Hello Christmas

Friends, we cannot deny that the year is almost over & Christmas is here. My daughter is a Christmasatarian, she feels it deep in her soul & would like the celebration to begin as soon as Halloween is over (her second favourite celebration) & ever since 2020 I have chosen to go all in at Christmas too.

Christmas makes me happy. It makes my daughter happy. And it’s just bloody fun to get festive.

Here’s a rundown of what Christmas looks like around here.

November 25th- we start playing Christmas songs. I have a playlist. Sadie has a playlist. There is some crossover but we both agree Mariah is Queen of the Christmas songs & she is played almost daily until Christmas Day.

December 1st- the tree & decorations go up. It’s the law that was passed on to me by my mum so that’s what we stick to. We've also put up a heap of outdoor lights the last few years, but this year we’ve decided to skip those. The kids get their chocolate advent calendars. This is the first year since having the littles that I’ve only bought two calendars. I normally buy them for our adult kids too, even their girlfriends when they are around, but they aren’t here so none for them. Two advent calendars made me feel sad. I am made for a big family.

For all of December, we watch Christmas movies. The kids have their favourites- The Grinch, Home Alone, Christmas Chronicles and Deck the Halls to name a few. The only new one we watched together so far is Dear Santa & I thought it was very average. The kids enjoyed it.

I actually started watching some before December because I needed the comfort. These are my picks from last year & this year. All of these are on Netflix.

Hot frosty

Meet me next Christmas

Holidate

Single all the way

Our Little Secret

Office Christmas Party

Daddy’s Home Two

LoveHard

Why Him

I’ve also watched some seriously shmaltzy Hallmark ones on Prime Video that remind me of midday movies I watched as a kid when I was home sick.

I get my Christmas nails done sometime in December. This year I wasn’t feeling the whole red & green vibe, plus, I can’t see my nail lady again until mid-January & I didn’t want to be walking around until then with Christmas nails so I went lowkey Christmas. Sadie wasn’t impressed but I like them. I am also in my super long nail era. These are my real nails, can you believe it!

All through Decemeber I Christmas bake. Most years I try at least one new recipe but every year, for the last decade, we make gingerbread at least once but usually 3 times. This is the recipe I use but as you can see, I let the kids do as they please when it comes to decorating. They are so delicious.

Mid-December Sadie & I head to the West Australian Symphony Orchestra Christmas concert with my girlfriends. This is another tradition we started in 2020 & we love it! Can’t wait to go next weekend. The photo below is Sadie & I (with one of her friends) at last years concert.

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Usually on the 23rd, we head out for a drive to see all the Christmas lights in our suburb. We play Christmas songs as we drive. We ooooo & aaaahhhhh at all the lights. It’s very wholesome & nice.

Christmas Eve, it’s a movie before we leave cookies & milk for Santa, carrots & water for the reindeer. We are down to our last believer & I think we’ll have no believers by this time next year. Last year we told them the elf on the shelf was just me & it's been such a relief to let that shit go! I never wanted to have an elf but when Sadie was 5 she really wanted one so she drew one, cut it out & made her own fun with it. I thought it was adorable but her friend’s mum, who I did not know well, felt sorry for Sadie & bought her a real bloody elf on the shelf!!!! So I was stuck for years with it. Happy to let that go.

Once the kids are in bed we put all the presents under the tree. In our house, Santa brings all the presents. I liked this approach because if the kids don’t get something they asked for it’s Santa’s fault, not ours. We buy one present for each child that is from us. For the last 5 or so years the kids do a Secret Santa between themselves and any girlfriends of the older boys who are around are always included. This year, because it’s only the 4 of us, we are buying a $50 gift for the other 3.

The last few Christmas we’ve had our big meal on Christmas Eve because I got Jack of spending all Christmas Day in the kitchen. I have always cooked a turkey, ham & either a lamb or chicken, Yorkies, roast potatoes, veggies & then a pavlova & Christmas pudding for dessert. This year we are doing something different.

Christmas morning. Kids are up before the sun, forever & always. We open gifts & then we usually go back to bed while the kids explore their goodies. Brekkie is whatever you can find & then I start cooking so we have Linner (the meal that’s late for lunch but early for dinner). This year I’m thinking wings, Mac n cheese, rolls, salad, maybe stuffing (the best thing I made last year) & either a chocolate pudding or some store-bought delights. Haven’t decided yet.

Because Perth is hotter than hell by Christmas Day we are in & out of the pool all day, we nap & then at night we always watch National Lampoons Christmas vacation. It’s tradition.

And that my friends, is Christmas. I love it all. I love rushing to catch up with my 3 best friends. I love the end-of-year school stuff. I love the music and decorations in the shops. I think another reason I love it is it means work stops for a couple of weeks too. We have no big holiday planned, only a city staycation over New year’s but stepping out of the daily routine is a very welcomed addition to Christmas.

I don’t know how interesting all that was, I just wanted to share my love of Christmas & how we go about it. It’s not fancy or overly aesthetic. There’s no big family gathering but I love it for us.

I’d love to hear your feelings, traditions & plans for Christmas if you want to share them.

Talk soon xx