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Mistletoe Mania

It’s that time of year again!  Shops have been dripping with tinsel for months, kids are composing letters to Santa, and Mums are starting to compile copious lists.

Men everywhere recognise that something is brewing…. But what is it? 

The first clue – Cliff starts to sing about mistletoe and wine on the radio.  Then it’s all jingle bells, Three Kings, holly and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.  Shaking Stevens, Boney M, The Pogues, Mariah Carey and Bing Crosby, blast us with Christmas joy.  And of course we have the Muppets and John Denver to remind us about the twelve day lead up to Christmas.

If that’s not enough to remind our men, surely this will do it.  Gardens and houses are engulfed in a myriad of twinkling lights.  Santa and his reindeer leap across our roofs, snowmen flash and Christmas Elves prance around our gardens.  Any space left is filled with stars, bells and snow drops.

No – still nothing?  Ok then.  We bring a huge tree into our houses, shedding pine needles as we go, erect it precariously in the most obvious place in the house and cover that too with flashing lights and decorations.

For some reason fathers are taken to school to watch their children being unbelievably cute, dressed as shepherds, wise men, angels, donkeys and sheep.

Still not getting it?!  The Sound of Music and Love Actually are all you can watch on TV.  Your entire family is enveloped in red and white fleecy onesies.  It’s mince pies every day, and suddenly you’re supposed to love sherry.  Colourfully wrapped boxes have started to mysteriously appear under the tree.

A humungous bird is wrapped up in silver foil in the larder.  Sausages are wrapped in bacon.  There is an unreasonably large amount of brussel sprouts sitting on the kitchen worktop. 

He’s getting it!!  Oh no he isn’t!!  Oh yes he is…..

Christmas Eve and suddenly it all falls into place.  It all makes sense.  With a collective, gut wrenching panic, men around the world are realising that its Christmas Eve, and they only have today to do all of their shopping.  Towns are filled with wide-eyed men frantically searching the shops for the only present they actually have to buy. 

Excellent, they’ve found it.  The latest innovative kitchen whisk.  She’s going to love it ………  Again!  A collective wave of self-satisfaction sweeps across men all around the world as they acknowledge how well they’ve done.  Now they’re ready for Christmas!  Tra la la la la – la la la la.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

We’ve done it! We listened to all the amazing feedback that our wonderful Chicks in the Sticks Hen party ladies have given us  – they spilt the beans and told us that the men folk in their lives would all love our laid back venue, and that they had all looked for alternatives to the typical ‘lads night out on the town’. So here we have it New for 2019 our Alternative Stag party Weekends.

Bell Tents ready and waiting for the party

We had great fun asking everyone who would care to listen to come up with a name for our Stag Do’s. It needed to compliment Our Chicks in the Sticks Hen Parties.  We had some hilarious suggestion’s (most of them far too rude to repeat!) But we didn’t hesitate when ‘Gents in Tents’ was suggested– perfect name!

So, Gents if you are looking for a different sort of Stag Do for The Groom to be, venture down to our little bit of Devon Heaven – camp in our gorgeous fully furnished Bell Tents, and enjoy exclusive use of our fabulous venue, complete with a  quirky barn where you can party all night if you’re up to it, an undercover BBQ area and fire pits all set on our farm in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Stag Weekend_ Glamping_ Devon_ Groom Smiling
Stag Weekend Fun – Groom To Be – Glamping Devon

We Love hosting parties and are happy to adapt our package to suit whatever  you’re after – Fully catered, half board etc, we can mix and match to come up with the perfect combo.

Activity wise there’s so much to do – The Nigel Mansel Go Kart course is just a few miles away, there’s Golf, there’s Clay pigeon shooting, there’s gliding, there’s beautiful beaches, there’s Dartmoor the list goes on…. And not forgetting our local brewery tours and the beautiful Drew Arms pub in the village.

Beer - Glamping - Devon - Stag Do - Stag Party
Beer – Glamping – Devon – Stag Do – Stag Party

So, if this all sounds just right give us a call to check availability – we would love to hear from you.

Turn your bride into a Boho Babe with A Glamping Hen Party Weekend in Devon.

Congratulations Bridesmaids! You have been especially selected by your Bestie to hold her hand / guide her / tease her / love her through this wonderfully exciting time.

This also means one of the most important pre-wedding events has fallen to you – organising the perfect hen do. That one weekend where she gets to let her hair down with her girls’. So where do you start? So many possibilities…

Firstly – you know your bride. You know what she likes, dislikes, what would make her cringe and what would make her smile. There are so many options these days – a night out on the town, a spa day, a shopping spree…You know the bride better than anyone, so it’s up to you decide what would make her perfect weekend.


You might know your bride, but here at ‘Chicks In The Sticks’ we know that to make a weekend really memorable, you need to think outside the box. And if you’re girl is the outdoorsy-type then we might just have the perfect option for you.

So what actually IS glamping, I hear all your tent-phobic friends ask? Well, the dictionary definition reads as follows;

A form of camping involving accommodation and facilities more luxurious than those associated with traditional camping”

Although accurate, we think that definition is a little bland. A glamping weekend at Chicks in the Sticks is SO much more than that.

Come join us in our little bit of Devon Heaven, and you and your party will have exclusive use of our gorgeous venue for 2 nights. We can accommodate up to 20 hens in our beautifully furnished bell tents, and our quirky party barn is there for you to use the whole weekend.

We’ve got your daytime actives covered too. We’ve teamed up with some amazingly talented artisans who love running creative workshops for the Bride To Be and her entourage – We have print making, willow working, , graffiti, quilt making, the list goes on…

Breakfasts and lunches are included, and if you’re after fully catered, our lovely chef loves creating delicious dinners ready to suit all taste buds and dietary requirement! You’ll also have full access to our especially built kitchen, complete with undercover dining area.

If joining us in our little bit of Devon heaven is ticking all the right boxes for you and your fellow hens (and of course, the Bride To Be!) we would love to hear from you.

 

 

 

 

Spring lambs, flowers, calves and hens!

It’s Spring!   2 new lambs just born, christened Butch and Sundance. The sun is shining, just had our first Hen weekend and life is good! This is my favourite time of year on the farm, bluebells are coming out, lots of lovely new leaves, and wild flowers springing up in the fields. IMG_3225 And lots of flowers on Hen’s heads as well !  Not the feathery kind!  We are very excited at the moment because we’ve decided to start breeding Grey Faced Dartmoor sheep.  This is a rare breed, very pretty with black noses and dreadlocks down to the ground.  High on the cuddly scale.  They’re  supposed to be very placid and love people, so there may be the odd ground invasion during our events!  We’re off to Holsworthy Market next week to buy some mums with babies – so exciting !  Watch this space.

The other brilliant news is that our calf born last year, named Tripod, because one of his legs didn’t work is still going strong.  We spent weeks massaging his legs and splinting him over night, and then taking him for gentle walks on a lead and it’s all paid off.  He’s just gone out in the field and is gambling around like a baby.  Making up for lost time!  Such a sweetheart.   Only problem is he thinks I’m his mum so he follows me around everywhere.  We’re both suffering from separation anxiety !  Well I am anyway.  He’s out there in the big wide field, I don’t know who he’s mixing with, if he’s got a girlfriend, if he’s eating properly,  if he’s getting enough sleep, not over partaking of the water !   The trials of motherhood !  And I’ve got all of this to come with Butch and Sundance.

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Anyway I’ll keep you posted !