I'll be standing in line...

The line for the Christmas panto tickets will be round the building, so I'll have to get there early.  The tickets for Christmas Eve sell out very quickly, and if you have a lot of tickets to buy its even harder.  So instead of opening up my advent calender on December first, i will shoot out of the door and head right on into town.  It also means that I'll be there early enough that it wont be horrible trodding around town collecting parcels and ribbon.

Oh to dream...

I love looking through catalogues, brochures and magazines in the run up to Christmas.  I love the over-the-top fuss of them all.  The Fortnum and Mason one (in the picture) is brilliant! Its not something i buy into once the catalogue's been put down, but its lovely to fall into all of the images.  Its the same when you look through Country Living, Good Housekeeping or Easy Living, all of which i adore-but they are made for selling, so i don't see anything wrong with pouring over the images.  Its a very good method of escapism, and something to do wihle sipping a cup of cocoa.

So far....

So far I’ve done some baking-the first this year-and its some lovely Christmas sugar biscuits. I have bought most of the presents I’ve been intending to buy and feel really quite pleased with myself. Mr Tesco has sent out club card points and we’ve doubled them up so we can spend them in the clothing section.

We’ve been (I should stop making out TH has been doing anything, or else when I get crazy as I’ve laboured away making Christmas single handed you’ll all wonder why I'm so ungrateful!) buying up Boots the Chemist presents in carefully planned batches so as to make the most of any free points and free three for twos! It’s been a bit planned out, but unless you have very time or money rich I think that’s the way it needs to be to stop you going crazy.
Well done to those of you making lots of presents, it’s something I always say I’ll do, but never have attempted yet. I really don’t craft all that much either so it wouldn’t save me any money as I don’t already have stocks and bundles of anything in particular in the store cupboard.
I printed out the Cherry Menlove gift checklist and have checked off quite a few boxes, the presents to be sent off are waiting by the door for TH to take away in the car to send away, and it’s only really the cards that are left to do and post.

I think the old adage about asking a busy person to do something is quite right, as i've never been this organised before.
Please don’t get me wrong, there is still plenty to do, and i’ve been buying things up since last Christmas. I've been saving money and saving up any points shops offer all year through-so this isn’t about ‘money’ or being ‘smug’, however I am genuinely pleased with myself for not running about like a headless chicken this year. I don’t want to panic buy and load up on a lot of overpriced rubbish I'm not happy about giving. I want to be able to buy second class stamps and not send things super-express-fast as you can Mr Postie-postal service, and to that end I'm very happy. I'm calm, able to spend time watching Christmas movies under blankets. I'm able to walk the dog on the long pretty walks we love best, I'm able to see the lights get switched on in the village, I'm able to spend what money I’ve saved going to the nice coffee shop in town, or doing any thing I want to do.

I hope everyone is feeling quite pleased with themselves and ticking off those boxes!

Haddo Christmas Fair

A little while ago now TH and i headed over to Haddo as they had the annual two day Christmas Fair.  Last year was the first time we went and we had taken TH's Mother and I'd met up with my friend Holly while they sat in the tea room keeping cosy.

This year was quite different as TH had just come back from Vietnam and kindly decided to take me as he was away right after our anniversary, Halloween and bonfire night.  We met up with my Uncle and Aunt although we hardly saw them as we decided just to stay for a little while.  It was lovely getting TH home to have a little wonder about, a short walk and a cuddle up on the sofa.  We had a little walk around the house and down the Scots Mile to the pond, then back to the car park.  We had a quick look into the antique shop, but the place was so jam-packed you couldn't really pick a thing up...well, without the fear of someone bashing into you and the piece going flying through the air...

We did pick up a couple of things in the fair, there was some soap made by a charity called Inspire.  All of the soaps and the beautiful pictures that decorate the packets are made by children with learning disabilities.  I got for TH, and some for little bits to add on to presents for various people.  We also picked up some lovely chocolates, fair trade and hand made locally, as well as a gorgeous hat and glove set.  There was a giant poster at that stand as the woman who made them had them featured in one of the early Harry Potter films!

It was a lovely, lovely day, but the best thing about it really was when i could take TH home, and know that he was mine to keep at home for a long, long time!!!



A Pause in Advent

I remember doing A Pause in Advent this time last year, and here we are again.  Thank you very much Floss for getting us all thinking about it again.  Its so crazy to think that it was twelve short months ago when we last did this!

Last year I stuck with tradition and spoke about whatever would be spoken about in Church at the lighting of the candles.  You can read about it here if you would like to.  This year I'm going to talk about tradition and what we're up to in our small corner of the world in the lead up to Christmas.  

So far we've not been particularly Christmassy-neither of us are big fans of Christmas cake, and so i make a Madeira closer to the time and decorate that, therefore that's not a job i need to think of just yet!  The things-commercial as they are-that have signalled to us its Christmas time are things like adverts (Cola, Irn Bru and John Lewis), the smokey smell in the air, and the lovely Yankee Candles I'm finally allowed to fill the house with!  The traditions that we will be following this week will be the putting up of the decorations-something we do on the first of December.  We pull out our many decorations and our own advent calender and start making the house glittery, bright, more welcoming than normal and altogether like a scene in a Christmas movie!

Cuddle up, sit back and watch

Oh Mr John Lewis, you always do make me weep with your Christmas adverts.

Dear Santa...

Dear Santa..

I should maybe just send you the CK catalogue...

as i like quite a few things....

but some presents are really for the house...

or to be taken out and used at very specific times....

OK, some things are just plain old pretty...

or quite a treat...

or indeed, a place to place a treat....

can you fill some presents too?

and socks this cute are certainly allowed to go under the tree...

as its always good to get cosy warm presents!

Christmas 2011

Christmas has been a bit of a slow starter this year, when i think back to last year i was so much more organised!  Its all a bit scary when i think of the lists of things to do...

But the word 'lists' is really quite right.  Lists are what i use all of the time, woe betide the person that moved my lists....everything depends on The Lists! 

So pulling everything out, all of the books, all of the magazines, all of the old lists...everything gets looked over.  I feel like Santa Clause what with checking my lists twice.  However its the only thing that works for me, and I'm not about to change that method.  So for a little while now the place will be messy...slowly the mess will be put into piles of mess, then order will come.

I hope you are all much more organised than me.

x

Time to breathe

Its been a long time coming, but i can finally breathe.  I'm starting my new job soon, but for now i am without work, and i couldn't be happier.  I am in a very lucky position where i know I'm starting soon, but I've got time to tidy up, redecorate and make things beautiful, and make beautiful things in time for Christmas!

 Im finally starting to get the festive feeling and get back to looking at everyones lovely bloggs. 

x

Inspiration

Inspiration....

little ideas to keep me more than busy...

Some simple, and some a little more difficult (well, for my skills and attention span!)

Up at the top of my list of things to do is making proper Christmas cookies

However, its also just lovely to look at the ideas....and buy the products in shops and add special little touches myself.

Do you think edible place cards would ruin our appitite?

YUM!

x