I can’t believe it’s the last day of 2015 already. It’s been a whirlwind year with a ton of ups and downs. I’m sort of glad to see the end of it, it is nice to look back at the good blog stuff for the year. I’m joining in the Where Wishes Come From annual New Year’s link-up 15 from ’15! So here’s a lookback at 2015 on dairy free kids.
1. Most Popular Post:
The most popular post on the blog this year that was written this year was a recipe for Tea Scones. This was a recipe taken from my Junior Certificate Home Economics book ‘All About Home Economics’ by Deirdre Madden which is definitely a classic! The second most popular was my annual post on easter eggs – Dairy Free Easter Egg Hunt 2015. The other three posts in my top 5 are from 2014 and 2013 Dairy Free Shopping Trolley from Aldi, Dairy Free Breakfast Cereals and my most popular recipe Chocolate Brownies
2. Favourite Blog Photo:
My favourite photo of 2015 from the blog is this one, I just love the sheer glee on my son’s face as he’s about to devour a no bake chocolate brownie!
I also love this one.. happy boys eating soya ice-cream!
3. Favourite Non – blog photos
Here’s some of my favourite non-blog photos from 2015
4. Best Adventure:
We had lots of adventures this year, I loved visiting Belfast with the family and everyone loved the Titanic museum of course but we were blown away by W5 – a children’s wonderland (and adult’s) that we can’t wait to visit again! Best adventure had to be Electric Picnic again though. We just can’t get enough clearly. :) Tickets already booked for 2016! We went for two nights minus the boys this time and then the boys came down on Sunday morning so we had the best of both worlds. As with the previous year there was plenty of places to eat dairy free.
5. Favourite Recipes:
Lots to choose from here. We loved the No Bake Brownies from the Happy Pear, my favouite creation of my own was this Ginger Cake with lemon drizzle icing which I did for a guest post on Where Wishes Come From. And the kids loved these Oreo cupcakes and Gingerbread Cookies.
Oreo Cupcakes
Gingerbread Cookies
6. Best Celebration:
Two kids birthday parties and Christmas of course! Let the photos tell the story!
7. Favourite Comment:
2015 has seen a huge increase in people reading my blog and with it an increase in comments, tweets, likes etc. I am grateful for each and every one! I appreciate every time someone takes the time to comment! I’ve had some photos of recipes that people have tried out this year, I love hearing that someone’s tried something and how they got on!
8. Favourite dairy free find:
I love these mini lemon muffins from Pure Bred which are dairy and gluten free, and can be found in Dunnes Stores, SuperValue and Tesco.
9. Best Blog Moment:
I was delighted to reach the final of the Irish Parenting Blogs awards in the Special Interest category and to be a finalist for the Boots Maternity and Infant awards best parenting blog. I had a couple of articles published in HuffPost UK and on the new Irish food website Savour.ie. My favourite thing about blogging this year though was meeting other bloggers, forming new friendships and strengthening old ones. The Irish Parenting Bloggers awards stand out for me as a wonderful night with a great bunch of people many who I was meeting again and some for the first time.
10. Favourite Freebie:
I have received lots of fabulous items to review over the year, my most used is a Netflix subscription which we use everyday! But my absolute favourites are when I receive cook books. I reviewed Katy Salter’s Dairy Free Delicious earlier in the year and I’m looking forward to reviewing Susan Jane White’s The Virtuous Tart very soon!
12. Favourite Link Ups:
I took part in some linkys again this year. I loved doing the Week in Dairy Free Dinners on Bumbles of Rice, the Better Breakfasts link up over on Simply Homemade and I sent a guest post for the Craft Advent series on Where Wishes Come From. This year I was a regular contributor to Free From Fridays which is a link up for free from recipes every Friday run by Free From Farmhouse.
13. Favourite Series:
In 2015 I continued my monthly product watch series with 5 or 6 new (to me) dairy free items which I found each month. I have had good feedback that this is helpful so I will be continuing again into 2016. I also revived my interview series and spoke to many interesting people about their food allergy journeys. I find it helpful to speak to other parents of chidren with food allergies and I have had a lot of positive feedback from people regarding the interviews. Thanks to all the lovely interviewees for giving their time to this.
14. Favourite Craft:
I love these sensor bottles I helped the boys make during the year. They are a bit like snow globes, when you shake them the glitter suspends in the water and slowly settles.
15. What My Blog Did For Me In 2015:
When the kids are gone to bed and all is quiet I love to tip away at the blog, there is always lots to do and research and I really enjoy it. So it’s my little something for me. Repeating point 9 above, I really enjoyed meeting bloggers this year and getting to know some better in person.
Happy New Year to you and yours.
Have a read of the other great roundups or join in the linky yourself here:
My 15 from '15 - a lookback at 2015 on dairy free kids. I can't believe it's the last day of 2015 already. It's been a whirlwind year with a ton of ups and downs.
