Ever since my first son was born, bedtime stories have been my favorite part of our evening routine.
There's something almost magical about snuggling down together at the end of the day to enjoy a good story, and over the years our home library has grown to include all manner of children's book - from classic favourites from my own childhood and beautifully illustrated seasonal delights, to modern classics and the silly ones that have my three children in fits of giggles - children's books are my ultimate weakness and are most certainly what I spend most of my money on these days!
I believe that the books we love most as children stay with us as we get older, and can often help to form some of our favorite childhood memories - my own childhood favorite was a Christmas book I received as a gift when I was about 6 years old.
It was a personalised Christmas story all about Father Christmas taking me on an adventure to the North Pole - I can still remember most of the pages of that book, it was personalised with my own name and the names of my sister and friends, even the name of my Nan's cat as we didn't have a pet of our own.
It felt so special to me to have something that felt as though it was written just for me - especially so as I always struggled to get anything personalised with my name on back then. (I remember desperately searching the racks of personalised 80's hairbands looking for a Hayley only to find Helens and Heathers!)
So it's little wonder that I still think of personalised childrens books as one of the most special gifts you can give.
A little while ago, my middle child decided to change the spelling of her name and so - although her name isn't uncommon - the spelling she uses is. So when we were given the chance to try a personalised book from In The Book, I knew I wanted to get her something with her name on.
In The Book have a wide selection of personalised story books for children which would make for a wonderful gift this Christmas or for any special occasion you have coming up - be sure to check out their full range.
Noa is very much your typical 5 year old girl in that she absolutely adores anything related to Princesses - so when I saw the Disney Princess Tales Of Bravery collection - I knew it would be perfect!
There are 3 stories inside this particular book - each one focused around a different Disney Princess (Belle, Ariel and Mulan). The stories are not your average re-telling of the well known classic tales, instead they feature the characters in brand new short stories that show their bravery and strength - something I firmly believe we need to see much more of in female-led childrens stories.
The first page was able to be personalised with a message, which is a particularly love touch if you're buying this book as a gift.
Noa is now at the age where she's just starting to be able to read, and so she recognised her name instantly and was absolutely delighted to see her new spelling - she loved picking out the parts of the story that mentioned her name throughout too, her little face lit up each time she found it.
The stories were quite inventive with how the child's name was used - in some of the stories Noa was referred to as an observer within the story and in others she was portrayed as a little bird named Noa - all of which were very cute!
The quality of the book was exceptional, with beautiful illustrations and it even came presented in a beautiful Walt Disney gift box which would make for a stunning keepsake gift.
I think my favorite aspect though, was that on the last page we were able to add a photograph of Noa - she was so excited to see this when we reached the end of the book!
My own personalised story book from childhood was one that I read so often that it ended up falling to pieces (which I then sellotaped back together and continued to read for years!) - I can see this book being one that Noa loves and cherishes just as much.
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