Christmas at Kew

On Friday, I finally made it to Christmas at Kew. I really wanted to visit last year, but tickets (at sensible times) sold out very quickly. This year, it was the same story. However, luckily for me, a friend of mine had a couple of spares and so my friend Shreya and I turned up at the Kew gates, ready to experience the magic.

At Christmas, Kew Gardens is dressed up in thousands of twinkling lights in every colour. You follow a winding path through the plants and trees, stopping for mulled wine or treats on the way. The trees sing out carols as you pass and, in one particular section, amazing smells waft over you whilst in another, bubbles floated through the air.

We came across a little wooden hut selling marshmallows in elaborate flavours. I bought a blueberry and gin one which I then toasted over a flaming pit.

Then, we found the funfair! After some cheesy chips and a large hot chocolate, we spun around on an old-fashioned carousel before swinging on some boatswings and sliding down the helter-skelter.

Once we'd spun, swung and slid all of our funfair tokens away, it was time to press on with the trail. As it had got later, the path was fairly empty and so we had a chance to fully absorb what was around us. At one point, we came across a 'wishing tree' where people had written down their wishes and hung them in the branches.

The big finale however was a spectacle like nothing I've ever seen before. The huge Kew green house was lit up with ever-changing lights, whilst the water fountain shot up a screen of water which images danced over whilst music played in time. The overall effect was completely magical! (I'm afraid the pictures just don't do it justice!)

Eventually, as our toes were starting to turn blue, we tore ourselves away from all the dazzling displays and turned to leave. It was safe to say that the magic of Christmas had firmly descended!

DIY Christmas Gifts: How to Make Affordable Pearl Necklaces

This year I wanted to give my girlfriends a Christmas gift which was a little bit more personal. I was keen to make something, but was worried it'd just end up in the back of a draw somewhere (or in the bin...!). In the end (and after a little research), I settled on making freshwater pearl necklaces.

I sourced freshwater pearls from eBay, along with some silk thread, jewelry clasps and threading needles. The pearls were aprox. 5mm in diameter, came on threads 50cm long and, surprisingly, cost less than £4. I bought two of these strands which made a total of 4 necklaces, with pearls to spare.

To create a necklace, I cut a strand of thread about 80cm long. I threaded the clasp onto the thread, before folding the strand in half and knotting the clasp in place. I then proceeded to string the pearls onto the doubled up thread. (Doubling up the thread is a good idea as it'll make the necklace stronger!) By the time I was finished, the total length of the necklace was about 40cm long.

I tied off the pearl strand with a small jump ring so that the clasp would have something secure to grab on to. Finally, I dabbed any knots I had tied with a little superglue to make them extra strong.

So there we have it - a super simple, good quality gift idea for under £15 for four!

 Do you have any good DIY Christmas gift ideas? If so, leave them in the comments below! Also. don't forget to let me know how yours turn out if you decide to give this a go

Selfridges: Sink the Pink Presents the Queens Head

Pantomimes and Christmas go hand in hand like mulled wine and minced pies. However, as we grow older, the cheesy fairy tales  become a little old hat. Well, don't worry, I have the answer! 

On Friday, my friends and I paid a visit to an East London pub. The slightly odd thing? It was in the basement of Selfridges. We had arrived for Sink the Pink's panto which promised to provide an (adult only!) immersive theater experience, with all the glitter and glam that can only be bought by a cast full of drag queens. 

Being the keen beans we are, we were one of the first to arrive. We waited outside the 'pub doors' before rushing to a front table. Settled down, we popped to the bar to pick one of our first complimentary drinks, before gazing around at the be-tinseled  pub surrounding us. 

Before long, the show kicked off. The general premise was that the pub landlady was being interviewed by the local news station  who were covering the annual switch-on of the famous pub Christmas lights. Of course disaster and unexpected events befall the protagonists, broken up by lip-synced songs, live music, impressive dance numbers in sky-scraper heels and general hilarity. 

By the end of the evening, we had sung, danced and laughed our hearts out. Not only that, we'd had what felt like an incredibly good value night! The tickets were £25 which included three complimentary (and quite generous!) drinks and as many bar snacks as we could stuff our faces with.

So if you're looking for something to do to get you in the festive mood, I'd highly recommend giving the Queen's Head a visit - it's running the whole way through December!