All posts by Leo

Christmas, Seasons, Winter

Letters to Santa and Christmas Lists

Can you feel the Christmas magic yet?  No doubt the kids can and are getting ready to write that all-important letter to Santa and Christmas list!  With this in mind, we thought we’d put together a quick post to highlight all our free letter to Santa and Christmas list templates.  So, if your child is writing his or her Christmas correspondence to that magical man at the North pole this week, perhaps these will come in handy:

 

Need a Reply?

If your child has written a letter and/or Christmas list, or drawn a picture for Santa, you may be looking for a reply.  Obviously, we have to keep it general, but we’ve created the following resources to help you out:

And don’t forget we create a range of longer free letters from Santa too!

Need a Reminder?

A note from Santa asking your child to write his or her Christmas List
Please write Your Christmas List!

If the Christmas clock is ticking and your little one is dragging his or her heels about getting that Christmas List written, this little reminder from Father Christmas may just do the trick. Good luck and have a very merry Christmas – ho, ho, ho! x

Santa Claus or Father Christmas?

Many of our letters to Santa Claus are also available as letters to Father Christmas. This is because we know that people in different families and places call him by different names. In the UK, we find the preference is for “Father Christmas”, in the USA it’s “Santa”.

We’re sorry that we haven’t managed to provide two versions of absolutely every resource – we’ve had a lot to do and have been short on time. However, if there is an alternative version of any of our letters, you’ll be able to see a note and a link underneath it.

You might also like our elf printables!

Autumn, Halloween

Our Favourite Fun for Halloween

Not long now until that spooky time of year – so we’ve collected a few of our favourite Halloween printables together below.   Some are popular every year, others are new additions.  Whatever you’re doing on the 31st of October, we hope you have a frighteningly good time!

No Trick or Treat Posters

Trick or treating is great fun but it’s fine not to want to take part. You don’t need to give your reasons to opt out but one of the best ways to let trick or treaters know it’s not for you is to put a light-hearted notice up in your window. Here are a few which might help you out.

If you’re looking for some simple paper decorations to hang around the house, you might also like our Halloween ghosts:

 

 

 

 

 

Oooo! And before you go, you might like to create some decorative jars full of spooky potion ingredients.  If so, why not make use of our Witch’s Pantry Potion Labels.  It’s a great way to get your house looking just like a witch’s hovel!

Autumn, Seasons, Thanksgiving

Harvest Festival Printables

Autumn is upon us (in the UK anyway) and so is the time of harvest.  In fact, did you know that the Old English word “haerfest” actually means “autumn”?  Yes, indeed, and for those of you looking for some harvest festival printables for your children to help celebrate, we’ve assembled ours below.

When is Harvest Festival 2023 (UK)?

Harvest Festival is celebrated on the nearest Sunday to the Harvest Moon (that’s the full moon nearest to the September equinox).  This year in the United Kingdom, the Harvest Moon will shine down upon us on Friday 29 September.  So that means the 2023 Harvest Festival Feast will fall on Sunday 1 October.

This year’s autumn equinox is actually a couple of days before that on Saturday 23 September 2023, and harvest-themed church services can take place throughout September and October.

picture of annual solsticesAs harvest celebrations in general take place over several days, it doesn’t really matter when you have yours.  Traditionally though, it was never held after Michaelmas Day on the 29th September, because that’s when the church decided that the Harvest Festival period should officially end.  The idea was that all the crops had to be brought in before St Michael’s Mass and that parishes would then gather in their churches to give thanks.  These days, dates are not as strict.

Picture of a corn dolly twist
Corn Dolly Twist

Also, it’s worth remembering that traditions surrounding bringing in the harvest predate Christianity by a loooong chalk, in the UK going back to at least Saxon times.  Some of the very old traditions are feasting, dancing and playing games.  Making corn dollies was also popular, which were carefully kept in people’s homes as a tribute to the Spirit of the Corn or Goddess of the Grain, in the hope that he or she would make sure there was a good harvest the following year.  Not all corn dollies were made in the shape of a doll mind you, some were woven to look like bells, crosses, knots, spirals and animals such as hares and horses.  Different parts of the country often had their own corn dolly traditions.

All in all, Harvest Festival time was a chance to come together and have fun, to be thankful for whatever the land had supplied, and to lift people’s spirits and put them in a positive frame of mind, ready to get through the winter.

After all that of course, we’re in the run up to Halloween…

If you’re having your own Harvest Festival celebration at your home, church or school, you might like our free printable poster:

Midnight Messenger, Summer

Fairyland Newspaper: Summer Issue

Summer Issue of a magical newspaper, the Midnight Messenger, lying on a table scattered with daisies.
The Midnight Messenger – Fairyland’s Newspaper! (Summer Issue)

Hello dear visitors!  By popular demand, we’ve uploaded a summer issue of our Fairyland newspaper, the Midnight Messenger, for you to print for your child.  Although the world is finally recovering from the pandemic, we especially hope it will help entertain those of you having to self-isolate thanks to catching Covid-19.

In this issue you can find out what’s been happening at Christmas House, where the Easter Bunny has been on holiday and what the Tooth Fairy’s been up to as of late.  As always, our thanks to Leone Betts for all her hard work putting it together and for allowing us to make it free on this site.

Are you looking for the previous issue? It’s here.

What is the Midnight Messenger?

The Midnight Messenger is the newspaper which gets delivered all around the magical world – read by everyone from Santa and his elves to the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and every other magical personality you can think of. And this summer, your child can read it too!

We’ve uploaded it as a PDF.  Just click here or on the picture below to download or view it.  It’s completely free.  We hope it makes you and your little ones smile.

Download the summer issue of the Midnight Messenger!

P. S.

If you enjoy this resource, please consider telling others. Our site survives because of people like you using it. Thanks x

More About the Midnight Messenger:

For those of you after more information about our Fairyland newspaper, it was first created in 2003 by L A Betts. It was early days for our site and as we didn’t have many visitors back then, after a couple of years we retired it. However, it carried on being delivered every month to magical folk of course, and has often mentioned in our other creations, such as the Father Christmas letters.

The Midnight Messenger is normally in black and white, but special issues like the one for Easter, are in colour. It regularly features news from well-known parts of the magical world, like Father Christmas’s house in the North Pole, and features many familiar characters such as Jack Frost, the Sandman and the Tooth Fairy. But it also features new characters your child won’t have heard of, such as the Worrying Witch, the Fortune-Telling Toad and all sorts of goblins, fairies and elves.

It’s always hard to know what people want more of, but if we sense the Midnight Messenger is popular, we’ll consider adding further issues to our site.

Autumn, Winter

Best of Bonfire Night

Although dwindling in popularity compared to Halloween, the 5th of November is still celebrated in many parts of the UK.  We’ve created a handful of printables with this in mind and whether it’s “Bonfire Night”, “Guy Fawkes Night” or “Fireworks Night” in your house, we hope you find them useful.

Remember, Remember Scrolls

If you’re looking for a printable version of that famous Guy Fawkes Night chant, ours are below.  They’re a great way to add to the 5th of November decorations.

We hope you have a roaring good time on Bonfire Night, but remember to be careful… fireworks can be as hot as dragon’s breath, and you wouldn’t go too near a dragon, would you?  x

Christmas, Winter

Five Free Early Christmas Printables

You may think it’s a way off but before you know it, it’ll be that time a year again!

Magical Christmas clockSure, it’s an inner groan from those of us who dread the Christmas shopping but on the children front, it’s hard not to smile when you think of the upcoming magic. We’ve been doing this long enough to know that right this minute there are children out there wondering if they’ve been good enough (and if not trying to do better rather hurriedly!) for a certain someone to bring presents this year.

It’s a great time, therefore, to encourage your little ones to use their imaginations… Far up in the North Pole the Christmas clock is ticking; the elves have started to wrap up their presents, the reindeer have begun getting into shape for the long journey on Christmas Eve, and the Nice List is sparkling into life. Will your little one’s name magically appear on it?

With this in mind and for all those who just can’t wait, here are our five favourite free early Christmas printables. In our house, we use them to build excitement early on, so that by the time Christmas rolls around, our children can almost hear the sleigh bells. We hope you and yours enjoy them too.

1 Nice List Certificate

You're on the Nice List
You’re on the Nice List

If your child has been good, it’s never too early to let them know they’re on the nice list! As well as being a printable image you can write on, this one also comes as an editable PDF, which means you can just hit the appropriate button (underneath the main image) and type straight onto the certificate.

Not quite what you’re looking for? Check out the rest of our Christmas certificates here.

2 A letter from Santa to Read Before Christmas

Picture of a free printable letter from Santa, complete withh wiggly writing and illustrations of reindeerOur before Christmas letters have long been popular with anyone who wants to find out what magical things have been going on at the North Pole. A Kitchen Full of Reindeer is one of our favourites and it’s completely free from this site. (Check our Terms of Use.) It’s a magical, funny letter, telling the story of how all the reindeer have ended up causing havoc in Santa’s kitchen.

Oh – and if you’re folding/rolling up your letter and want the back to look pretty, you can always print one of our Christmassy letter-back designs on the other side.

We hope you enjoy our letters, but please remember they are only for personal use – it’s not legal to sell then or use them for any other commercial purposes. Their copyright remains with the author.

3 Santa’s Magic Mirror Note

Letter from Santa “Santa's Magic Mirror Writing”
Santa Letter: Santa’s Magic Mirror Writing

This is a great note for anyone who wants to let their children know that a couple of Santa’s elves are popping by (in secret of course) to see if they’re being good. Use it as early as you like to encourage good behaviour and for extra effect, print and fold a little envelope from Santa to put it in.

Your child will need a mirror to read this top-secret message – but that’s all part of the magic.

4 November Niceness Certificate

Certificate of November Niceness
November Niceness

Another certificate from Santa – but this time one’s just for November.

5 Elf Notification: You Made It to The Nice List

This cute note is a great reward for a child who has been good all year. It’s such a great feeling to know the elves have noticed!

Looking for more letters from the elves?  Try this page of our site.

Along with the rest of the resources on this page, we really hope this note helps you create a little extra magic for your loved ones this Christmas. x

Colouring, Our Favourite Printables

Schoolwork Achievement Certificates

Well, it’s back to school after the summer and we always get requests for achievement certificates for schoolwork around this time of year.

So if you’re a teacher or a parent helping with your child’s learning, here are some of our favourite certificates.  We hope they’ll be of use to you:

Our Award from the Council of Dragons is always popular too!

Printable children's certificate saying you've been as clever as a dragon.
Clever as a Dragon

You might also like these school-themed resources:

Spring

Kids Activity Certificates

Now that spring is on the way (at least in here in the northern hemisphere), maybe it’s time to get active. Or perhaps you’ve been struck by a sudden need to clear away the cobwebs and spring clean the house. Either way, if you’re hoping to enthuse the kids, you could try rewarding them with one of these fun certificates. If schoolwork is more your child’s thing, there are a couple of certificates for that too. Everyone likes to see their efforts recognised, just print them out and stick the to the wall or fridge.

Kids printable bike riding certificate, saying well done
Bike Riding Award
A certificate to reward good behaviour for the mini-monster in your life!
Mini-Monster Certificate
Pirate Certificate: Award for a Ship-Shape Cabin
Award for a Ship-Shape Cabin
(Ready to personalise)
Horse Riding Certificate Template
Editable Horse Riding Certificate Template
Kids' certificate for saying well done for learning to swim
Learning to Swim
(No name needed)
Kids certificate for learning to swim
Learning to Swim
(Ready to Personalise)
Free printable kids' certificate - well done for learning to read
Learning to Read
(Ready to Personalise)
Kids' certificate to say well done for learning to ride a bike
Learning to Ride a Bike
(Ready to personalise)
Monstrously Good Student
Printable witch reward certificte for scarily good schoolwork
Scarily Good Schoolwork
Fairy Certificate of Tidiness
Sock Monster Certificate: Safe Socks Award
Safe Socks Award
Learning to Swim - free mermaid certificate
Learning to Swim

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Printable children's certificate saying you've been as brave as a dragon.
Brave as a Dragon
Printable children's award certificate for being as strong as a dragon.
Strong as a Dragon
Fairy Certificate of Achievement
Summer

10 Summer Favourites

With the summer underway, (at least in the northern hemisphere – apologies to those elsewhere!), we thought we’d post a short list of our most popular summer printables.  We hope you find them useful:

1 Summer Party Bags

Summer Party Bags
Summer Party Bags

2 Summer Tooth Fairy Note and Certificates

3 Summer Traveller Pirate Certificate

Free printable pirate certificate - summer traveller
Summer Traveller Pirate Certificate
(Ready to personalise)

4 Summer Garland and Bunting

Printable Fruit Garland

5 Summer Colouring Pages

6 Summer Party Invitations

7 Sporty Summer Certificates

8 Remember to Pack Your Toothbrush! (Tooth Fairy Note)

Printable note from the Tooth Fairy reminding a child to pack a toothbrush
Remember to Pack Your Toothbrush

9 Summer Paper Baskets and Cones

10 Useful Thank You Notes for Summer

BEST FROM THE WEB:

For anyone looking for more lovely summery resources, here are a few of our favourites from around the internet:

Printable Masks – This site has a great collection of masks to keep the kids entertained this summer, or indeed at any other time of year.

Hidden Pictures – This selection of charming pictures with things hidden all over them is great for keeping children busy over the summer.  Like hide-and-seek on the page!  They can also be coloured in for extra fun.

Parties, Summer

Platinum Jubilee Decorations

The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee is coming up and celebrations are taking place throughout the UK between 2nd to 5th June 2022.  It commemorates her being on the throne for seventy years, which is the longest of any British monarch, and no doubt there’ll  be street parties aplenty.

If you’re looking for printable decorations to make, we’ve collected some below.  Don’t forget you can also make use of printables from the government’s official toolkit.  We hope you have a lovely time.

Oh, and here are some Jubilee party invitations:

If you’re having a street party and want it to look extra pretty, you might like to make some of these cute paper baskets and fill them with treats such as sweets, raisins and peanuts or popcorn.

Oh and don’t forget our free Platinum Jubilee Poster:

Free poster for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, picturing the Queen, the British flag and the crown.
Jubilee Poster

Jubilee Paper Chains

Paper chains can be an especially good way to get the children involved in the Jubilee celebrations.  Just print, cut out and glue the ends together.