1st Christmas Gift Ideas...

A baby's first Christmas is an important event - and needs a meaningful and thoughtful keepsake to mark it. There's a whole range of lovely gift ideas available at PhotoFairytales this Christmas, here's some suggestions for you:

1: Ticket to Parenthood, £17.50 - perfect for new parents this Christmas, fully personalised and in a choice of frames (last orders for Christmas: December 13th)

2: Handpainted Personalised Plates, £21.50 - 12 beautiful designs to choose from, including 4 gorgeous Christmas themes (last orders for Christmas: December 13th)

3: Fantasy Portraits, around £10 - beautiful bespoke images created from your ordinary photo, over 100 designs to choose from (last orders for Christmas: artwork only December 17th, artwork with prints December 15th)

4: Personalised Baby Board Books, from £10.95 - stunning books created to order featuring your own photos and words, 6 designs to choose from (last orders for Christmas: December 10th)

5: Personalised Canvas Prints, from £15 - big range of designs available, perfect for the new nursery! (last orders for Christmas: December 13th)

6: Meaning of Name Prints, £17.50 - bespoke prints available in a range of designs and choice of frame finishes, ideal Christening gift too (last orders for Christmas: December 13th)

7: Handmade Personalised Albums & Keepsake Books, £23.99 - a range of lovely designs available, including "Baby's 1st Christmas", perfect for storing Christmas memories (last orders for Christmas: December 9th)

8: Family Tree Prints, £22 - perfect for new parents and grandparents, featuring up to 3 generations and 25 names, available in a choice of frames (last orders for Christmas: December 13th)

Click here to have a browse around the PhotoFairytales site and discover even more gorgeous Christmas gifts!

Sarah x

Slummy Mummy at Christmas

Things have definitely cranked up a notch at PhotoFairytales Towers with the steady approach of Christmas. I can tell things have got busy, not solely because orders are pinging in at a rate of knots but also because of the following tell tale signs:

1: My daughter had to eat her breakfast this morning with a soup spoon (it seemed the best choice over a tablespoon or teaspoon), because I haven’t had time to load/unload the dishwasher.

2: We are having to use kitchen roll as toilet paper because I haven’t had time to do the big shop.

3: The carpet in the living room has gone from a nice oatmeal beige to a nice oatmeal beige with black hairy divots (haven’t had time to hoover or brush the dog).

4: I’m typing this while constantly having to go “phrffphh” to keep the fringe out my eyes because I haven’t had time to make an appointment to get it cut (hence the picture - which is quite true to life).

5: Every time I get an order in which is obviously for a Christmas present I feel a burst of anxiety because I haven’t had time to think about my own Christmas shopping yet.

So now you know I shouldn’t even be sitting here doing this blog - I should be finishing off orders whilst hoovering. Trouble is, I’m not sure even my (usually) stupendous multi-tasking skills are going to help. I may have to dig out my Wonder Woman costume - problem is, its in the wash - or possibly the ironing basket. One of those anyway…

How are you coping? Got everything organised? Do please leave a comment - but if you are one of those super-organised types please try not to sound too smug. I may cry!

Sarah x

PhotoFairytales is an Award Winning Site!

And now for a bit of blatant showing off (sorry!).... This is a snippet of an email that has just arrived in my inbox:

"I am happy to inform you that your website was scored by three professionals within the online industry, and based on the criteria provided to them by Mumpreneur UK your website was scored as a Gold Award Winning Website!"

Mumpreneur UK is a support network for mums in business, offering advice, support, conferences and resources to parents in business. They say:

"Having worked our way through hundreds of websites during The Mumpreneur Award judging, it became very clear that there are so many mumpreneurs out there with fabulous websites! We want to ensure that these sites are rewarded, and that their customers can see that their high standard is being recognised. We're looking to acknowledge mumpreneurs who have realised the importance of getting your business online, and doing it well!"

The criteria used to judge a website are:

• The website should be visually pleasing
• The website should be easy to navigate
• Ecommerce sites should include a simple payment process
• The website should be clear and easy to understand
• The website should include ample information about the products/services provided

How chuffed am I?!! So now, when you meet me you'll understand why I'm going around humming a certain Spandau Ballet song...

Gold! Always believe in your soul, you've got the power to know you're indestructible, always believe in.... Because you are GOLD! Dum de dee dum de doo....

Sarah x

Brand New: Hand Painted Personalised Plates!

Brand new today! These gorgeous plates are hand painted individually to order, and can be fully personalised with your chosen name, dates or message...

From Mince Pie plates and Baby's 1st Christmas plates, to weddings, anniversaries, christenings and special birthdays - there are 12 designs to choose from to suit many different occasions.

Now available at PhotoFairytales, these stunning 23cm plates are created individually to order by a family run UK business, and are truly unique keepsake gifts. Only £21.50 which includes UK delivery. Orders for delivery in time for Christmas need to be placed by 13th December.

These plates are absolutely adorable, and I hope you'll like them too!

Sarah x

They're here... Letters from Santa now on sale!!

I'm so pleased to let you know that the personalised Letters from Santa have just gone on sale - as ever, they're fantastic value at only £5.95 including delivery, and they include 4 great gifts and a hand signed certificate too!

This is the third year that I've sold these letters, and for the last two years they completely sold out so I have high hopes for them this year too - especially as I'm going to donate 50p for each letter sold to Action for Children, a UK charity that works with children and families to tackle issues such as neglect and abuse.

Each letter is created individually (they're not just generated by a computer programme like most letters you see), and they are also hand signed in ink by Santa himself! He prints all his letters on lovely parchment style paper, and pops everything into a jolly big red envelope (along with a few sparkly sprinkles from his workshop) - he even handwrites the address on the envelope for you too. They make a fantastic surprise for any little girl or boy in the lead up to Christmas. All the letters are posted in December so that they arrive close to the big day, and the gifts inside will certainly keep little ones busy!

If you ordered a letter last year, don't worry because Santa always varies his letters from year to year. And if you have siblings and need more than one letter, each one will be slightly different (because it would be odd if Santa wrote identical letters to both children, wouldn't it?!). The letters are packed with detail, and no child will be left in doubt about whether Father Christmas truly exists after reading one!

Reserve your letter now before they sell out - you can find out more by just clicking here.

Ho, ho, ho!

Sarah x