Feeling like Scrooge, plus the VELCRO® Challenge

The VELCRO® challenge is on....

We've had a couple of rotten weeks with coughs and sneezes - November is not a good month for us. However, this year I haven't been able to muster a lot of advance festive cheer  - we have seen the Xmas switch on (coughing away!), have bought a few presents but we feel Xmassed out already. The big commercial pressure exerted by retailers is putting us off. We have not made plans, unlike last year, when we were booking flights to Italy to spend Xmas with my family early in autumn. We had a family reunion up north (my partner's side) during the half term, so I don't know what this Xmas will bring. We are not the only ones, we know of others who are feeling more like Scrooge than Rudolph this year. Some might feel the pinch, while others are frankly fed up with all the material messages. If you have children you are already living on top of a mountain of toys and things - you probably have everything you need and you might feel like decluttering rather than acquiring more stuff. 

So getting a parcel in the post was delightful, even if I was expecting it. Nestled in the red tissue paper were samples of VELCRO® products to try out and an unexpected bonus package at the bottom. I waited for the weekend - my daughter goes to an afterschool club and is tired during the week - to have a good rout and predictably, the first thing that got opened was this...

Velcro Princess masks

Every little girl wants to be a Princess, but which of these masks to go for? Michela decided to make them both and try them on before deciding on a favourite.

The strawberry blonde princess mask was tried out first, I think the purple tiara really stood out. Obviously, it didn't match Michela's hair at all but when she looked in the mirror she found it quite funny. I was amused and pleased she was having fun with it - Michela had a terror of masks until she started preschool, fleeing in tears from various mask-making workshops held at children's centres. 

As expected the brown-haired mask looked better as it matched her hair and complexion, although it's a bit crooked in the photo, due to Michela having a session with it in front of the mirror. 

I expect the next VELCRO® session will be in early December, when we will put up our Xmas decorations. The house is in a bit of a mess at the moment - I am taking advantage of my partner being around to sort out some unglamorous DIY, while getting on with my freelance work. My inhouse publishing project has finished and I'm back working from home.