable!
ReplyDeleteGreat giveaway- love creative things
ReplyDeleteThe works is brilliant. Great giveaway!
ReplyDeleteI love finding things like this in The Works. Ive got my friends kids some make your own sock monkey's, more because it makes me chuckle x
ReplyDeleteI would never think to go to The Works for crafts etc. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThese crafts looks fantastic for adults and kids alike! Will definitely be taking a look in The Works! Thankyou for this fantastic giveaway!
ReplyDeleteI love The Works - such amazing prices for really good quality stuff.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway and Merry Christmas :)
Brilliant competition! Can't believe those placemats are £1 - M&S have some too but much more than that x
ReplyDeleteLovely givaway!
ReplyDeletegreat prize
ReplyDeleteGreat prize x
ReplyDeleteBig fan of The Works!
ReplyDeleteThere's some really good ideas, i especially love the place mats!
ReplyDeleteI've just decorated my sewing and craft room I could have some fun doing stuff with the voucher
ReplyDeleteThe works is a really fun shop
ReplyDeleteI made my own crackers this year.
ReplyDeleteyours look amazing.
Amazing giveaway i love the works
Looks all good, love creative things, mine never look good though, great giveaway
ReplyDeleteI love The Works for books and crafts
ReplyDeleteI love the works for arts and crafts bits x
ReplyDeleteSome great ideas.
ReplyDeletegreat non screen based entertainment -love it
ReplyDeletefab giveaway
ReplyDeleteThe Works is an amazing shop for all sorts of crafting goodies and books x
ReplyDeletecant believe how cheap all this stuff is! i will remember for next year!
ReplyDeleteWow you seemed to have a lot of stuff, and it all looks so good and real fun that a family can all do together thanks for sharing it with us
ReplyDeletewow such a lot of stuff and excellent value It looks like you all had ral family fun, which is just great I always think that things made together as a family have more meaning. Thanks for sharing all your great ideas with us
ReplyDeletebrilliant give away, love doing stuff with my children and partner as part of a family and always looking for more ways to do things as a family too
ReplyDeletelovely giveaway
ReplyDeletegreat giveaway and great review and what better way to get kids to use their imagination and inspire creativity =D
ReplyDeleteGreat review, I love the works and so do my kids, it's a great store.
ReplyDeletelove shopping at the works, my daughter loves all the book and crafty bits there.
ReplyDeletefab giveaway love the works theres always a tonne of great and cheap craft bits
ReplyDeleteLove this kind of thing, I really like The Works for all their creative products
ReplyDeleteSuperb Prize!
ReplyDeletePerfect for rainy afternoons, my kids love arts and crafts days!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI could get sooo much for my kids from the works!
ReplyDeleteBrilliant giveaway!
ReplyDeleteGot some good stocking fillers from the works
ReplyDeletegreat giveaway, best of luck everyone!
ReplyDeleteMy daughter would love to spend this prize money.
ReplyDeleteWe love The Works could spends hours looking in their stores & then spend a fortune!
ReplyDeleteWish I'd known about the colour in placemats in time for Christmas! they would have been great fun.
ReplyDeleteoooooh yes plz love the works :)
ReplyDeleteGreat shop, lots of bargains, fingers crossed!
ReplyDeleteThe Works Works for me! Fab Giveaway so everything crossed !
ReplyDeleteWe love the works for card making supplies :)
ReplyDeleteI love The Works, they have such a great range of art and craft products at fantastic prices, and you can get some great book bargains too
ReplyDeleteI love visiting The Works and always buy something. I have so many younger nieces and nephews to cater for.
ReplyDeleteThere is such a great range of products in The Works - and they change regularly so you never know what treasure you are going to find.
ReplyDeleteHazel Rea - @beachrambler
These crafts look a lot of fun
ReplyDeleteLove the Works something for everyone when we visit!!
ReplyDeleteLoads of crafty things on that site! Great giveaway thanks!
ReplyDeleteSome great items & ideas here, will tuck the review away for next Christmas!!
ReplyDeleteVery crafty my daughter spends all her pocket money for works x x
ReplyDeleteThis is a fantastic giveaway - thank you
ReplyDeleteThe Works is brilliant - so many great books and creative products
ReplyDeletegreat giveaway my boys love reading
ReplyDeletefantastic ideas
ReplyDeleteI love doing crafty stuff with the kids all year round, it keeps us all out of trouble! and The Works are great for supplies
ReplyDeleteHow cool!
ReplyDeleteThe works is great for books, puzzles and kids birthday presents.
ReplyDeleteThe works is awesome for crafts, lovely giveaway :)
ReplyDeleteI love the Works, it's jam-packed full of brilliant items. £25 would buy a lot of great stuff.
ReplyDeleteI love the works they always have great bargains
ReplyDeleteLove the works, could spend hours in there!
ReplyDeleteAmazing giveaway, I really like The Works :) x
ReplyDeleteThat looks so much fun. My little boy loves craft activities.
ReplyDeleteLove the works, my daughter loves their art supplies! x
ReplyDeleteJust bought some books from there great price.
ReplyDeleteI love the works, they have alot of great thing's to make diy projects. And it's so much more special when you make your own christmas decorations too :)
ReplyDeletemany thanks - would be very useful
ReplyDeleteGood prize
ReplyDeletethanks so much for the chance :)
ReplyDeleteI love The Works - some great bargains to be found there.
ReplyDeleteElloooo...I spend a fair bit of cash in the works (on the website) and you can collect nectar points too if you go through the nectar site first. Love the site, and it looks like you all had a blast making everything.
ReplyDeleteMega happy you are doing this too, I need to put another order in to them. They do bargain packs of glue sticks and we go through them at such a rate it's silly! I like their card blanks too, very reasonable prices.
Lurve x
great giveaway thanks for the chance
ReplyDeleteI love making things and you can get some really good bargains from the works
ReplyDeleteI get all my books from the works, great giveaway thanks :) x
ReplyDeleteLove, love, love The Works. Always find some really great things in there.
ReplyDeleteThe works is my idea of heaven. being a stationary freak like i am!
ReplyDeleteLove browsing and buying in the Works!
ReplyDelete