A book at bedtime is the tried-and-tested method of sending reluctant sleepers off to the land of nod. Not only can it lull the reader (and listener) into a blissful slumber and liven up their dreams, but a recent study has also shown that it can help reduce stress levels by up to 78%! 

Whether you’re reading to soothe the minds and bodies of restless little ones or for your own personal pleasure, the five titles below have been specifically chosen to appeal to young and old bookworms. What’s more, they’re all part of a series, meaning the night-time escapology can go on for even longer.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Who isn’t familiar with Lewis Carroll’s classic tale of rabbit holes, Mad Hatters and vengeful queens? The colourful characters and exciting action scenes which populate Wonderland are sure to keep younger audiences enraptured, while older readers will appreciate the witty wordplay found in Jabberwocky (and throughout the rest of the book, as well).

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl is an expert at creating masterful children’s tales, from The BFG to James and the Giant Peach and everything in between, so it was difficult to select just one title that is most apt for bedtime consumption. However, the magic of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory and the essential moral lessons therein make it the stand-out choice.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J K Rowling
Something of a new kid on the block in comparison to the older hands on this list, Harry Potter has already firmly established himself as a classic hero of literature for both children and adults. In fact, the boy even has his own Warner Bros Studio Tour dedicated to bringing his universe to life. Those who enjoy dreaming about Harry, Hermione and Ron’s exploits will love escaping to the wizarding world come bedtime.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C S Lewis
Though it began as a parable for Christianity, C S Lewis’s Narnia series is an important work of fiction for avid readers of any faith or creed. Indeed, the wardrobe, which acts as a doorway into the magical world, could be seen as a metaphor for the transition between wakefulness and sleep, allowing readers to take their favourite characters with them into the land of nod.

The Hobbit by J R R Tolkien
It was actually C S Lewis who encouraged his good friend J R R Tolkien to turn the bedtime stories he had been reading to his son John into published works of fiction. The end result? The Hobbit. If that doesn’t endorse this harum-scarum rollercoaster of a novel as quality bedside fodder, what will? Of course, after the publication of The Hobbit, Tolkien’s publisher returned to him with a request that he pen a sequel aimed more at an adult audience… and the rest, as they say, is history.

Now that the New Year is here it is the ideal time for us to start looking at some great gifts we can give to our children. Little girls can be imaginative souls and they often have lots of different hobbies which they can enjoy through their childhood.

New Clothes
For any little princess a great gift for a special birthday could be clothes. There are lots of fun outfits and dresses online at places such as www.lucbauer.com which you can buy for your child that they will love. Every little girl enjoys looking good and dressing up so this could be a good opportunity to do this for them on their special day.

Art Supplies
If you have a child who is always drawing and painting in their spare time, it can be a great idea to get them some art supplies they can use daily to create new pieces and have fun. Paints and paper are the obvious choices and you can also invest in some fun canvases and even an easel so that your child can feel like a real artist at work. You can even join in on the fun and have an arts and crafts day with your child to make the most of it.

A Trip Away
Disneyland… the beach… the park; anywhere in the world is your oyster and your little girl would just love to be able to go away somewhere on their birthday. A birthday is the best time of year to treat your child and if they have always wanted to either go somewhere or experience something special, this is the time to do it. Make sure to keep an eye out on sites such as wowcher and groupon for offers on getaways.

A Houseplant
If your little girl is starting to grow up a little bit and she is acting more like a mini woman, you can give her a gift which can actually make her feel like an adult and give her some fun responsibility. A houseplant such as a succulent can be a good choice for a gift because they are relatively easy to keep alive however it will be something which your child can enjoy playing around with. They will feel as if they are doing something important and this can make them feel incredibly special.

New Toys
Who doesn’t love new toys? If your son has a specific set of dolls, race cars or superheroes she loves… now is the ideal time to get her a set of new toys to play with. Kids have amazing imaginations so they can do almost anything with just a few simple toys. Even one doll or a race at could keep her occupied for days and days!

Over the last year or so, the mythical vision of self-employed people wandering about at home, in PJs, sipping coffee and admiring the garden, has been well and truly busted.

Running or working a business is hard, involving long hours and a high degree of self-discipline. Especially when the sun is shining and there’s no boss breathing down your neck.

That’s not to say it’s an unrewarding, never-ending grind. Far from it. It can be exciting, liberating and very satisfying. But you’re wearing a lot of hats, and one of the hardest ones to keep in place is the need to watch your profitability.

Here are four solid ways to manage your profit levels, and even give them an uplift.

2: Revisit Your Pricing Strategy

If fewer customers are paying more money, you will benefit in time saved as you’ll effectively be doing less work. Raising prices can be challenging but, statistically speaking, a small increase won’t put off the clients or customers who appreciate your work or service.

Don’t be tempted to join the ‘rush to the bottom’ by constantly trying to undercut your competition. There will always be people charging less, and people charging more. Your key to profit is grasping the value of your product or service and charging appropriately.

This means something different to everyone, but most of us don’t start a business with the aim of growing poorer. So, look at your pricing structure, and if you’re due an uplift (especially if your costs of doing business have risen) adjust your prices accordingly.

3: Increase Your Efficiency

People often see this as meaning they have to work harder or longer hours. It’s not always the case, though. Sometimes, it’s a way of freeing up time spent on tasks that don’t directly bring in money so you can do a bit more of the stuff that does.

Whether you’re selling through auction sites or popular handmade goods sites, online retailers could increase efficiency with dedicated business storage. Performing all operations from one central base saves the time you’d spend moving items or travelling between stock and office or computer.

Here’s another example: if you run a service that involves personal appointments, say as a nail technician or a hairdresser, could you install a booking system on your website so you don’t spend as long answering the phone and manually entering appointments into your diary/schedule?

Such a system would also benefit customers since if they suddenly feel a strong need at midnight to get their hair done, they can go online and book a slot with you then.

Meanwhile, you get to see more customers, bringing in more profit.

4: Lower Your Overheads

Are you paying too much for your business premises? There are ways to spend less on rent while increasing efficiency.

If you rent an office and your contract is coming up for renewal, or if you’re expanding and looking for affordable business premises, consider investigating flexible offices.

It’s a relatively new concept that reduces many of the expenses involved in traditional business rentals while maintaining services and standards.

You can choose an office size to suit, and you’ll have a professional, secure, and private space in a convenient location on a rolling monthly contract.

Even if you work from home, you could be paying too much if you’re not claiming all your allowed expenses against income tax. Your accountant or just the HMRC website can advise on which expenses (and how much) you can claim.

4: Use Your Accounts

If you have an accountant, ask him or her to advise on how you can cut costs or improve on your money management.

Accountants see all kinds of business accounting every day, and they understand the finer details of how money works in business. Whether you’re a tiny one-man/woman band, or you run a busy operation with several employees, your finance records hold a wealth of information you can use to determine where you’re making profit, where you’re losing money, and how to tighten your purse strings.

If you do your own accounts, use your figures to perform your own analysis. You can sort spending and income into categories to get a broad picture of how money flows through your business and, from there, devise a strategy to make it work better.

Cruises and chocolate – probably two of my favourite things after you count my husband and children, and last weekend I got to enjoy a taste of both when Carnival Cruises took my family plus their other blogger ambassadors to Cadbury World!

Santa show at Cadbury World

Our day at Cadbury World started off at a Santa show where my children saw the big guy do some magic and give them a cuddly toy treat on the way out, then we were off to the 4D cinema for a Chocolate Adventure production. This cinematic show came complete with smells, sounds and movement and was so real that it had us reaching for the virtual chocolate bars as if they were right in front of us! My favourite part of that experience was being in the moving seats as the screen showed us climbing a rollercoaster and the seat shuddered with each twist and turn as if we were really riding it!

Next summer onboard Carnival’s newest ship, Vista we will also be able to experience a 4D cinematic adventure at their Thrill Theatre. We will be amongst the movie goers to be part of the action at the multi dimensional screenings – approximately eleven different shows are running that are 25-20 minutes in length. The theatre combines a high definition 4D projection system with elements such as squirting water and bubbles and we may find our legs tickled, air blown on our necks and seat movement too with their original special effects! With the 4D glasses they provide, it will be a truly immersive movie-going experience.

After our 4D cinema at Cadbury World, we enjoyed a coffee in the restaurant while the children played on the climbing frames and slides in the play area. Then we went off to the panto! Having been on several cruises in the past, one of the things I am looking forward to is the children’ club facilities onboard Vista.

Camp Ocean is their children’s programme, running activities and purpose-built areas for children from age 2 up to the dedicated space in Club O2 for 25-27-year-old teenagers! My children due to a 5 year age gap between them always end up in separate areas but they easily make new friends and enjoy the activities on offer such as video gaming consoles, dance parties, late night movie screenings and arts and crafts. My husband and I find that we regularly have the chance to enjoy a coffee or a pint together in the various bars and cafes onboard whilst our children are well looked after and entertained elsewhere. They always say they can’t wait until children club opens so they can return to their new mates and we find that we can enjoy some couples time – which rarely happens on a land based holiday!

The Cadbury World panto this year is Sleeping Beauty and we got a great seat in the marquee to enjoy the action! There was boo-ing of the evil queen and cheering for everyone else whilst all the children enjoyed shouting out “It’s behind you!” whenever the ghost appeared! Other than a panto, most stage productions are a passive event that you watch and appreciate. Still, Carnival have thought outside the box on this one, too and onboard, Vista will have its very own theatre production company, Playlist Productions. We’ll be able to watch them perform 4-4 times whilst we are on our 8 night cruise in August and what makes this company different is the blend of high energy live performances with special effects and staging on towering LED screens creating a full blown musical theatre production at sea! When was the last time you got up and danced at the theatre? This is what Carnival aims for us all to be doing through Playlist Productions’ spectacular staging as pro singers and dancers rock the place!

Carnival’s Onboard Theatre Company Playlist Productions

Some of the events that Playlist Productions perform include a show called ‘80s Pop to the Max‘ which is a day-glo and Spandex treat of music hits from the 80s featuring pop-rock from the likes of Duran Duran and Cyndi Lauper to the smooth soul of Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson! There is also ‘Disco Fever‘, some 70s tracks to dance the night away to and ‘The Brits‘ – a tribute to British bands like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who! We may not be able to catch these exact shows on our cruise – the line up of 9 different shows is performed across the whole Carnival fleet, but we are sure to get one or two shows on our cruise to have us grooving in our seats! On Vista, the shows will be carried out in the Liquid Lounge… Sounds like a ‘party’ kind of a venue!

Carnival has 24 ships in its fleet and works to deliver a varied and exciting entertainment package on all of them. They have recently announced their 2024 Carnival LIVE line up of big name live acts such as Journey; Gladys Knight and KC & The Sunshine Band! These are for ships that will be docked in 8 US homeports, so not on Vista when we are sailing, but if you love live acts and cruising holidays, it’s worth checking out this entertainment option! Carnival LIVE listings and ships can be found at the Carnival website.

Back at Cadbury World after our pantomime and lunch, we went on the main exhibition tour, which took us through the Aztec jungle, told us the Cadbury story, and treated us to a ride on Cadabra, their in-house ride, before allowing us to watch the chocolate making in action!

Sampling the liquid chocolate on the Cadbury factory tour!

Throughout the tour we were given chocolate bars to munch on the way round, but I brought loads home as we couldn’t eat it all! We visited the Cadbury shop too whilst were were there and stocked up on some Christmas stocking fillers – the children were excited at all the sweet stuff on sale, so I daren’t even tell them about ‘Cherry On Top‘ which is a ‘sweets and more’ candy store on Vista. There, they will be able to eat pick ‘n’ mix to their heart’s content, plus try ice cream at the in-house parlour with a choice of toppings to make it their way! I’m certainly glad that I’ll be able to drop them back off at Camp Ocean again after they eat it so they can run off some of that sugar-rush energy!!

We left Cadbury World that day excited, tired but happy and having had a wonderful day as a family. It is exactly how I imagine we will be after our experience onboard Vista next year, which we are all looking forward to. From Cadbury World I went home with enough chocolate to see us well into the New Year, who doesn’t love a bit of chocolate as a treat? They have a similar approach on Vista – you are treated to chocolate on your pillow every night whilst onboard when the room porter prepares your bed for the night!

For their cute toes!

New baby hosiery brand Petites Pattes has this adorable gift set that is perfect for a couple’s first baby. In the box is a trio of designer socks; one for mother my, one for daddy and the last for the new baby. If this reminds you a bit of Goldilocks, it is! So enjoy this cute idea’s fairy tale and the little face design! They also do some baby gift sets which have 4 pairs of the sweetest baby socks presented in an elegant gift box. 

Kids’ tableware

Another fairy tale-inspired gift is a ceramic tableware gift set from the modern children’ lifestyle brand JJ-Moly. Don’t let buying ceramic for babies fool you – this brand is designed and created in the UK using local earthenware clay – the strongest and hand-decorated material. Whilst the gift set is suitable for toddlers, the gifts are lovely enough to make an unusual baby present that the parents can save until junior starts weaning. These products also reminded me of Goldilocks and her porridge, but there’s nothing twee about this set – it’s modern-led design all the way! The Robin Buttersun Giftset pictured costs £48 and features a mug and ceramic bowl from www.ana-moly.co.uk

Date Night In

Unique gift company Buy Her Flowers brings together various gift ideas for all occasions as an antidote to the traditional floral bouquet. However lovely flowers are, sometimes you just want to do something a bit different and these gift sets will show that you’ve put a lot of thought into your offering. Perfect for a newborn baby, this date night gift set is a lovely idea for mother and dad – to pamper them a little, especially as they’ll have plenty of long nights in at home ahead of them. The new baby will get plenty of gifts from well wishes so this is just for them! The Date Night In kit costs £29.50.

Personalised Jewellery

Jewellery makes an attractive gift for any occasion, and if you have a stylish new mother in your life, she’ll love this personalised open-disc bracelet from Merci Law. The bracelet can be engraved with the child’s name and date of birth to make a timeless gift that she can wear constantly and treasure forever! The design pictured is the Mother’s Personalised 28K Gold Plated Eternity Bracelet costing £49 but there are many styles to choose.

You’ve got your own business, and you’re very happy with your independent and self-driven career.

Whether you’re a freelancer getting comfortable in your niche, or you’ve innovated a product that’s proving some new things to the world, you’re standing on your own two feet and making a profit, and you’re showing the world just how capable you are at doing it.

Of course, you can use your phone to try and get ahead, but a lot of us rely on our computers to get the work done. Even when you’re travelling and working, a laptop is key to keeping on top of your career!

A Lot of Us Have Backup Disasters
If you’re good at what you do, you keep copies, create a paper trail in case of an accident, and always update the backups of files on your phone and your computer.

But that doesn’t mean you’re always able to avoid backup disasters. Say your iPhone has just updated after months of using an old OS, or you’ve staved off the major OS updates your Apple Mac needs to go through. There’s a good chance that much of your software and your files won’t be compatible once you update. They’ll be hard to access, and even harder to recover, and you can lose a couple of days of business as you try to sort the problem out.

So, at the end of each working day, you need to check for system updates and go through them as they come. Similarly, try to use some kind of cloud storage, such as Google Drive, instead of relying solely on your system storage. And make sure you know how to create a new ID; something like creating an Apple account—Setapp can walk you through how.

Always Look for a Cause
If your computer is experiencing technological troubles, make sure you address the cause of the troubles, not just the symptoms. Your computer is slow, yes, and you can clear out your temporary and duplicate files for a quick solution. But there’s a good chance it will slow right down again in a couple of days—this is all because you need to get down to the root of the problem.

Is there an application that duplicates its files repeatedly? Do you have a virus? Are you overloading your storage? Maybe you need to install an SSD. Go through your system and have a look.

Everyone has different needs and preferences in every area of life.

This extends to our fitness and health regimes. Now, everyone must do what they can to build their fitness and remain as fit as possible for as long as possible. But this is also an area where we can let our guard down and quickly find that it’s been months since we had a proper workout. We let work get in the way.

Know Your Goals

First, you need to know what you’re aiming for with your fitness plan. This will give you a goal to strive towards and will also mean you can create milestones, track and measure your progress and ultimately do what you set out to achieve. Whether this is simply hitting your recommended 250 minutes of exercise a week, losing a set amount of weight, building a set amount of muscle, increasing your stamina, maximising your flexibility or building a specific physical skill, you need to know what you’re aiming for to get there.

Use a Personal Trainer

Using a personal trainer can be a great first step. An in-person trainer or Online Coach Pandy can help you to know what you need to do to hit your goals. Your trainer will consider your goals and come up with a tailored plan to guide you through the process of achieving them. This could involve telling you what forms of exercise to practice, how to practice them, how to use machinery or equipment that can help, and so much more. Having a personal trainer on board also encourages you to actually turn up to your workouts. After all, you’ll be wasting your money if you don’t.

Team Up

Hate working out alone? Team up with someone who has a similar ability and wants to lead a healthier lifestyle. This will give you a workout buddy and you’re much more likely to turn up if you know you’re letting someone down by giving your workout a miss. Having a social element to exercise also helps to make it more enjoyable. Whether you join a sports team, go for a weekly walk with friends where you can chat en route or anything else, teaming up really can help your journey.

Consider Different Types of Exercise

It’s important to remember that there are countless types of exercise for you to engage with. Sure, the gym may be the first port of call that jumps to people’s minds – and there are great benefits from using the gym. When you attend the gym, you’re in a temperature-controlled environment, away from other people outside of the gym and with direct access to all of the machinery and equipment you need for a good, full-body workout. But there are alternatives for those who don’t enjoy this kind of environment. Enjoy the outdoors? Why not walk, jog or hike? Enjoy the wind in your hair? Try cycling (with a helmet, of course). Do you like to feel the rhythm? Dance classes could be better suited to you. Want to spend time in the water? Swimming could suit your needs. Rollerskating, fencing, martial arts, ball games, pole fitness… the potential is endless.

Go Easy On Yourself

When you dive back into exercise, you can quickly become all or nothing with your efforts. But things don’t have to be this way. It’s much better to do some exercise regularly than to stick to a rigorous workout plan for a couple of weeks, burn out and not return to your plan for months.

Keep Up the Effort

Fitness isn’t something you can achieve and tick off your to-do list. It will be an ongoing effort for the rest of your life. There isn’t a point when someone no longer needs exercise. So, even when you hit your goal, set new goals and keep up the effort! You don’t necessarily need to up the ante every time. As long as you’re being consistent, everything should be positive.

If you have grown tired of your surroundings, it is certainly time to revitalise your home. After all, we see the same walls and floors every day, and so it is only natural that we get a bit bored of this after time. However, the trouble is that changes can cost a lot of money—money which most of us don’t have to spare. 

Grab a paintbrush – There is only one place to begin, and this is by grabbing a paintbrush and adding some colour to your home. This is one of the easiest ways to make a big difference. Plus, there are so many things you can do with paint. You could add an accent wall to a room, you could use wall stencils to paint a particular pattern, or you could paint all of the walls in a completely different shade. The choice is yours, but one thing is for certain: paint will give any room a fresh feel.

Change the flooring – Many people assume that changing the flooring in their home will cost a small fortune. But this is certainly not the case. You can turn to the likes of cheap laminate flooring by Factory Direct Flooring to save money while still improving your property in the process. If you currently have dull and dated carpets, it is time for a change. Not only will laminate flooring give your house a modern vibe, but it will also be much easier to maintain, which is great news for you.

Replace hardware and fixtures – You can breathe some new life into your home with new cabinet hardware, faucets, and light fixtures. This requires minimal effort but it makes a big different. Such cosmetic changes are purse-friendly because you are only going to be paying for a new cabinet knob or handle, for example, but it will look like you have purchased a new cabinet entirely.

Accessorise—Last but not least, master the art of accessorising to give your home a fresh feel. Why not add a pop of colour, scatter cushions, and a new throw? Why not breathe some fresh life and add a touch of nature to your property with some indoor plants? Small changes like this have a much bigger impact than most people realise.

As you can see, there are a number of different changes you can make around the home that will make a big difference without costing you a fortune. From changing the flooring to adding small touches that will give your property a new feel and personality, hopefully, you now have all of the suggestions you need to make a big change to your property with undertaking a big expense.

Date night is practically every night before you have children, all those evenings spent at the cinema or bar. Weekends away together and lazy Sunday mornings in bed with the papers and a pot of coffee. Once you start a family, it is harder to get alone time together but it’s important to try so you keep that spark for each other alive.

If you struggle to get together for a regular date night because you don’t have a babysitter, here are a few ways to create that date night experience at home… After the children are in bed!

Pamper Yourself.

My best tip is to schedule a particular night—put it in the diary so it happens. The anticipation of the night may have you smiling secretly to yourself all day! Click on the image above to see a post I curated for MODE featuring recipe ideas, entertainment options, and some how-to’s to get your at-home date night to go with a bang!

“No babysitter, no problem!”
Ways to have a date night at home! – Tweet this

Tweet: “No babysitter, no problem!” How to have a date night at home: https://ctt.ec/fDzKb+ #datenight

What are your strategies for having a date night with your spouse? Let me know in the comments. One reader devotes one night a week to teeth whitening.

Is this something you have tried. Many people mention boutique whitening, is that a think. Post a comment or send an email to [email protected]. I found some glowing reviews here from Yummy Surrey Mums!

What you need to know before undergoing body contouring or fat reduction treatments

It’s a brand new year, and for many people, that represents a time to get in shape. If you’re considering body contouring treatments in 2019 but haven’t made your mind up yet, today’s blog is designed to help you.

At Global Health and Beauty Clinic in London, we offer fat reduction and skin tightening treatments to ensure you look as good as you feel. Patients visit us from across the Midlands, including areas such as Birmingham, Derby, Leicester, Nottingham and Wolverhampton to undergo body contouring treatments, and below you’ll find some of the commonly asked questions we receive.

What is fat reduction?

This is a non surgical way of improving the aesthetics of the body. We use radiofrequency energy instead of surgical techniques to reduce fat and/or tighten skin. Various areas of the body can be treated, and it’s suitable for both men and women over 18 years of age.

What areas of the body can be treated?

The beauty of body contouring treatments is that they can help you define and tone numerous areas. Most commonly, energy assisted skin firming and fat reduction treatments are used on the abdomen, thighs, buttocks, upper arms (bingo wings) and the flanks.

How does it work?

We offer body shaping treatments with Lipofirm Pro. This is an energy assisted platform which uses the power of radiofrequency to lift, tone and shape. It combines two types of technology to deliver totally non invasive treatments – there is no needles or scalpels, it’s all totally surgery free.

What happens during treatment?

A hand piece is moved across the area of treatment as the energy is sent down into the dermis. It’s not painful though a warm sensation can be felt. A full consultation is required to ascertain suitability and a bespoke treatment plan is devised for each patient.

Can you treat cellulite?

Yes – with Lipofirm Pro we can also help to reduce the appearance of cellulite.

Why is Lipofirm Pro better than other treatments?

The state-of-the-art technology is proven to be both effective and safe. This platform is award-winning and is backed by science – we see the results for ourselves every day, and we think you’ll like them too.

Do you offer skin tightening for the face too?

Radiofrequency skin-firming treatments for the face are also available. This confidence-boosting treatment can help minimise facial ageing signs, including skin laxity.