Starting to feel festive? Well if not, it's time to start. Lots of lovely Christmas events happening this month across the county - the countdown to Christmas really has begun. Although, if you have young children, their countdown probably started on the 26th of December 2012! 

Please feel free to use the buttons below to add your own event, business etc:

Submit an EventCome and CHat Submit a BusinessSubmit Place to Eat


 

When I became a mum, my perspective on life changed. I no longer wanted to work Monday-Friday earning money for someone else, I wanted to make money for my new family and I wanted to be there spending time with my family whilst making that money! Sounds too good to be true but I got what I wanted.

I started a business with Forever Living who make the most amazing natural products, I worked hard but it was worth it and I now train other people to do exactly the same.

Whether you need an extra few hundred pounds or want to build a large, professional business with a luxury income, please call me on 07872916917 or e-mail emma@aloegorgeous.co.uk for more information.
 

What's On this Christmas
As always, we've been searching high and low for months now to bring you the widest range of Christmas events in Essex available on the internet, and I think I can safely say we're pretty much there! There is absolutely loads to do this December, whether you're looking for a place to meet Father Christmas (for the kids, obviously, I'm sure you don't make a habit of sitting on strange men's knees. Ahem.), some wintery outdoor fun or somewhere to shop, you can find it all here. We've made it even easier to find out what's on by listing all the events by type and by area in the following pages. On the off chance you know of an event that isn't here, please email me with details on louise@essexmums.org or use the online events submission page. Thank you! 

Carols Fun Days Light Ups Markets Pantos Santa Wildlife Everything else

21 Day Fast Fatloss in the New Year- Lose that Festive Weight !

After years of helping  ladies get in great shape I have used all of my knowledge about Nutrition, convenience and designed a 21 Day Fastloss Plan to help you get started.

My recipes are simple and easy to follow with lots of Healthy twists on "Family Favourites".  You use the 21 day plan alongside my cook book that has over 100 recipes that are quick and easy.

Then follow my 12 week Total Body Toning program.  These workouts are perfect if you have been training for a while but you haven't managed to see big changes.  These workout's really focus on the female problem area's, Legs, Bum, Tummy, Love Handles and Triceps
 
Special Offer: TMH Cook Book – 21 Day Fat loss Plan – 12 Week Total Body Toning Program – Just £36.97 before the 31st December

www.trulymadlyhealthy.co.uk
 

Essex Mums Shop

Lots more goodies added to the Essex Mums Shop this month and still more to come! It's a fantastic new place to buy lovely goodies from small businesses in Essex and beyond, and features all sorts of things you won't find on the High Street. Great if you want to get some Christmas shopping in for the whole family. If you are interested in selling some of your own products through the shop, please get in touch - louise@essexmums.org


Christmas Shopping Guide
Over the last month I've been lucky enough to add some absolutely gorgeous products and shops to the Christmas Gift Guide. Whether you still have all your pressies to buy or are just looking for a few last minute stocking fillers, take a look at our fantastic range of shops selling interesting, original and somewhat different ideas and save yourself a trip to the High Street! You can search by category or look through a full list of all our lovely shops here. If you want some product ideas then take a look at the Product Guide which has a range of gorgeous goodies for you to browse or search by category. Keep an eye on the homepage for some of my product picks for different ages which change every few days, or just click the categories below to get started:


Something for Babies
Something for Toddlers
Something for Little Kids
Something for Big Kids
Something for Tweens
Something for Teens
Something for Adults

If you're interested in a listing for your shop or product, get in touch at louise@essexmums.org - listings start at just a pound!


Make your event 'Featured' for just a pound a week
Do you have an event coming up that  you would like a little extra promotion for? Run a class or group and want to get the word out but don't have a big budget? You can now make your event 'Featured'on Essex Mums for just a pound a week. 

List your event by filling in the form here, then choose the subscribe option below the 'Add Your Event' button to start the Featured ad running, or pay via the Online Ad Payments page. It's only a pound a week, with the amount being charged on a weekly basis, so there is no need to pay the full amount upfront, and you can run the listing for as long as you like. When you want it to finish, simply cancel your subscription. 

Once you've listed your event and subscribed, send over the wording you'd like (around 100 words) and I'll get you added. You are welcome to list multiple events (just take out the relevant number of subscriptions) or chop and change what you have Featured as you like. You can also choose the best page within the Things to Do section for you.
 

Local Business Noticeboard

The Local Business Noticeboard is a new section of the forum to post about and promote your business to our community. If you are interested in having your posts shared with our Facebook and Twitter followers too, email me on louise@essexmums.org about forum sponsorship at just £20 a year.


Book & Pay for Ads Online
Thinking of advertising on Essex Mums? You can now purchase ads quickly and easily online here. Once paid you can email us on louise@essexmums.org or we will contact you to arrange what we will need from you, artwork, dates etc. Banner ads can run from any day of the month, newsletters go out on the first of each month.

As it has been popular I have decided to extend our buy one, get one free offer for the rest of December so if you book an ad through the new page you will get the same again totally free, on anything from a small newsletter ad for a month up to a banner ad for a year. Just book online and quote 'BOGOF' on your order to qualify.

If you would like help putting an ad together, we can provide this service free of charge.

Visit our Rate Card for details on ad placements, sizes etc
 

Please donate £10 to support HARP’s Christmas dinner appeal for the homeless.

Where will you be spending Christmas? Too many people in the Southend area will only have HARP, Southend’s award-winning homeless charity, to go to this year. In the 12 days of Christmas HARP will be providing somewhere in the region of 700 dinners for Southend’s homeless. 
 
HARP desperately needs your help to make this happen. We are asking the community in and around Southend to please donate £10 to provide Christmas dinner for a homeless person in your local area. 

If you would like to make a donation to HARP’s Christmas appeal please send a cheque for £10 to: HARP Ltd, 117 York Road, Southend-on-Sea, Essex. SS1 2DL  Ph: 01702 – 615 000 

Donate online at: www.harpsouthend.org.uk or Text: HOME43 followed by £10 to 70070

Events
Lots of fun Christmas events this month! Check out the Festive Fun section if you want to search by type of activity, and as always you can find full listings on the Things to Do section but hopefully this will give you a few ideas about what's on near you and across the county.

Barking and Dagenham
Basildon  
Braintree
Brentwood  
Castle Point  
Chelmsford  
Colchester  
Epping Forest  
Harlow  
Havering  
Maldon  
Redbridge  
Rochford  
Southend  
Tendring  
Thurrock  
Uttlesford
Travelling abroad this festive period? More and more airlines are insisting prams/strollers should be kept in one piece and/or in a travel bag. Does your pram or stroller have a cost-effective travel bag? The Genesis range of Pram Travel and Storage bags are fantastic value for money! Designed and made in England, Genesis have a standard range of bags for popular prams but also offer a made to measure service for other models. Bronze Award winners in the Best Baby and Toddler Gear Awards 2013 the bags are already a big success with customers. 
 
Abroad or home this Christmas make sure your little ones keep snuggly and warm during this Winter.  The Genesis Range of Classic Footmuffs are fantastic value for money and exceptionally warm and comfortable.   Made in England to the highest attainable standards the Genesis Footmuffs are available from a select number of retailers.  Made to measure and bespoke footmuffs also available.

 

New Classes and Groups
A selection of new information about classes and groups added this month.  Some are brand new to the site, some just have updates about new venues, details etc.Take a look at the Things to Do section for complete listings.


Updated Children’s Centres Timetables

Competitions
Things to win! Check out the great competitions we currently have running. If you would like to run a competition yourself please let me know - it's a great way to advertise for free and also give something lovely to parents in Essex!
 

Product Reviews
Product reviews added this month! You can see a bit about each of our reviewers here, or can go straight to the reviews here.
 

Reading Eggs
Louise writes:
Reading Eggs is an online scheme for learning to read using fun games and lessons. I was asked to review it but had actually already been using it for years so really can vouch for how great it is!
The Playaway Suitcase
Jenny writes:
Playaway is a versatile suitcase and entertainment centre for children” and was a big hit with my two boys William (aged 6) and James (aged 2).  The first thing they liked were the bold colours and design on the case, they are not boring or for ‘old people’ but also not babyish.



Pregnancy & Parenting Articles
Some great articles added by our writers this month - take a look! To see all the articles we have on the site, visit the Pregnancy and Parenting section.

Is my child being bullied? Recognising the signs
A recent survey by charity BeatBullying shows that children starting secondary school are the most concerned about being bullied. The research showed that 56% of primary children feared they might be bullied for being too clever, or not clever enough, and 48% feared that they would be bullied for not being good at activities like sports or not having the latest phones or games.
Click here to read more




Jingle All the Way - Creating a Musical Sensory Experience for your Baby's First Christmas
It might be your baby’s first Christmas and you could be forgiven for thinking they’re a little young to really appreciate the magic of the season – but you couldn’t be more wrong! In fact there is so much around to delight your little ones’ eyes, ears, taste and smell – and music plays a big part in that sensory experience at this time of year. So here is how to ensure you make the most of the many developmental benefits that music and song can provide to help ‘stimulate your baby’s brain’ this festive season…
Click here to read more


New in the Shopping Guide
A few lovely new shops have joined the Alternative Shopping Guide this month. Take a look:  
Everything else
As always, please send any events, feedback, ideas etc. to me at louise@essexmums.org. I love hearing how people use the site and ways I can improve it. 

I hope you have a lovely month and that I'll get to see you at a meet-up soon.

Kind regards
Louise





 

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