LIFESTYLE – fitch & fellows, Ashridge Home Care, Thame Jewellery Workshop and Kate Costello Dietitian

An art gallery, gift shop and a delight. fitch&fellows. A gallery of gifts

Owner, Susannah Fellows has collected an eclectic mix of works that are both beautiful and quirky. Classic and unexpected, rare and everyday. Here you will find the work of many new and established artists and makers. Paintings, ceramics, jewellery, glass, wood, mixed media, metal, textiles and all things handmade adorn the walls, shelves and display cabinets. It’s an Aladdin’s cave for Christmas ideas. This year, look out for some wonderful recycled items that include Cashmere fingerless gloves and baby boots. Continuing with the recycled theme, you will find cork wallets and candle holders, trivets and card holders, as well as notebooks made from recycled plastics. Christmas decorations include the always popular ‘Amica’ range. These feature the cutest animals celebrating the 12 days of Christmas. Mice in bed, a guinea pig on a sled and more. The scent of Christmas is in the air at fitch & fellows with dried fruit, spices and cinnamon smelling garlands, wreaths and table decorations from ‘Jormaepourri’. More fragrances are provided by ‘Okiki’ skincare products. Beautiful handmade candles such as ‘He Who Came After Me’ and ‘Follow Me Home’ will light up the festive season. Two recent additions to the shop are ‘Lottie Day’ Tea towels featuring striking designs of fruit and veg. As well as some unique ‘Letol Jacquard’ organic cotton scarves designed and woven in the South of France.

Always popular gift items are the Iridescent glass vases and baubles from ‘Isle of Wight Glass’, and of course some chocolate! ‘Love Cocoa’, a business run by James Cadbury, related to the famous Cadbury family, who prefers sustainable chocolate. For every bar sold, a tree is planted. The Truffles are presented in a wonderful presentation box. For the month of December fitch & fellows will be keeping it local with an exhibit of paintings by wonderful local artist Derek Witchell. From a stocking filler to a statement piece of art, you can be sure, a gift for Christmas from fitch & fellows will be extra special.

Celebrating The Unusual

In Creative Craftsmanship

18 Butter Market, Thame OX9 3EP 01844 215099 www.fitchandfellows.com

Dietitian Kate Costello’s helpful guide for enjoying the Festive Season with a fussy eater.

and enjoyment so even if your child is a slow eater, limit mealtimes to about 20 minutes then let them move away from the table. They can always come back for more if they are still hungry.

l Don’t overload your child’s plate We all overindulge and eat more than normal throughout the festive season, especially for Christmas dinner. Children, however, can feel overwhelmed at the sight of too much food on their plate, so start with a small portion and they can easily have a second helping afterwards if they choose.

l Think about the environment Some children struggle with sensory overload and Christmas can increase this anxiety, with extra visitors, family and generally more noise and chaos than usual. Your child may struggle with all these sensory changes, this can make meal-times harder. Keep this in mind when you are thinking about the environment at Christmas Dinner. Maybe your child needs a favourite calming song on in the background or a favourite teddy at the dinner table with them. Ensure they are sitting by someone who understands how they may be feeling and can offer reassurance. If you child struggles with noise levels, then think about this when planning and consider having a quieter space in the house where they can go to for a bit of calm time during the day.

l And finally enjoy it! Christmas is once a year so don’t worry if your child eats more treats than usual during the festive period and on Christmas Day. A few days of less healthy eating won’t harm anyone.

Much of the above can be relevant to everyday life when helping a child that is going through a fussy eating phase, should you need more support regards to this, or any infant or child related dietary concerns, please get in touch.

season offers. However, for many families, this period of celebration can cause anxiety if your child is a fussy/ picky eater. I have put together a guide for families who are worried about how they are going to manage Christmas with a fussy eater. Hopefully, these steps will reduce parental and child anxiety, resulting in families feeling happier with mealtimes at Christmas.

l Make food fun The most important thing that you as parents/carers can do during the Christmas period and on Christmas day is to stay relaxed. Children are very in-tune with how people around them are feeling and if you are anxious then this will often make the child anxious. I encourage families to remember that Christmas is a magical, fun time for children and to think of food as being part of that fun experience. While children are feeling all excited about Christmas and the different experiences, this may be a good opportunity to try and encourage them to experiment with different foods. Getting them involved with cooking/baking foods that they would not normally eat is a great place to start, whether it’s rolling out the pasty for mince pies or helping with peeling and chopping vegetables. The most important thing is to make sure they are having fun, parents and carers are role models, so remember you should also show that you are having fun too! Allow your child to get a little messy, it’s so important they feel free to explore food and different textures. Try and resist the urge to intervene to keep them clean as they explore their food!

l Children like to feel in-control Buffets and finger food work well for children, it allows them to choose what they want to eat and for the very young, it enables them to grip and hold the food they want to choose. If you are having Christmas parties, then make it a buffet style party and lay out food that your child likes in addition to other foods that they wouldn’t normally eat. That way your child will feel happy with those “safer” foods that they feel comfortable with, and they may also take some of the other food if they feel comfortable and see other children do the same. I have two little boys and they always eat foods at school and nursery that they won’t eat at home, this is a common theme with most families I work with. Children learn from other children so having other children around is great for encouraging new foods.

l Keep the pressure off If your child wants to try something new, great, give LOTS of praise and encouragement for doing this. However, if they clearly do not want something that is being offered then don’t make a fuss, simply take the food away and calmly move on. If you keep putting pressure on your child to try something, then the more likely they will continue to refuse it.

l Pack some food that your

If you are visiting family or friends on Christmas day or going to a Christmas party, then you don’t want the focus of that fun occasion to be spoilt by your child not eating anything. Do some preparation in advance and ensure you pack some food your child will enjoy.

l Limit mealtimes to approximately

Children get bored easily and want to be off playing rather than sitting for prolonged periods of time. Adults may love to stay at a table chatting, drinking and picking on food, but this can make mealtimes seem a chore for children. Remember we want food and mealtimes to be associated with fun

Registered Paediatric Dietitian Based in Thame, Oxfordshire web: www.katecostello.co.uk email: info@katecostello.co.uk

– why not try a live-in care trial to see the benefits of staying in your own home with just the right amount of help to enable you to remain as independent as possible. Tackling a conversation with a loved family member about their care needs and whether or not, they can continue to live independently at home, is daunting at the best of times but in the current difficult economic climate even more so. However, it is so important to look at all options. Far too many families automatically assume that an elderly relative needs to go into a residential care home when daily tasks start to become difficult, but this is not necessarily the case. In fact, research shows that person-centred one-to-one care in the comfort of one’s own home results in far better emotional health as well as physical health. Most people want to remain at home for as long as possible and live-in home care is certainly the oldest and most respected form of social care, just little known in the UK. The best way to see if it’s suitable for you and your family is to give it a try. Ashridge Home Care is a family run independent care business which offers a Live-In Care Trial Service so you can see exactly what it is like having a carer live at home with you. Understandably many people are nervous about inviting a stranger into their home. However, Ashridge carefully matches carers with clients so that not only are their medical and physical care needs met but to ensure that common interests are shared and the all-important underlying values are compatible to live together. The trial involves a free consultation with a Care Manager, this can be either in person or over the phone, who then puts together a bespoke Care package. The Care Manager sources a suitable live-in carer for you to be matched with and you will be given a detailed carer profile outlining their experience, training qualifications as well as interests and hobbies to see if there is a suitable match. The Care Manager will also offer clear information on costs so you can make a considered care decision. Ashridge’s Care Manager describes a typical scenario: “ We recently had a client who booked live-in care for 2 weeks following a hospital stay. She was extremely anxious about having a carer living with her and was very clear that it would be short term, however, she soon realised how supportive and helpful the carer was, allowing her to live more independently and enjoy life again. She made the decision to book live-in care on an ongoing basis.”

Something special from the

will make a beautiful gift this Christmas.

or to receive. See a loved ones eyes light up when they open your present from Thame Jewellery Workshop on Christmas Day. Located on Thame’s historic High Street, the shop window illuminates the long dark winter days. This independent family run business is home to beautiful rings, bracelets, necklaces, earrings and cuff links. These include many locally designed items. The Workshop specialise in the more unusual pieces. You will find Opals from Australia, as well as a variety of semi precious stones. Add to this a large collection of cultured pearls, copper and silver and even fossil stones set in rings and pendants, as well as ‘a girls best friend’, Diamonds. Prices start from as little as £18.00 for small silver items. Jewellery designer and Goldsmith, Robert French is on site, creating handmade bespoke items of jewellery. Thame Jewellery Workshop also carry out valuable repair work for their customers. From repairing damaged and broken pieces to cleaning, tightening and re sizing valuable heirlooms. It’s a full range of jewellery repair and maintenance services. The Workshop also offer on-site valuations for probate, insurance and selling purposes. A precious gift that will last a lifetime from Thame Jewellery Workshop.