Christmas Archives - She and Hem

So here it is, #MerryBristmas

Posted on 8 December, 2019 by She and Hem — No Comments ↓

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, also known as #merrybristmas. We are, once again, very fortunate indeed to partake in this brilliant annual campaign by Visit Bristol, which aims to promote the festive offerings in our fair city. Over the past couple of weeks we have been all over the place, throwing the girls into the festive season head first, to see where’s good to go with little ones this December.

Santa Steam Special at Avon Valley Railway

First up, it’s Santa on a Steam Train! What on earth could be better?! We wrapped up warm and headed to Avon Valley Railway in Bitton for a delightful trip in one of their beautiful vintage carriages. The atmosphere on the platform was lovely, with the Christmas tunes blaring out, tinsel agogo and even some little donkeys wearing festive attire. The dream.

We were treated to an hour long trip during which Santa came to visit us in our carriage. He was great with the kids and thankfully wasn’t phased when Poppy requested a helicopter for Christmas! I’m not sure how that’s going to fit down the chimney. There was also an opportunity to get off the train and have a photo with Santa but we decided it was a little too cold for Hattie – next year!

It’s not the cheapest of options when it comes to meeting Santa (although some dates are cheaper than others) but it was a real family experience and perfect for the train enthusiastic toddler! You’ll need to be quick if you want to book tickets as they are selling out fast. Book here!

Santa’s Grotto at Bristol Zoo

We always love a trip to Bristol Zoo so we were keen to take the girls to try out their Grotto experience. This is the first year they’ve really been able to partake in this sort of thing and it was a joy to see how excited they were by it all. We were greeted by some very cheerful Elves who invited us to do some festive arts & crafts, followed by writing and posting off our letters to Santa. The rooms were decorated beautifully and really added to the magic.

We were then led through to meet the main man himself who was so lovely and really engaged with the girls, asking them lots of questions and having a real giggle. The presents were great too, a cuddly lemur for P and a cuddly penguin for A. Perfectly on theme and meant we could go find the corresponding animals after! We also liked, as the eco-conscious Santa explained, that the presents were wrapped using brown paper as it can be recycled after. Good work, Bristol Zoo!

You can book your own Grotto experience here! All money raised from the Santa’s Grotto events will contribute to BCWEZSL’s charitable objectives and it’s running until December 23rd.

Winter Wonderland at Wookey Hole

Uhoh, Rudolph has taken a wrong turn and ended up down in the caves at Wookey Hole! Time to grab your glow sticks and go on a Christmas trip that’s a little different.

We loved exploring the caves and encountering touches of Christmas at every turn was pretty darn cool. There was even a chance to dance to some Christmas music in one of the chambers! We were slightly apprehensive about taking a toddler and newborn on a 45 minute tour in the dark but they both loved it (well Poppy did, Hattie slept through the whole thing – win). It’s worth noting that the caves, unsuprisingly aren’t buggy friendly so you will need a sling, and if you want to buy a glow stick you will need £2 in cash.

If you visit on the weekend, there’s also a Christmas circus show, 4D cinema experience and the opportunity to visit their own Santa’s Grotto. If, like us, you visit in the week there’s still plenty to see and do! Poppy loved the soft play, animatronic dinosaurs and the vintage penny arcades.

See what’s on offer at Wookey Hole here!

Christmas at Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm

Christmas at Noah’s Ark is a very green affair, with all their decorations made from recycled materials, the lights are eco-friendly and there’s even a Christmas scene created from unwanted items. What a wonderful way to spread Christmas cheer.

We visited on a very quiet day and the girls had an absolutely fabulous time running riot in their ginormous soft play and play barn. If you haven’t been, it’s fantastic and I think the parents had just as much fun as the kids!

We also really enjoyed strolling round meeting the animals, with the elephants and giraffes proving the most popular with the toddlers. They were amazed!

If you fancy visiting Noah’s Ark this festive season, they are allowing visitors to feed the Reindeer for free on Saturdays at 3pm. Check out the website for more details and to see their other Christmas events.

So, those are our highlights for this year but there’s so much on offer in Bristol this Christmas! Let us know your highlights in the comments as it’s only the beginning of December and we’ve already set the bar pretty high for the girls!

J&V x

#merrybristmas

We were kindly gifted entry to all the above attractions as part of a campaign with Visit Bristol but all words and opinions are our own.

Festive Forest at SouthGate, Bath

Posted on 28 December, 2018 by She and Hem — No Comments ↓

We were kindly invited by SouthGate Bath to come and check out their Festive Forest Christmas installation. Now If you’ve been reading our blog for a while, you will know how much we love a little visit to Bath. It’s the most beautiful city at all times of the year but it really comes into its own at Christmas.

If you aren’t familiar with Bath at all, the SouthGate is a relatively new addition (it has been open since 2010 which makes me feel super old, I can tell you) and a lot of hard work went into making sure this newcomer blended perfectly with the Georgian architecture that makes Bath so beautiful. They totally nailed it and now, as you walk around, you’d honestly think it had always been there. As someone that grew up here, I know how much life SouthGate has injected into what was once a very tired area of Bath. There’s just so much to do with so many great restaurants and shops. Plus, there’s a fabulous brand new boutique cinema, Tivoli, that we can’t wait to visit!

So what of the Festive Forest, I hear you cry! Well, it’s really rather magical and you can see that a lot of thought has gone into making your time in SouthGate feel that little bit more special. They have gone for a Narnia inspired vibe, complete with a ‘magical wardrobe’ to walk through. Guests are greeted by a veritable winter woodland playground, with life-sized animals, twinkly trees and a giant snow globe in which to frolic. It’s rather lovely and it even snows every half an hour! We saw a lot of stunned children (and adults) who weren’t expecting a flurry.

In a complete stroke of genius, they have dotted heated cosy cabins around the plaza, complete with cushions and blankets. You don’t have to pay to use them, you can simply plonk yourself down in one, should you need a break from all that Christmas shopping! Or, if you fancy, you can do what we did and grab a hot chocolate form the Nordic Delights bar, then snuggle on down! They have proved to be really popular with a nice mix of families, students, and workers taking full advantage of the warmth!

After all that frivolity, we were spoiled for choice as to where to eat! We plumped for Thaikhun, a thai streetfood restuarant that has incredible decor. The food was excellent and we will definitely be heading back to sample some more of their dishes.

The Festive Forest is on until January 7th, let us know if you go!

J&V

This post was written in collaboration with SouthGate Bath. All opinions are our own.

Festive Prints with Emily and Fin

Posted on 6 December, 2016 by She and Hem — 1 Comment ↓

Festive Prints with Emily and Fin Ding Dong Merrily on High! The festive season is truly well upon us and, here at She and Hem, we strongly believe Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a novelty print or two to swan around in! Thankfully for us, we’ve teamed up once again with our faves Emily and Fin to style a couple of their seasonal showstoppers! Merry Christmas indeed!

Victoria is wearing the totally gorgeous Swiss Chalets Print* which features a sumptuous ski scene set in the mountains of Switzerland. The perfect retro winter wonderland! It looks super cute and the lovely blue and green shades really make it pop. The dress is available in two styles, with Victoria opting for the sleeveless ‘Penny’ which has a flattering fitted bodice and semi-full mid-calf length skirt. She teamed it with as many glittery accessories as possible, including a gold belt from Dorothy Perkins, sparkly polka dot tights from Topshop and glittery black pom pom pumps from Kaleidoscope*. Not a salopette in sight!

I had been eyeing up the beautiful Ornamental Lights Print* since I first spied it back in the Summer! I knew it was going to be the perfect Christmas print and oh boy was it worth the wait! Who doesn’t want to be festooned with festoon lights during the festive period?! It’s such a fabulous print and the colours of those delightfully decorative lights really work nicely against the cool grey colour of the dress. Again, this dress is available in two different styles (plus a top and some incredible pyjamas!) with this being the ‘Lucy’. I always love the ‘Lucy’ shape as the A-line shape is just so easy to wear and lends itself nicely to twirling. I styled my dress with some super duper shimmery tights from UKTights* and some gold flats from ASOS (similar here)

I should also add that we both sized up at least once for these dresses as we are now, drum roll please, 38 and 32 weeks pregnant! Can you believe it? I think these frocks do quite the excellent job of disguising the massive bumps! If you’re not epicly pregnant then these dresses do run true to size.

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Loving your work as always, Emily and Fin!

J&Vx

Chevron Stripes and Snow Scenes

Posted on 18 November, 2016 by She and Hem — No Comments ↓

Chevron Stripes and Snow Scenes | She and Hem | Aspire Style

When Aspire Style got in touch to ask if we’d like to style a few pieces from their ‘New In‘ section, we were a little nervous. Not because we didn’t think there would be anything that we liked, but because we were concerned we wouldn’t be able to fit into anything! These bumps are getting out of hand! How wrong we were though, as our favourite maternity fashion hack (sizing up) worked a treat.

Jo’s chevron stripe shift dress* by Closet is so striking, it’s a must for any chevron fan. Keen readers may have also spotted that it fits all of She and Hem’s dream dress requirements; it’s a good lentgh, has cute sleeves and most importantly…pockets! Dreamy. Jo kept her styling simple with black Boden boots* and spotty grey tights* from UK Tights. I picked the adorable Julita snow dress* by Louche in the hope that I’ll be able to squeeze into it a few more times over the festive period. With its Christmas trees, deer and snowflakes, it could just be the perfect Christmas print! I would say it hits the right balance between twee and subtle, but then again, during they festive period, I think anything goes. Next time Louche, plonk some candy canes on it will ya?

Whilst browsing Aspire, I spotted that fabulous pink fluffy jumper* by Yumi. Now, while I’m not usually a huge fan of pink (it doesn’t really get my party started), I felt like it had to be mine. Thanks to the loose fit, I’ve recently been layering it over a maternity top and teaming it with jeans and boots, and boy oh boy it’s like a big, warm hug. As we shot this on quite a chilly day, I wore some thick maternity tights* from UK Tights and blue Boden boots* (similar here).

Chevron Stripes and Snow Scenes | She and Hem | Aspire Style

Have you spotted any festive pieces that take your fancy?

V&Jx

New YouTube Video: Makeup Challenge + Christmas Q&A

Posted on 21 December, 2015 by She and Hem — No Comments ↓

We’ve taken on the no mirror makeup challenge! WARNING: This video contains potentially upsetting images of our faces without makeup.

Don’t forget to comment and subscribe…let’s be YouTube friends!

J&V

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Boden Christmas Partywear

Posted on 20 November, 2015 by She and Hem — 4 Comments ↓

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Boden Christmas Partywear | She and Hem

It’s time to crack out the party poppers and dust off those dancing shoes as the festive period is upon us (OK, it’s nearly upon us) and we flippin’ love any excuse to dress up all fancy! Despite having absolutely no friends (pictured), that didn’t stop us from popping to one of our favourite local haunts, Cox and Baloney, to hang out in their party room. With an abundance of vintage crockery and more sequins than you can shake a stick made of sequins at, we were truly in our element.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Boden Christmas Partywear | She and Hem

But what of the clothes we hear you cry! Well, no surprises here but we are rocking partywear from our faves Boden, who somehow manage to just keep getting better and better.

I (Jo) have embraced a blue Christmas with the stunning Blue Floral Vintage Party Dress* that I fell in love with at the AW15 Press Day earlier in the year. It’s everything I love, with a classic fifties cut, a wool and silk mix that makes it all shiny, a pretty print and, the cherry on the ~~cake~~ dress, a bow! So pretty! I teamed it with the Jewelled Clutch in Navy Fur which somehow manages to be sparkly AND strokeable! It’s sort of like carrying around a particularly bling cat but one you can store your phone and lipstick in and more. Seriously, it’s pretty roomy. Shoe wise, I couldn’t resist the Embellished Mary Jane’s in Vintage Blue Velvet*. They are the perfect party shoe and their vintage charm perfectly complements the dress. They are also, like all Boden shoes I have ever worn, insanely comfy and easy to walk in.

Victoria also pumped for the dress she fell in love with earlier in the year (we are dress loyal) with the oh-so-stunning Gold Metallic Luxe Lace Dress*. This is a proper showstopper of a vintage princess party dress with the most beautiful lace detailing. The full skirt had Victoria in a constant state of twirling and those sleeves are something else! The shoes, oh the shoes, are the Audbrey Bow Flats in Pewter Glitter* and they are so sparkly it’s a miracle a magpie didn’t fly in to try and steal them. The pointed front makes them ever so flattering (and party appropriate!) and just in case you hadn’t spotted, there is a massive bronze bow on the front for good measure.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Boden Christmas Partywear | She and Hem

What a pair of absolute party animals!

J&V

A big thank you to Cox and Baloney for letting us use their stunning party room (fellow Bristolians, please visit them! Eat their cake! Drink their tea! Have your parties there!) and also to Boden, who this post is in collaboration with, for providing us with the most beautiful clothes, shoes and bags two girls could wish for of a Christmas.