The house is adorned in hundreds of fairy lights, tinsel is covering every single surface and the Christmas tree is proudly standing. I love the festive season, the glitter and glitz papering over life’s cracks. Winter feels wonderful when the Christmas decorations are up. Let’s not think about January when the house will be bare again. The cold and grey weather will mean that we are soon craving some sparkle again. Winter is less wondrous when those decorations have come down.
Today (if you are reading this on Christmas Eve) the family will be arriving to stay for the Christmas period. I’ve been baking up a storm for the whole month of December, yet I am still trying to quell that sense of panic that I haven’t quite baked enough. Is there time to bake just one more cake?
A Very Different Christmas
This time last year we were still reeling from the awful gazundering games. I’m looking forward to a Christmas that will be predictable. A Christmas with no angst hanging in the air. A Christmas with no worrying about selling our house and finding somewhere to live. I’m looking forward to our first Christmas in our home. Being woken up far too early by the children as they squeal in delight at the stockings filled with chocolate and satsumas, hanging on the end of their bed. I know how the day will pan out. The children will eat too much chocolate, breaking open the chocolate coins before breakfast, they will then tear open their presents. The adults, on the other hand, will savour the opening of the gifts. Trying to delay the moment when they have opened everything. Carefully and methodically unwrapping the presents. The children will then spend the rest of the day tearing around the house on a sugar high. My dad will sit in the corner reading a book, my brother will spend the day taking photos of everyone at the most inappropriate moment, chuckling to himself. My mum will be unable to relax and sit still (that will be where I get it from!) and will busy herself helping us get the Christmas dinner right. It’s a predictable pattern, it’s comfortable and that’s what I am looking forward to most.
I’m looking forward to slowing down. I have a week off work, which was rather unexpected. I had assumed that I would be working through, so that week off is going to be marvellous and magical. I will be slowing down, going for long walks, helping the children with Lego and savouring the ordinary. I’m also planning on a glorious gluttonous day where we will spend the day in our pjs, watching the television and waddling to the table for leftover food.
A Top Twixmas
Some people really struggle with the week between Boxing Day and New Year. I actually really love it. In fact, I have shared my ideas for what we should be doing during Twixmas over on VoucherCodes. It’s the only time of the year where there are no expectations placed upon us. When time slows down and hours blend into one. You can truly do nothing, indulge yourself and not feel guilty about it. This is all about family time. This time of year offers us so much promise without the grey dawn of reality that presents itself on New Year’s Day. I really dislike New Year’s Day. It just feels like such an anti-climax after that lovely, cosy and slow week. Suddenly we are rudely thrown back into real life and with that comes the pressure to do it all, and do it now. It leaves me feeling like I want to frantically retreat back into the festive season.
Eeeks, I am so excited for Christmas week. I will be cranking up the tunes, force-feeding everyone, then forcing everyone to play board games with me. It’s going to be Christmastastic with jingle bells on. I’m just going to dash to the shop one last time. I have this not completely irrational fear that the boats won’t make it in during Christmas week and that we will find ourselves eating just soggy Brussel sprouts as the shop has run out of everything else. Clearly we wouldn’t need to eat all of the sprouts as I have cooked enough cakes to feed a small army. But, still here I am about to dash to the shop. Think of me as I brave the feral crowds (rampaging for turkey) in the supermarkets. I’m going to have to shoehorn all of the food into the already groaning fridge and freezer. I like to be prepared for every eventuality and have all the food bases and possibilities ticked off.
This just leaves me to say that I hope you have a marvellous Christmas and I will see you in 2019.
