I'm dreaming of a wine Christmas....

I hope you all had a very magical Christmas! 

 

 

I've had such a lovely Christmas, it's been so good to surround myself with my family and close friends, especially as I don't often see them now I'm living full time in Winchester. But home will always be where the heart is, and Christmas is no exception. Christmas in my house has always been a bit different to everyone else, but this year it's certainly felt a lot more 'mature' than usual. I'm 20, and my brother Adam is 18, and with all of our family spread out across the country, the festivities were spent with just us and mum, and two energetic dogs. It's been a lot quieter than Christmases of days-gone-by, but it's been cosier and so much more relaxed.

(The Santa suit I bought Nelson in Primark was the best £4 I've ever spent!) 

We must be the only family who waits until the afternoon to unleash present mayhem. I know what you're thinking, how can you resist? Well that's the way it's always been. We've always tried to drag out the magic over the duration on the day, probably in the past as a way to keep us kids interested all day and not running off to play with our new presents. It's become a bit of a tradition, and every year always follows a similar pattern, although in the last few years there's been a lot more drinking involved on my part!

 

 

A typical Christmas in our house involves waking up, and not at the crack of dawn (we like our sleep so maybe about 9ish), getting your stocking which is usually crammed with chocolate, then some kind of wonderful breakfast. A short break and maybe the odd present before we crack on with cooking the dinner, and maybe try and squeeze in a dog walk while the turkey is roasting to perfection. Then it's dinner, followed by all the presents, and finally pudding and a lot of wine, rounded off with the Downton Christmas special (which was incredible this year, I totally cried. Twice.)

 

 

So although everything was on a slightly smaller scale just for the three of us, we certainly didn't skimp on the food. The key to my heart is, and will always be, a hearty roast followed by an insanely chocolatey dessert. And boy did my mother do it justice this year. Turkey stuffed with pork stuffing, which is then smothered in smokey bacon? My stomach was so happy it was practically bursting into song.

 

As for the presents, the family did not disappoint. My brother got me the most perfect and wonderful bag from monsoon. His secret? I picked it, he paid. It's a winning combination that's worked for years, why fix what isn't broken? He hates shopping, I love knowing what I'm getting, everyone's a winner. As for my mother, she pulled out all the stops and got me the most gorgeous boots I daresay I've ever owned. Perfume, a printer, and a plethora of other assorted goodies rounded off a very spoilt Christmas for me! My dad was very sensible, chocolate and vouchers, letting me choose whatever I fancy in the sales. He did make my Christmas dreams come true by ticking off one of the most important things on my Christmas list. I'm now officially the proud owner of a unicorn! (I'm perfectly happy to believe it's real, who cares if I'm 20)

I've been a very lucky lady this year, with all my friends and family spoiling me with gifts I absolutely love. I just hope my presents to them were enjoyed just as much as I loved receiving theirs!

 

I can't believe we have to wait a whole year before we do it all again, it seems like forever to wait, then you blink and it's over. Time has been flying by all year, and I'm not ready to close the curtains on 2014 just yet. It just feels as if there is so much more that can be accomplished..

Drunken festive dog selfies are the way forward 

 

Much love ♥

 

All I want for Christmas is....

The older I'm getting, the more difficult it's becoming to answer that question we are all familiar with at this time of year -

"What do you want for Christmas?"

 

What do I want for Christmas?

Unfortunately, my first though these days is more, "What do I need for Christmas?", meaning I get shower gels and socks galore. And trust me, as useful as this is, I enjoy unwrapping something quirky and strange, with a lot of thought put into it. I'm fully aware this comes across a little selfish, and very "I want", and I'm really not into the whole consumerism side of Christmas, but presents are just such a lovely way to spread the love at Christmas.

So I sat down and wrote my Christmas list, which took a lot longer than you'd believe. It also went from being pretty genuine to getting pretty deep...

Alcohol - Yes, I'm old enough to get it myself. No it's not very creative. However, I do get through a lot of it, and I am very partial to a good cocktail or five. So having a large alcohol stash is always a good idea when I'm around.

 

Anything to do with travelling - It's no secret that as soon as I graduate, my life plan goes as far as getting on a plane to California. So anything that acknowledges my need to travel is awesome.

 

 

Chocolate - Because it's dark all the time and that makes me sad, and I need to just eat my way into a food coma and hibernate until the summer.

 

 

 

A plane ticket - This would be incredible, although I'd be tempted not to come back.

 

 

A unicorn - My dad asked me what I wanted and I said a unicorn. Why? Because why the hell not, that's why. It would be officially the coolest thing in the entire world.

 

 

A faster metabolism - I swear all I have to do is look at a Mars Bar and I just gain weight. No thank you. I'm not cutting out the great food life has to offer me for the sake of a body like a Victoria's Secret model. So a much better metabolism would be incredibly useful.

 

 

A sense of purpose - Ooooh deep. It's true though, all I'd really like is to know that everything I'm doing now in life will ultimately be worth it, and that all of this is heading in a positive direction somewhere.

 

 

So next time someone asks what you want for Christmas, go ahead and tell them you want a unicorn or a sense of purpose. At the end of the day, Christmas is really all about spreading the love between friends and family, and getting together and enjoying everyone's company. Ultimately, all I really want for Christmas is a lovely day with my amazing family with lots of good food, wine and films. Perfect. The presents are just a bonus really.

 

Much love ♥

 

 

 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

 

It's Christmas!!!

 

 

 

Okay, so it's December the first, which means it's pretty much Christmas, and that I have no reason not to listen to the Christmas classics of Mariah, Wham and The Pogues at full blast for the next 25 days. I'm anticipating very pissed off housemates/neighbours/general townsfolk of Winchester.

 

I am completely in love with this time of year. There is so much to love, there's no excuse needed to watch Elf on daily basis, or drink Bailey's like it's water. Now I'm a proper grown up and everything and doing the very grown up thing of renting a house, I'm taking Christmas very seriously. There is no margin for error. As Bridget Jones said, "We are going to do this properly, or not at all".

 

I've bought a Christmas tree. Okay, so it cost me no less than £6.79 from Argos, and yes, we had to lug it back on a bus; but that aside, I'm considering it a big transition into being a fully-fledged adult. If this is the first Christmas in a home I'm paying for, it's going to be an event in it's own right. Poundland tinsel and all. I'm not usually one to buy into the whole consumerism need of things, but Christmas is something else. It's infectious, and I love how it brings people together, and how all of a sudden, people begin to appreciate all the little things.

 

Mia and I bought all the ridiculous decorations we could find in Poundland (we are students, and fabulousness on a budget is crucial) Now I'm talking hot pink tinsel, disco baubles and enough lights to make the Blackpool illuminations jealous. I'm considering our efforts to be a success.
 

 

We even have an inflatable reindeer.

 (She's called Prancer, Rudolph is too overrated)
 

 

On a sidenote, I'm sorry that November wasn't so much a lack of posting on my behalf, but more of a complete posting drought. I could run the whole speech about how I've been a really busy bee with uni and work (which is totally true), but I don't want to sound like a broken record. I'm not even going to give the false hope and promise that I'll post more, because I'm completely unreliable. God knows what I've got going on in my life in the upcoming weeks, I'm not even sure what I'm having for dinner tonight.

 

But know I'm completely grateful to all you crazy people who read my blog, reading all my stupid posts about drinking and being a general idiot for a 20-year-old. I have completely hilarious things in the pipeline, which I hope you'll enjoy tremendously, as much as I enjoy writing them for you.

 

Much love ♥