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Happy 1st December! Christmas SURPRISE- Guess what I'm doing?!

 

Hi everyone,

So I know I said this in my November Newsletter yesterday, but I cannot BELIEVE we are now into the last month of 2016!! Where the HELL has this past year gone?!?! I’ve had the craziest, happiest and best year of my life, and I’m actually a little sad that this year feels like it’s ending so soon, although I have already started travel planning for 2017 and am looking forward to seeing what the new year will bring. As I mentioned in my Instagram post earlier on, and it’s the 1st of December today, the first day of this year’s Christmas Countdown, I thought I would launch something brand new for my blog – I’ve never done it before, so let’s see how it goes…

I’m doing a

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*** C H R I S T M A S  G I V E A W A Y ***

 

I am sooo excited about this as I’ve never ran any kind of giveaway/competition before on my blog! I thought it would be nice to do something different and, now that I’m in true festive mode, I thought I’d give a little something back to one of YOU, my lovely readers, to say thank you for being amazing and reading my blog!

Last Christmas I got given not one but TWO copies of The Lonely Planet’s  Best Ever Photography Tips and I’m giving one away to one of YOU lovely lot!

 

This is a brilliant book filled with tips and tricks aplenty and would make a fab stocking filler this Christmas! I’ll also throw in a little treat or two for the prize winner, so you’ll get an extra surprise when you open your parcel!

 

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As well as top travel photography tips and page after page of stunning shots, the book also gives advice on capturing the best landscapes, close ups and night time images, perfect if you’re always on the move or, if like me, you’re a total photography novice!

 

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So, I know you’re all DYING to know how you can take part in this, and it is oh so simple. To enter my 2016 Christmas Giveaway, all you have to do is Like my Facebook page  – once my page has reached 500 Likes  I’ll announce the winner (the 500th person to like the page) and will post your prize to you – it couldn’t be simpler!

What are you waiting for? Take part in my Festive Giveaway now – it’s officially OPEN! Go go go!

Can’t wait to see who the winner is!

Love Jess x

🌲🌲

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10 InstaPics That Will Make You Want To Visit London's Winter Wonderland On Its 10th Anniversary This Christmas

Hey everyone,

So I know we’re still in November, but I have been feeling ever so festive lately, mainly because I took a trip to London’s Winter Wonderland last weekend! I went with my two sisters and two of my cousins and we had a wonderfully festive day out at the Hyde Park Christmas fair. In my opinion, it’s never too early to get in the Christmas spirit, and with the festival’s 10th year anniversary celebrations in full swing, here are 10 of my favourite photos from the day proving why you should visit Winter Wonderland this Christmas!

#1 The Carousel

Winter Wonderland 🌲🎅☃✨

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Just look at it. The inner child in me is just raring to get on that thing, it’s the ultimate fair ground ride, and there’s a giant Christmas tree right next to it. I. Am. SOLD.

#2 The Sparkly Lights

 

The park looks pretty amazing during the day time, but it looks truly spectacular after dark when the millions of lights are turned on and the park truly glitters in the night sky. Just LOOK at those lights!

#3 The Markets

 

It’s no secret that Winter Wonderland is brimming with Christmas markets selling everything from candles and soaps to handmade jewellery and wood carved ornaments. Wander round the market stalls, soak up the festive atmosphere and bag some unique gifts from these traditional German style wooden huts.

#4 The Rides

 

The rides are just amazing, from tiny spinning tea cups for the kids to giant rollercoasters for the thrill seeking adults and every kind of ride you can think of packed in between, there’s something for every rider and the queues are well worth the wait!

*TIP* To beat the queues go o on a week-day, not a weekend, and ride in the morning/early afternoon instead of the evening.

#5 The Food Stalls

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There are hundreds of food stalls stocking everything from burgers and chips to German Bratwurst (sausage), roasted chestnuts, chocolate waffles and as many pick n mix sweets as you can manage! The Bavarian Village is a great place to escape the cold and relax for an hour, whilst the Carousel Bars (yes, really) are super cool, just be prepared to stand up while you waltz!

#6 The Special Attractions

 

Although entrance to the park is free, there are a number of additional attractions which are charged separately. I’d recommend booking online to guarantee your time slot, especially as the park will get busier in the lead up to December. The attractions include a Magical Ice Kingdom, Zippos Christmas Circus and a special showing of The Nutcracker on Ice.

#7 The Games Stands

German markets, giant towers and scary rollercoasters… It could only be winter wonderland! 🎅🌲 #London #visitlondon #winterwonderland

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There may be fairground rides aplenty, but there’s also tonnes of games stands to be found whilst wandering round the park. Try your hand at a game of hook-a-duck, mini-basketball or take on the shooting-gallery to be in with the chance of bagging a special Winter Wonderland prize!

#8 The Ice Rink

 

Is there anything more romantic than gliding across the ice and soaking up the festive atmosphere? I doubt it. But, this only applies if you don’t fall over. And end up looking like a total fool in front of all the ogling spectators. Don’t do it if you can’t skate! Only joking, it’s all good fun, and it’ll warm you up if you’re cold – you will sweat SO FRIKKIN MUCH!

#9 The Ferris Wheel

 

Just like The London Eye, but not as expensive, the ferris wheel at Winter Wonderland is one of the absolute must do’s. You’ll soar high into the sky and rotate slowly, enabling you to take in the most spectacular panoramic views of the park, and the rest of London too. I’d recommend taking your ‘flight’ once the sun goes down, as the park looks sooo much more impressive from above after dark, when everything is lit up!

#10 The Selfie Opportunities

Christmassy little day with my gorgeous family 🎅🌲☃🌟🎡 #winterwonderland #london #girlsgirlsgirls

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There are SO many places to take great selfies and you’ll be totally spoilt for choice, but we loved this polar bear/ ice cliff/waterfall sculpture and took our favourite photo of the day right in that very spot!

Have YOU visited Winter Wonderland yet? If not, what are you waiting for?! It its totally FREE to enter, and the park is open from 10am-10pm every day until 2nd January 2017. Go go go!

Love Jess x

 

December Newsletter – End of year round up!

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Hi everyone,

It’s that time of year again! I can’t believe we are now at the end of 2015… IT IS CRAAZYY! I have had a fantastic year and been to some beautiful places so am excited to start planning my 2016 over the next few months! I’ll be combining this newsletter with my end of year review but I’ll start with December and it’s been a cracker of a month.. here’s what I got up to…

I went to DISNEYLAND!

I had the most MAGICAL time at my favourite place on earth a couple of weeks ago. Me and two of my best friends booked a last minute, Christmassy trip to our happy place and we never wanted to leave! Read my trip highlights for photos, reviews and tips a plenty.. I dare you not to be filled with Disney wanderlust!

I finished my content writing internship!

linked in recommendation

If you saw last month’s newsletter you’ll know that I recently took part in a month long internship for Freedom2Explore. I’ve now finished the internship and got a great LinkedIn Recommendation from my point of contact over at the company. I’m hoping the invaluable experience I gained whilst carrying out the internship will open other doors for me and will enable me to take my first steps into the world of travel/content writing when the time comes. A HUGE thank you to Becky & Jonathan for having me!

I had my works Christmas do!

Works Christmas parttyyyy 🎄🎅🎉👯

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For my annual works Xmas do we dressed up and headed to the beautiful Eynsham Hall for a casino night. We were treated to a slap up three course meal, disco and casino experience and danced the night away! I’ve been to Eynsham Hall many times over the years and it’s such a gorgeous place- I even had my two school proms there! Here’s me glammed up not looking like my usual, plain-Jane self at alllll!

I published my first post for ShopperLottie.com

My first post for the fantastic Shopper Lottie magazine went live a few weeks ago and I was sooo proud to have ANOTHER piece of published work! My first post was all about London at Christmas, and it’s so beautiful you just HAVE to visit! Read on for some serious city inspo

ITS CHRIIIISSTTMMASSS!

This Christmas I spent some super quality time with my nearest and dearest, and I was able to really relax and enjoy myself at home with my family. We had such a lovely day playing games, exchanging presents and eating lots of yummy food! My family mean everything to me and have been there for me every step of the way, so I was thrilled to be able to share this special time of year with those who mean most to me! Ok that’s enough soppiness now… 😉

We're the three best friends that anybody could have…Merry Christmas everybodyyyy! 💖🎄🎅👯💖 #sisters #girls #love #christmas

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Overall I’ve had a fantastic 2015, filled with lots of fun and adventure, but also some personal health traumas and heartache along the way! If you’re an avid follower of my blog (I love you, thank you! If not, why aren’t you subscribed yet?) you’ll know that I recently hit a bit of a brick wall and have been struggling to feel content with my current situation so have decided to make this year the time for change!

I’m yet to decide what to do, I’m torn between interailing round Europe or road tripping across America for a few months… HELP! What do I do?! Your response to my recent Mid Life Crisis article was AMAZING! I was so overwhelmed with all your lovely comments, some from people I know in the travel blogging world, and some from complete strangers! THANK YOU!

I’m now looking forward to 2016 and the life changes I’m going to make to ensure I see as much of this world as I possibly can and I want to meet lots of shiny new people along the way! As ever, I’ll be posting regularly and will keep you all updated. I’ve also got some new blog features planned which I’ll be sharing with you into the new year and I want to say a massive THANK YOU again to each and everyone of you who have subscribed to this blog, liked me on Facebook or followed me on Twitter.. it means the absolute world and I can’t wait to reach out to even more of you in the coming months!

All that’s left for me to say now is… HAPPY NEW YEAR PEOPLE! Wishing you love and happiness and the very best for 2016! Now where’s my glitzy party dress?!…

Love Jess x

#oxford #itsstillchristmas 👯🎄🎉🍸

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Oxford Christmas Market

 

Hi everyone,

I’m starting to feel really Christmassy now after my recent visit to Disneyland Paris – blog post to follow!! – I had such a fantastic time; everything was sooo magical and sparkly I just didn’t want to leave! To continue with my festivities now that I’m back home I decided to head over to Oxford this weekend to discover their beautiful Christmas markets…

fairylightcompany         christmas markets

Located on historic Broad Street in the heart of the city, the Oxford Christmas Market has welcomed thousands of visitors to their eye-catching stalls for the past three years running. This year, the event promised to be bigger than ever with a record 50 stalls selling festive gifts, foodie treats and Christmas decorations.

I attended yesterday with my mum and sister and we wandered around the markets looking for lots of goodies to snap up! I usually find the prices of Christmas Markets extortionate, and I expected them to be high as we were in Oxford, but I was pleasantly surprised that they weren’t as expensive as I had thought! Hotdogs and burgers were around the £5 mark and handmade Christmas tree decorations started from just £2 each – bargain!

Our buy of the day was a box of the fantastic Schoko Kuss, a traditional German delicacy of fluffy creamy marshmallow on a waffle base smothered in heaps of chocolate. There were over 10 flavours to choose from including After Eight, Baileys, Coconut and Caramel… are you drooling yet?! I know we were! So much so that we bought a WHOLE BOX of them and devoured them later on that evening! A box of 12 cost a reasonable ten pounds and they were worth EVERY penny.

schoko kuss

The markets run until 20th December from 10am-8pm Thursday-Saturday and until 7pm Sunday-Wednesday so make sure you visit before they close! With musical performances throughout the day, from jazz singers to school choirs, you’ll love everything about the beautiful Christmas Market and will come away feeling ever so festive.. I dare you not to embrace the Christmas spirit!

Love Jess x