Period Features

Home Spun Christmas Ideas

For 100+ ideas for a home spun traditional Christmas visit www.allaboutyou.com With suggestions for making decorations, cards, gift wrapping, advent calendars, ideas for table settings and home made gifts, there is bound to be a project here that will keep younger members of the family busy in the lead up to Christmas!

A Letter From Father Christmas

There's still time to order a personalized letter from Father Christmas for the young people in your life - or at least the young at heart! The letter includes the person's name, their age, where they live, what they would most like for Christmas and details about something nice that they have done this year. The letter arrives in a Christmas red envelope marked 'Mail From Father Christmas' with the words 'The North Pole Mail Room' at the top, closed with a gold embossed Father Christmas Seal. The letter itself is tied with red velvet, and contains a small envelope with some special 'Magic Dust' to assist Father Christmas in knowing where they would like their presents left on Christmas Eve. Or it can be sprinkled on the doorstep to guide Father Christmas to the correct house. Available for £5 from www.mailfromfatherchristmas.co.uk

Rent a living tree this Christmas

Have a live tree delivered right to your front door. It's fun, it's easy and it's great for your home and environment. All you have to do is choose a tree you like and then trees for rent will do the rest, by delivering it right to your door and then after Christmas, they will come and pick it back up.Trees for rent has been established to help make your Christmas be as environmentally friendly as possible.

By renting a live pot grown tree that can carry on growing outside after the Christmas period, you are not only saving a tree from being destroyed but helping the natural ecological system of wildlife that can use this tree for the rest of the year.

The trees have been graded, cared for, pruned by hand and fed supplements of sea weed to keep them in top condition.

The idea is to rent the tree for the Christmas period so that the tree can return to its field to help combat carbon dioxide emissions, thus helping the environment.

Visit www.treesforrent.com for more information.

Visit Father Christmas in Lapland (Kent)

There is also still time to visit Father Christmas in Lapland - Lapland in Kent that is www.laplanduk.co.uk This British version of the more exotic trip abroad to meet Father Christmas has no connection with last year's Lapland in the New Forest and, despite some criticisms for being expensive, has received good reviews in the national press for the quality of the experience. It does cost up to £87 for each adult and child but as all the activities, gifts and a two course meal is included in the price it is still arguably less expensive that the overseas alternative and better for the environment. There is even an Eeko Elf on hand to explain the importance of the environment to the children! Activities include making gingerbread with Mother Christmas, helping the elves in the toy workshop, ice skating and writing and posting a letter to Father Christmas and, of course, a visit to Father Christmas's cabin to meet the man himself and receive a present. There is currently a last minute buy two tickets and get two free offer available on telephone bookings made before 11 December. Call 0871 221 9627.

Book Crossing

Is your house overflowing with books? Do you find it hard to part with them? www.bookcrossing.com may be the answer that helps you to set your books free on a journey... bookcrossing gives you a way to share your books, clear your shelves and recycle all at the same time. You simply register your books online where they are given a unique bookcrossing identification number (BCID). This book number is then put inside the book - you can download free forms for this at the website or buy special book stickers if you prefer - and the book is 'set free' wherever you choose: a park bench, the gym, a garden centre, a café etc. The finder hopefully registers having found the book, reads it and passes it on or sets it free again. You can track your book's journey around the world and know that it has given lots of other people pleasure too. You can also register the book and give or send it to a friend who can then register it and pass it on or set it free. The bookcrossing website is a joy for booklovers with forums discussing books, bookcrossing groups to join and books to search for 'in the wild'. There are also official bookcrossing zones (OBCZ) in most cities where you can go to pick up a free book or to leave your own books for others to enjoy. Bookcrossing goes a long way to making its slogan 'making the whole world a library' a reality. Find out more at www.bookcrossing.com If you can't bear the thought of parting with any of your books then a new book by Leslie Geddes-Brown, Books Do Furnish a Room, may be perfect for you. With inspiration and advice for bibliophiles on displaying books throughout your house it would make a great gift for a booklover too. Published by Merrell it costs £24.95.

Blue Lotus

Blue Lotus Products sell simply delicious cakes for special diets. Their tempting range includes cakes suitable for vegans, vegetarians, those with food intolerances, food allergies and diabetes. If you know someone who follows a special diet or if you are expecting a guess for dinner or the weekend who avoids particular ingredients Blue Lotus can deliver an irresistible treat to your door for them. The cakes make great birthday cakes, luxurious anniversary, wedding or christening cakes and are a very thoughtful gift to send to people with special dietary needs. For more information visit www.bluelotusproducts.co.uk

Website of the Month

I am absolutely thrilled that our website has been choosed as 'Website of the month' in the Period Living, November issue - on sale now.

Lots of new products are arriving through the door in the next couple of weeks and I am putting a good selection on the website under a new heading 'recenty added products' so do keep an eye on that section.

However, not all of our products are on the website and you are most welcome to visit our lovely shop in the small market town of Leek, on the edge of the Peak District. We have worked hard to recreate a traditional Victorian ironmongers, with its original shop fittings and authentic atmosphere. We are open from 10 am to 5 pm, Mon to Sat.

Staycation!

If you're planning a summer family holiday you might already be dreading the journey there. This year more people are planning a holiday in the UK owing to the recession and the exchange rates in Europe - what is increasingly being called a 'staycation'. If you are planning a long car journey with young children you might be interested in a list of in-car games that take I-Spy to a whole new level that can be found on the netmums website. The 'yeses and noes' game, the pub game and the sausages game... you'll never be stuck for ideas again! Find out more at www.netmums.com/holidays/Travelling_by_Car.1202/

The House Directory

The House Directory www.thehousedirectory.com is a great source of information on interior and garden design and decoration. It's fast, free and user-friendly without any need to register or log in. From the home page you can click on an image of the category of product or service that you are looking for or you can search by company names (if you know which company you are looking for) or by categories. As well as listing over 3,500 companies (including Period Features) you can also 'Ask the Experts' for advice on your decorating or sourcing questions as well as look up relevant events and courses. There's an option to set up a personal notebook containing your favourite suppliers and to receive a useful free monthly newsletter with the all the latest news in trends, events, sales, offers and books.

Planet Barbecue

As a nation we seem to have been bitten by the barbecue bug in recent years with more and more of us rushing to cook and eat al fresco at the first sighting of a few rays of British sunshine. There is plenty of advice available on holding the perfect barbecue. Planet barbecue offers a step by step guide to preparing, lighting and cooking food on a barbecue www.planetbarbecue.co.uk/newtobbq.htm.