Girls day in: how to create a home spa

As the grey sky glares down on us, and our condensate pipe requires more and more kettles of hot water to thaw out and provide us with heating, we find ourselves wishing we’d booked our Center Parcs trip for January rather than waiting for the summer. Clearly we would be spending most of our time indoors, in the Subtropical Swimming Paradise, deluding ourselves that summer has arrived. But Mummy would almost certainly be sloping off to the Aqua Sana Spa, and after my home spa experience last week, I will be hot on her heels!

As a result of the recent snow, I have been sent home from school early on a couple of occasions. Not because I hit my teacher full in the face with a snowball, nor because my snowman rolling led to crushed toes on the playground, but to allow everyone to get home safely get home fast and have some fun. Here’s how to run your very own pampering spa at home:

1. It being chilly, we put the fire on in our ‘pink room’ and created the massage bed, by laying warmed towels on a rug, and covering with a fleecy blanket. We lit candles and tea-lights for the cosy, intimate feel of a therapy room.
2. Very few people know that my Mum is qualified in aromatherapy massage and reflexology. I had a bit of a headache, so she decided that I needed a warming and cleansing massage, and mixed Black Pepper, Geranium, and Chamomile oils into a Grapeseed carrier oil. She added a few drops of Orange, to freshen it, and because she knows I like citrus. But even without a stash of essential oils, anyone can give a nice warming massage – there are lots of different pre-blended oils available cheaply on the high street.
3. Lights dimmed and delicious scents filling my head, all I needed to complete the spa experience was some relaxing music. We used a CD of rainforest sounds set to very chilled out music. I was busy trying to identify the birds, and talking about getting wet in the rain for a while – relax is not a word on the first page of my psychological dictionary!
4. It didn’t take long though before I stopped fidgeting and giggling, and relaxed into the sensation of warm hands on my shoulders, easing away the tension, niggling at the knots, and warming up my feet. I’d had an upset tummy earlier in the week, so Mummy incorporated some reflexology techniques to help my digestive system (another reason for choosing Black Pepper and Chamomile). It took me a while to get up afterwards…

Am I the luckiest 8 year old, or what??

Tots 100 and Center Parcs UK are giving away a wildcard entry to their favourite home-spa blog post author. Check out the competition on the Tots 100 page for more details of how to enter. You have until 4pm on 25 January to enter, so make the most of those snow days!