As I type Santa has just tweeted that we have just 60 sleeps to Christmas, so we are offically on the countdown to the big day. Many of us have started our Christmas shopping and planning how we are going to decorate our home and entertain the descending family and friends.
I wanted to share with you my top tips to help plan a happy, fun and stressfree Christmas.
(1) When you return home from buying all those Christmas gifts pop all of your receipts into an envelope, then if you need to return any items after the big day - you will have everything you need in one place.
(2) Once you have opened your wrapping paper place an old toilet roll around it, to stop it from unravelling.
(3) Make your Christmas cake at the end of October/beginning of November to allow time for it to mature. It's also one less job before December.
(4) Wrap some lovely chocolates or bottles of wine and have them to hand just incase you need an extra gift for surprise visitors.
(5) Spend a fun afternoon with the little ones writing letters to Santa Claus - a great excuse to get the glitter out. Check out the link for the address to the big man http://www.royalmail.com/letters-to-santa
(6) Stock up on batteries ahead of the big day - ready for those toys from Santa which always seem to not include batteries.
(7) Not sure what to buy your brother or sister this year? Go through your stash of photographs of your niece/nephew and choose your favourite. Select a frame which would match their interiors at home and pop in the photograph. A perfect gift for any parent.
(8) Do you have any plain paper carry bags? Personalise them for Christmas with gorgeous ribbons and embellishments, it really does add a personal touch.
(9) Write a list - always spend time and write a list before you head out to the shops. This way you will not forget any gifts or food for the big day. It will save time in the long run.
(10) Make time for you - this is important before the big day. It's such a busy time with school plays, work parties, carol concerts and seeing friends and family. Make sure to set aside some time to do something for you - book a massage, facial or reflexology treatment or simply relax and unwind in a bubble bath.
I hope you find these tips useful - please feel free to share and add your own too :-)
Happy planning x
Saturday, 26 October 2013
Christmas preparations begin
A wet half term in our house seemed a perfect opportunity to start our preparations for Christmas. Miss H and I spent a fun afternoon baking the family Christmas cake, the first one we have made together.
Miss H loved being part of this, I really hope this will be the start of a new family tradition for us. As we both mixed the fruit into the cake mixture (bowl nearly overflowing) we both made a wish, I wonder if it will come true :-)
After patiently waiting several hours for it to bake (with Miss H asking numerous time "is it ready yet"), here is the result.
Our fab Christmas cake has now been tucked up in it's tin and we will both loving feed it each week as we count down to Christmas. The exciting part lies ahead - oh how will we decorate it? #exciting.
Miss H loved being part of this, I really hope this will be the start of a new family tradition for us. As we both mixed the fruit into the cake mixture (bowl nearly overflowing) we both made a wish, I wonder if it will come true :-)
After patiently waiting several hours for it to bake (with Miss H asking numerous time "is it ready yet"), here is the result.
Our fab Christmas cake has now been tucked up in it's tin and we will both loving feed it each week as we count down to Christmas. The exciting part lies ahead - oh how will we decorate it? #exciting.
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