When PANDORA asked me, and two of my favourite Instagram friends Jules and Masha (who are now very much my real life friends too) if we’d like to join them on a festive country getaway….of course we leapt at the chance.

Word on the street is that nobody knows how to host a luxury weekend like PANDORA …and my goodness the word on the street is true!!
After a crazy few weeks of house moving, relocating and general pregnancy exhaustion, 24 hours with the girls, in a luxury country retreat… lunch, dinner, cocktails (well, mocktails for me) and plenty of festive crafting was exactly what the doctor ordered. If we weren’t already utterly in love with PANDORA and its simple, elegant and sentimental style…we certainly were now!

As I pulled into the driveway of the STUNNING Cliveden House in Berkshire I was quite honestly blown away. The old stone walls of this magnificent building were lit with low November sun and the grass sparkled with morning frost. Enormous fresh pine Christmas trees were being erected at the entrance to the hotel, and for the first time this year, I felt truly festive.

We were driven down to a beautiful lakeside cottage within the grounds of Cliveden. Imagine a real life gingerbread house perched on the side of a glistening lake…just magical.

The Room was filled with the smell of cinnamon, pine and eucalyptus and Bing Crosby played softly in the background.
After scoffing my first mince pie of the year and a few tiny sips of Bucks Fizz I entered the main room to be met with the enormous and utterly beautiful smile of Masha, AKA @mashatheone. Masha and I have been Instagram friends for almost two years. We watched our bumps grow simultaneously; our babes entered the world just 4 weeks apart and we messaged each other through those sleepless nights of breastfeeding. To finally meet her in real life was so exciting and so surreal. Isn’t it funny how you can feel so close and comfortable with someone you’ve never even met? I was so excited to spend the next 24 hours chatting away to her.
Around the corner popped the prettiest face of my dear friend Jules AKA @thisisjules. Jules and I also met through Instagram while growing our boys, but thankfully met in real life a lot sooner. Jules has since become one of my closest friends and all round favourite people. I haven’t seen her since Ollie’s birthday party in July, so it was such a treat to finally spend time together (particularly uninterrupted mama time, where we’re not taking it in turns to chase after our little men).
So we hugged and chatted and took a million pictures of each other – naturally – before we moved onto our first activity of the day…Christmas Wreath making!! I’ve wanted to have a go at wreath making for years, but never really knew where to start. SO MUCH FUN!!! I now pledge to make our wreath every year as it really did make me feel so incredibly Christmassy and proud.

What do you think of the finished article….? :-/

After our festive workshop, we donned our AWESOME new festive wellies and cosy winter coats and strolled through the gardens to the main house for lunch. It was truly delicious, as you’d expect. Some of the fanciest and tastiest food I’ve had in ages!

After another stroll through the beautiful gardens, watching the sun set over the lake, it was back to the house for more crafting. This time a gift wrapping workshop where we learnt how to wrap even the trickiest of objects.

We were each given a little red envelope with a fellow bloggers name inside. Secret Santa. I was delighted to be given Jules, as I know exactly what she likes. One by one, we each went into a little room to chose something beautiful from a box of Beautiful PANDORA CHRISTMAS COLLECTION. These little treats would then be wrapped and shared later at Dinner.

So why all this crafting at an event hosted by PANDORA Jewellery, you might ask?
Well, as we later learnt, exceptional craftsmanship is something PANDORA prides itself on.
A bold statement and a big commitment for a brand that creates 100 million pieces of jewellery every year. Each piece is hand-finished by over 12,000 craftsman and every delicate item passes through on average 30 pairs of skilled hands before it leaves the factory.
My favourite part of the PANDORA story though….At the heart of the brand are the many talented craftspeople that have been producing beautiful jewellery from their factory in Bangkok for more than 25 years. These crafts people receive a highly competitive salary, insurance and healthcare. They are also transported to and from work, offered a nutritious subsidised lunch as well as loads of other life benefits. As such, PANDORA is considered an exceptionally desirable employer in Thailand, with a teeny tiny 3.3% turnover of staff.
I loved learning about this craftsmanship, and how wonderful to know of the story and skill behind every single piece of PANDORA jewellery.

Masha had chosen me a beautiful RADIANT HEARTS OF PANDORA STACKING RING. I love it! And in closer inspection you can see just how detailed and intricate it is, the craftsmanship is clear to see.

In the evening, we headed to our rooms. WOW!!! Just WOW!!!
Enormous four poster beds, incredible views over the gorgeous gardens and a bathroom to die for. As if that wasn’t enough we also received a whole load more goodies, including personalised mugs, cashmere wrist warmers and a beautiful winter scarf.

Then it was time to get glammed up for dinner. A deliciously seasonal feast, followed by drinks by the fire.

I slept so well that night in my heavenly hotel bed. Where oh where do they find those sheets?!?!
In the morning I woke up without an alarm (I know, I know!!) and Jules and I gathered in Masha’s room for tea and some last min pictures…including this one of my ever expanding waistline!! 🙂

After breakfast it was time to say goodbye….and I really didn’t want to! We honestly had the most incredible 24 hours, I wish we could do it all over again.
I can’t thank PANDORA enough for asking me to be part of this magical Christmas Campaign and quite frankly spoiling us rotten!!

Wishing you all a fabulous December, filled with rest, relaxation and of course…plenty of fun!