Merry Twixtmas from Wales!

A new idea that is aimed at beating a modern social problem, a lack of time due to over-planned and scheduled lifestyles, is happening in Wales, in  Bridgend County, to be exact. It's happening over the five days between Christmas and New Year.

Bridgend County is the first Welsh host of Twixtmas - a UK-wide campaign to offer a chance for families and friends to get together and try out some new activities, help other people and to rediscover how to reclaim valuable time during a traditionally 'dead' period in the calendar.

Between 27th and 31st January, the #WelshTwixtmas programme will motivate people to try something new, help others, or do things they've been putting off throughout the year.

In Bridgend, the Twixtmas campaign group's got together with top tourist operators and community groups, backed by the local council, to offer a fantastic range of Twixtmas events to transform what can be a boring part of the year into a period for families to enjoy a ‘happiness binge’.

#WelshTwixtmas will encourage you to do something different during Twixtmas. It encourages you to ‘Seek’ ‘Blitz’ ‘Learn’ ‘Give’ and ‘Walk’ during the five days, through a series of engaging events in Bridgend County Borough. These will include:

27 Dec: Seek the Naturekeeper’s quest through a family treasure hunt in the Bridgend countryside through the council’s new ‘Dare to Discover’ mobile app
28 Dec: Blitz your environment through a beach clean-up at Porthcawl’s Rest Bay beach
29 Dec: Learn something new at a ‘University of Twixtmas’ event at Cwm Tawel Yurts
30 Dec: Give blood to the Welsh Blood Service or donate food to Bridgend Food Bank
31 Dec: Walk the stunning Bridgend stretch of the Wales Coastal Path

As part of its support for the Twixtmas campaign, a UK-wide initiative,  the campaign group will also launch a ‘Happiness Binge Guide’ to encourage people to take up the activities on offer and set goals for 2015 in line with the Twixtmas drive to ‘do something different’.

Andy Green from the Twixtmas campaign group, said: “We live in a society that is characterised by overscheduled lifestyles and rife with a real lack of time to spend quality time with ourselves, our families and friends. Research shows that the average British family spends just 49 minutes per day together - with many parents having to adopt a ‘shift parenting’ approach to taking care of their children."

“The five days of Twixtmas are an opportunity for people to reclaim valuable time, reassess their lifestyles and do something different - for themselves, the community, their family or someone else. It’s a timely reminder to all of us of the importance of taking quality and leisure time seriously to address work/life balance issues.

“We’re delighted that Bridgend will be the first Welsh county to host an event for #WelshTwixtmas. It’s positive to see so many businesses and the local authority supporting the initiative with a suite of exciting and unique activities across the county.”

Bridgend Council Leader, Mel Nott OBE, said: “The Twixtmas concept is all about transforming the five days between the Christmas and New Year holidays into a unique opportunity that reminds people to reclaim valuable personal time, undertake new experiences and approach 2015 with a fresh outlook for managing their work-life balance over the year ahead."

To learn more please visit www.twixtmas.com and www.bridgendbites.com.

(EDITOR: Thatschristmas will be following Twixtmas on Twitter.)