Tots100 Center Parcs family challenge for January: Create a mini home spa experience

You may remember that over the past couple of months Tots100 and Center Parcs have been setting bloggers a series of family challenges. You may well remember our Dragon Defeater waterslide from November and our Perfect Elf Poem in December. Well for January Tots100 and Center Parcs have challenged us to create a mini home spa experience and I think the word challenge is certainly the right word to describe it as I know that it is a real challenge for me to find any me-time because homeschooling the boys and having a baby just seems to take up every moment of the day.

But I was determined to have a go, so using some of the fabulous tips given by Center Parcs Aqua Sana Spa Manager, Amy Neale, combined with some of my own pampering secrets, here's how I got on.

1. Before you begin...
Here are my top tips for getting off to a good start with your mini home spa experience. Firstly, put someone else in charge of the kids for a couple of hours. Next turn off your PC / phone / any other electronic device that you rely on for checking facebook, twitter, emails etc. Now I realise that this may prove to be exceptionally difficult for bloggers to do but trust me, the world will not come to an end because you didn't favourite that tweet straight away or update your facebook status for a couple of hours.

Now what I'm about to say may not fit in with your idea of pampering, but bear with me. Try to have a quick tidy up or de-clutter of your bedroom or bathroom (or whichever room you have chosen to relax in). You will thank me for this tip when you are relaxing in the bath without being distracted by how grubby the sink looks, how much toothpaste the kids have dripped all over the floor and so on. It may seem like a pain at the time, but I always find I feel a lot better for having a tidy and clean house (or at least one tidy and clean room in the house).

2. Foodie Facemask and Sugary scrub
I started my mini home spa experience by making Amy Neale's fantastic face mask 'recipe' using yogurt and honey. Once you have covered your face in the face mask, you can relax in the bath for 20 minutes to really enhance your pampering experience.

I also make my own exfoliating scrub which is great for dry skin on legs and arms this time of year. This is really simple to make using honey (the last bits remaining in the honey jar that often go all hard and set are great for this), sugar and lemon juice. Then just rub into your arms and legs and rinse off. You really will be amazed at how soft your skin will feel afterwards.

Don't forget to apply plenty of moisturiser afterwards, not just to your face but also to your elbows, knees and feet. You will almost hear your skin thanking you for it at this time of year when the cold weather seems to really take its toll on our skin.

3. A splash of colour
I'm not a big fan of lots of make-up or cosmetics but I do think that a quick lick of paint on your toes can really help you feel pampered and it will help brighten up those dull January days. Every time you take a peek at your toes looking pretty and neat, it will remind you of your post-Christmas home pampering session.

4. Liven up your water with lemon
Amy suggests livening up your drinking water with mango, strawberry or mint. Well my favourite is simply a slice of lemon. It simply transforms drinking water from being a chore to making you feel like you have had a drink made for you. If you feel like you are fighting off a winter cold, lemons can come to the rescue with that too. Just add a squeeze of lemon, a little finely grated fresh ginger (I keep a piece in the freezer and it makes it easier to grate too) and a dollop of honey.

 

 

5.  Lovely lavender
Now you are feeling relaxed, you need to try to keep that relaxed feeling with you throughout the week. Lavender is amazing for helping you feel calm and relaxed. I pick and dry some from the garden each year and use it in all sorts of ways:

• I keep some in the bathroom instead of artificial (and often expensive) air fresheners.
• We make little fabric lavender bags and pop them in drawers and cupboards to keep the moths away.
• The kids love making lavender soap with it. You can buy a block of soap base from craft shops and then simply melt in the microwave, then add in your dried lavender, plus a few drops of lavender oil, then pour into little moulds (we use empty yogurt pots and fill them to around one-third full), then leave to set. You can even add other goodies to it like poppy seeds to make it into a bar of exfoliating soap.

So by using your home-made lavender soap through the week, you will be transported back to your moment of relaxation. A lavender pillow spray at night will also help you feel calm and relaxed too.

You can even use lavender in cooking too although we haven't tried that ourselves yet.

So there you have it our very own mini home spa experience. If you fancy having a go there are some great tips over on the tots100 Center Parcs January challenge page and if you are a blogger, you can join in by writing about your mini home spa too for a chance to join the Center Parcs family blogger club.