Happy Easter!

I really love Easter so much, possibly the chocolate helps (hehe) but I just adore the spring like colours - sadly just confined to Easter products this year, but really beautifully uplifting all the same. Hallmark contacted me with some really cute ideas on how to celebrate this time of year....with a few added snaps of our Easter family fun! See above our Easter garland I bought from Paperchase today, I love it, but was thinking it would be so easy to make one with some of my own designs....expect a DIY post soon! The design right at the top is an Easter card idea I created a couple of years ago.

How to Throw a Hopping Easter-Themed Party

Unfortunately, we won’t be having the sunny Easter that we hoped for here in the UK, but why should we let that spoil our fun? A colourful Easter party is a perfect way to lift our spirits by getting family and friends together, eating lots of tasty treats and playing some fun games too. All it takes is a little imagination!

The first part of planning a great Easter party is deciding on the décor, so think pretty pastels, gorgeous gingham patterns and lots of seasonal shapes like eggs, bunnies and chicks. Large sheets of tissue paper make cheap, disposable tablecloths, and you can also cut the paper into strips and arrange them in bowls to create ‘baskets’ for chocolate eggs. If you’re feeling especially artistic, cut out circles of tissue paper and form them into flower shapes for eye-catching table decorations that don’t need water!

You can also use stiff cardboard to make templates of your favourite Easter shapes, then draw around them on colourful paper, and get your little ones to decorate the shapes with paint and glitter. Once they’re dry, cut out the shapes and thread them with ribbon to make some hanging decorations, or even staple them to long pieces of ribbon to create some unique Easter bunting.

Eggs-tra Tasty Treats

Next, you need the treats, and it wouldn’t be Easter without chocolate cereal buns decorated with miniature chocolate eggs. They’re so simple to make as grown-ups can take care of melting the chocolate, and kids can stir in the cereal and be in charge of decorating, making them almost as fun to make as they are to eat!

The snow doesn’t have to put a stop to the obligatory Easter egg hunt as you can hide the eggs around the house, or for an outdoor egg hunt simply conceal sweets such as jelly beans inside plastic eggs to keep them safe from the weather. Once all the eggs have been found, gather everyone together for a game of ‘Pin the Tail On the Easter Bunny’, or even set up a craft station so that everyone can make a pair of paper bunny ears, or decorate their very own hard-boiled eggs.

Don’t forget to give all of your guests a little something to take home with them as a reminder of your fun Easter party too, and if you’d really like your party bags to stand out, check out the great range of personalised gifts from Hallmark. Included in the range are delicious milk chocolate bars with wrappers that can be personalised with your special Easter message, and will be almost too lovely to eat!

Here are our shredded wheat easter cakes, we seem to have made hundreds so may of our friends and family will be receiving them wrapped with cellophane and tied with yellow ribbon. Hope you all have a lovely Easter xxx

Despite having my birthday in January I can't help but generally feel a bit dragged down by the post Christmas blues. I try to see it as a fresh new page and everything, but the biting wind and icy starts can't help but make me long for the cheerful Springtime. I was approached by Hallmark with some wonderful suggestions on how to make the january blues much more bearable.

Four Ways to Beat the January Blues

The weeks after Christmas can be tough on our spirits, and with the weather taking a turn for the worse the January blues could be set to stick around for a little longer than we’d like. But why should we put up with them? Here are four great ways to banish those blues without stretching your post-Christmas budget.

Go for a Swim

Many of us will have promised to improve our fitness in 2013 but gym memberships can be costly, and not everyone can spare the time, that’s why swimming is such a great activity. It’s a whole-body workout that’s also great for your mind, as the rhythmic strokes and immersion in the water help to relieve stress and increase feelings of positivity. And as if that’s not enough, a swimming session can cost less than hitting the gym so there’s no reason not to splash your way to happiness this January!

Hug it Out

It’s probably not a coincidence that International Hugging Day takes place in January; a day on which people across the world are encouraged to open up their arms and share a comforting cuddle with someone they love, or even a stranger! The event took place on the 21^st January, but it’s never too late for a hug, especially as cuddles have been found to release the bonding hormone Oxytocin which is also incredibly effective in improving your mood. So it’s time to hug your way to happiness!

Plan a Getaway

There’s a lot to be said for planning your summer holiday, or even just a weekend break, during the month of January. As well as giving yourself something exciting to look forward to during these short, snowy days, there are also lots of fantastic early-bird deals to be snapped up which is great news after a costly Christmas.

Make a Friend Smile

Happiness is infectious, so why not send a friend a special surprise....just because? A cheerful message inside a personalised card fromHallmark is sure to raise a smile, especially when paired with a little gift. There’s a great selection on the Hallmark website so head over to Hallmark nowto check out their range of personalised cards and personalised gifts. They’re guaranteed to make both you, and a friend, feel all warm and fuzzy inside!

Hope you're all enjoying January, what ways do you have for keeping positive?