Little Italy 23

[BananaGio]

Siamo qua!

Hi everyone and thanks for the welcome :)

still pouring here but we have the fire lit and chocolate and pear cake made this morning now good to go.
If it's any good I'll post the recipe...

As for Xmas shopping I have already done a run to decathlon and managed to get quite a lot of presents there - fleeces, back-packs, nice scarf and glove sets etc for rellies back home (no decathlon in Scotland as far as I know)

Do you all do stockings for your DCs? And if so where do you shop for them?

Oh lord if its raining over there then we will have more to come ! LOg fire and a fresh cake ...WIll be over ( in about 5 hrs!)
Stockings yes we do them. I have ordered a load from Findmeagift.com postage is a bit high but I ordered a load with a friend. Here I tend to shop all round and pick up bits and bobs, DD has stickers, soap,pencils a couple of bags of those cuccioli from edicola a Hello Kittly cake kit from a deli kind of shop. Small books from Amazon and I guess I will add some socks , sweets etc ..Mind you I need to have a look at what I do have as I buy and hide ! Minirosa is harder as she is smaller so I think she will also have some useful things like a new drinking cup, small fork , possibly a pelican bib as she is a real messy eater.
ALso for DD1 from Babbo Natale we have tickets for PLayhouse Disney show at Padova ....Ask me how excited I am for her. DH and I are already arguing about who is taking her as at EU50 a seat its NOT a family outing ! Yes there were cheaper seats but when they said Fila 1 was still free I said Yes.......

Still raining here too... Fed up already with wintery weatehr.

How was the choc and pear cake? mmmmmmm

No, we don't really do stockings, but we do a huge advent calendar, made of little felt bags, where I usually put sweets (mostly chocolate), and bits and bobs (H&M very good for hair clips etc), figurine for ds etc.

Oh wow Rosa, your dd will love going to see playhouse disney! I'd love to take the dc to see some ice skating show, I'm just waiting for the right one.

We've just seen UP on sky (we are at inalwas who have sky), we loved it.

Eurocommuter, how did it go at the end, does ds attend the course suggested by the teacher?

Hi Spoooktrain, another Decathlon fan: you will fit right in here! Rght now I am also in front of a roaring fire, although a little smokey as the wind is in the wrong direction. I am very happy as we just got a couple of car loads of really good wood, offcuts from a local place that makes parquet.
I am in and around Rome, British but been here 20 years now, I have a DD who is 6 and a DS who is 3.
Stockings, have not done yet but might. We always go to the UK for Xmas, it's the one thing I insist on really.
Calendars: snapfish Italian site sent me an 50% off offer recently, but it might have expired already.
Tx forthe Bunga Bunga!

well the cake was disappointingly a little on the dry side..I was expecting someting a bit more squidgy TBH.

Thanks for that site rec Rosa, I'll check it out.

Hi Sputnik, I haven't had a uk xmas in years, which is terrible, I swore it was going to be this year then my parents said they would come over here so that was that.
It's just not the same here is it?
I have heard that our local upmarket overpriced garden centre has got all their stuff in already, must go and take a look...

Funny that... I spent 13 yrs in the UK and I always insisted on an Italian Xmas - and DH (British) prefers it too... But that may have sth to do with the fact that my MIL does not do Xmas: they go out to a pub for lunch and that's it. No Xmas tree. No decorations. Colossal stress over Xmas presents which have to be useful (D-sil got some make-up removing discs one year).

Spook stockings can be found in most shops over here (Friuli Venezia Giulia) - but then every year I head to Austria for a visit to their xmas markets. I may even get DH to drive to Salzburg this year if snow is at Ok levels. He hates Austria .

One day I will make it to the Xmas markets ....Looks as if the rain has stpped , thankfully. It is quite mild however , will have to dig out the lightweight jamas again .
DId 1st English class today far better than last years group ! The other maestra said if I wanted I could do a lavoretto x natale with them instead of just making a Christmas card. ANybody any ideas?. My lessons are normally a recap on last week , a new topic with flash cards or a game and then they colour in a picture connected with the new subject. LAst year I did a booklet on Christmas with games, puzzles ( and of course nativity ) over a period of 3 weeks. Then they had a christmas card to take home....

Oh wow Rosa, you sound like a brilliant teacher ! Mmmm a lavoretto you said... I'm not the most creative person in the world... would an advent calendar be too complicated for the little ones?

Christmas: we always went back to Italy for Christmas when we lived in the UK, as we wanted to be with our families and our friends. I didn't find English Christmases that much different from the Italian ones. We also lived in the SW, therefore not much chance of a white christmas. What I loved where the christmas carols in the Cathedral. And nowadays I all get nostalgic, because we left the UK just before the Christmas holidays, and I remember that when I went to see ds's school Christmas show, I cried the whole time, because we were leaving...

were, not where

Ah, and another fan of Decathlon here. Fantastic fleeces for the dc. And ds is currently wearing a pair of Quechua mountain shoes that are really cool.

How about making a (paper) snowman to learn body parts?

Rosa, send me your email address and I'll send you all the materials I've got.... Actually, send me your snail mail address and I'll send you a memory stick full!

That Very code is up again, someone was asking. £25 off a £50 spend for new customers only, using the cde VERY

Bloody hell - organising christmas now? I need to get a move on then.

Hope everyone OK.

DS still hating school so it's been fun and games here.

I've got an interview next week - hoping I don't get it as I really don't know where to start with childminders. Plus feeling like I don't really want to work. But I should work. I know I should.

OK christmas experts what's a good present for a 4-5 year old boy. I've got no idea and there's no way on earth I'm going to get him those gerbil ninja fighter things I see on tv every day. I should get him a wii or x-box but I'm holding out until he's 5.

Top tips for presents most welcome.

We in UK this christmas but dh refuses to go to my mum's and instead wants to invite his friends who can't get back to Italy this year. He's such a family man lol.

Snowman is a great idea!

Giveitago, sorry to hear your ds hasn't settled at school yet. Didn't he use to go to the school nursery? Has he got any friends there from nursery? It's hard, I know, both mine found it hard to settle at school, despite having been very happy at nursery and scuola materna.

Presents... I'm trying to remember... I think we gave ds a wooden castle when he was 4 and a half, he was really into castles and knights etc then. He also received some dressing up, he's always loved that.
Lots of boys your ds age are also into playmobil, lego and cars etc.

My ds is still Thomas obsessed so wooden extras for his track have been big hit. This year he has also requested a Superman costume. Well as long as he stops at the costume and doesnt request a superman statue with his face on like Berlusca then that's fine!
Very envious of all of you living close enough to drive to Austrian markets. Really want to have a weekend away with dp in Salzburg although would probably drive him insane insisting on doing the sound of music tour

Buch sent you a message via Mumsnet ..hope it works.

What site is the Very discount for ???

I am pretty bad at boys presents however I am so happy that a 6 yr old is getting a huge book about animals and insects for his birthday on sat rather than a gormito or similar !!!! He brings snails to school in a box ( with leaves and air holes!!!)
Have parents here so thats nice only for a few days but its better than nothing !

I have never been on a sound of music tour Banana and I have been to Salzburg a fair few times... Maybe I should watch the movie first though!

Presents for 4-5 yr olds: Isn't that the time when they can start having real lego (instead of Duplo)? And what about pretend play thing like a car garage workbench, a toy kitchen, vet lab or similar?

Today DD had her 2 year old assessment at the local neonatology department. I was expecting the usual paediatrician stuff and a bit of playing on the mat but instead she sat through at least 15 mins of various tests/games with a psychologist... She was sitting on my lap with the psychologist on the other side of the desk asking her to do various things (shape-sorting, colour distinguishing..) - my DD never sits still for more than 2 mins, but this psych had her mesmerised and DD was just kept on doing whatever she was saying. I am thinking about hiring the psych to do some childcare at weekends

Many thanks for the idea - I've got him lots of bits for his wooden train track and lots of bits for bakungan (yuk) but thats about it.

I've realised he's a bit spoilt - to the point even he can't think about what he wants. Oh dear.

Wow - that psychologist sounds fab.

Oh settling in - he should have been ok as went to the school nursery. But school has a policy of staggered entry and he was the last in and it completely wrong footed him. He's going to have to adapt - no other option. I'm sure lots of us had issues settling in at school and my parents at least were more than happy for me to struggle for a bit. So I need to do the same.

Yep I'm having kittens as dh wants an italian friends christmas - OK - don't know any of these people but only 9 weeks to go which equates to about 2 shopping days for me. I need a plan and I need it now. Will talk to dh in a bit to firm up arrangements. I'm happy for an Italian dinner (his is lasagna followed by lamb) as long as I can have a smoked salmon breakfast to keep in with my family tradition - not so keen on the old christmas pud but I also loathe crema stuff (it's custard isn't it?) so will need an alternative dessert for me - and I'll eat it all by myself. Plus I don't know anyone he's invited and I want to get them some little gifts but don't know where to start. I can't stop singing Silent Night.

DS also wants a 7 foot silver revolving tree. Sounds lovely- if they indeed exist!

Ohh - just off to reasearch the company I've got an interview with. It feels very odd.

Hello everyone,

Have been really busy. Leaving do after leaving do the last couple of weeks and getting home too tired to do anything.

Hope you are all well. I have browsed through the thread and will need to go back later.

Welcome Spooktrain!

Love Christmas shopping in the UK! Thanks for the list Buch!

I get stuff delivered in the UK and carry it back when I go back.

DD wants a doll house and nothing else. I wanted to get her the Pintoy one from JL but not sure I can carry it with me on the plane . Looking for sites with reasonable shipping prices.

Franca, DS's schooling is a nightmare. He refuses to do any work at school or picks and chooses want he wants to do. Aparently the teachers have tried everything to encourage him to work, negative and positive, nothing works. He does his homework at home but not at school . That buffles me. It's all very stressful for me. Italian teacher said to me its because I'm not around all the time. 'i bambini hanno bisogno della loro madre' . She's probably right. But still hurts.

Oh that comment from the teacher - 'ouch' - probably bullshit too.

Doesn't make you feel too good but imagine that many of us grew up with working mums and we did OK. Put the ball back in their court.

Eurocommuter,

oh yeah - so he is good at home but less so at school, hence this is because you are not at home? Logic is where? Funnily enough no one ever says that to dads who work every hour that God sends, and then play golf at the weekend. It makes my blood boil.

Sorry, but this does drive me nuts...

Rosa- have emailed you some stuff!

EC- perhaps you should respond that "bambini hanno bisogno di una maestra che sa suscitare un po' di interesse anche" Pah and Meh.

dd has just dropped, and I do fear, broken forever my camera. The lens seems to have gone all fuzzy and the zoom has stuck half out.

PS The "Very" discount is for the "Very" website

Buch, how is the camera? oh dear!

Minerva, I know, that infuriates me too, especially, because dh is at home with them. So they have a fulltime parent at home. I know i it would be ideal if i stayed at home, but we would also starve!

We have tried to help by buying stickers (dinosaurs- his current passion) for reward instead of the stars. He doesn't care of he gets a start or not. Got about 500 stickers from Ebay and gace to Maestra to use for the ehole class. And this week ahs been good. He was so excited when I skyped them yersterday because he got a apartosauro sticker for his work yesterday. But there has to be aa long term solution. I'm hoping this will get him into the habit. fingers crossed.

off to the Very website

tee hee nevery even heard of Very !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry about the camera.
Agree with comment made about mamma not being round ..WHy papa is not capable ???? Ma Va .
hmmm dolls house on a plane maybe you could do it a room at a time? Do letterbox have anything as they do ship based on weight.
As for a xmassy dessert that is not crema how about a panettone star with crema for them and a chocolate orange sauce for you .:Simple and traditional .. Mind you I did a yummy one with small panettone and pandoro. Sort of cut in quarters but not completly and then a bit of butter in the middle so they crisped off in the centre in the oven then di frutta di bosco caldo with fresh whipped cream. It was supposed to be cranberries and orange but I diddn't have any ! Off to watch pillars of the Earth !