It’s nearing the end of October, after driving home from the pub, I drove through the village and towards the zebra crossing, started to slow down and then I saw it, a great big, shining and shimmering, glittering and fairy-lighted Christmas tree.
I love Christmas, I love the parties, the cheesy music and generally it puts everyone in a great mood in December. As much as I don’t enjoy being cold, I love getting snuggly and warm, watching movies and drinking hot chocolate when you know its cold, probably raining and dark outside by 6:30. I love the ice-skating, puffy coats, boots and over-sized jumpers, the chance of (unlikely) snow and all of the cheese that comes along with he lead up to Christmas, but do some of us start celebrations a little too early?
The 2016 hype
Every November me and two of my best friends get together at my best friend’s place in Swindon. We like to do an early ‘Christmas weekend’ so we know that we will definitely get to spend a Christmassy weekend together before the busy December month arrives and we all get super busy. Last year I’m certain that weekend was the first weekend of November, early but necessary. We watched Christmas films, ate chocolate, shopped and exchanged (early) Christmas presents. It was the best and I was with the best, but the highlight of our weekend was visiting ‘the Christmas shop’. I only wish we taken a picture of the amount of decorations combined that we bought that day. When we arrived back we asked Chloe’s boyfriend to guess who had bought which decoration based on our taste, a stupid but very funny game!
We also went on a little drive to a number of quaint villages. We visited Stow-On-The-Wold and Bourton on the water, cute villages that are very cute and ‘Instagrammable’. I love places like this and we go on exploration adventures quite a lot with my two besties.
A Christmas decoration explosion
Then the following day we went on an adventure, we drove to Whitehall garden center in Lacock which houses an ice rink every winter. The prices were really cheap compared to Cardiff ice skating prices, and we had a great time, but what we weren’t expecting and were incredibly thrilled by was the enormous Christmas decoration shop. There are around 5 or 6 colour coded rooms, packed from floor to ceiling with Christmas decorations. It really was incredible and I think we all developed a little obsession. This picture below doesn’t do it justice, and when we go back this year in late November I am definitely going to blog about the visit!
Let’s get Halloween done first…
I used to think that as soon as November approached it was still to early to play Christmas songs and wear Christmas jumpers, but actually I think the older I get the more I get into the Christmas spirit earlier and earlier each year. This year I’ll be watching Hocus Pocus and The Adams family around Halloween ( I don’t do scary films at all…) and then when November hits I’ll start doing my Christmas shopping. I won’t be wearing my Christmas jumpers until December of course but I’m sure Home Alone will be on TV soon and I’ll be watching it snuggled up in blankets with a hot chocolate by my side.
My friend Chloe is a keen Christmas Bean, she starts watching Christmas films in October (I have photographic proof) and I’m sure she’s one of those who starts her shopping in July. We all love how excited she gets every year for Christmas to arrive and it’s become the norm for her to start wearing her festive jumpers (waaaaaaaay) before 1st December.
So, where are we at now?
Understandably, a lot of people prepare for Christmas early, especially when it comes to shopping if they have large families or lots of people to buy for. Need I remind you that there are 2 ‘pay days’ left for most of us until the 25th December hits?! Obviously we know that it’s not all about the presents, but I’m one of those people who enjoys shopping for others, buying thoughtful and personal gifts and then wrapping them up to look all cute and fancy.
I’ve had my first ‘home cooked’ Sunday roast this weekend, and my first mince pie of the year (in late September) and as I write this I’ve currently got a cold. Winter has arrived, the puffy jackets are out and once the red cups at Starbucks are here you know it’s nearly Crimbo time… (not long now). I think I’ll stick with getting my favourite festive jumpers out at the beginning of December to share with the rest of the world, but keep an eye out for my Christmas weekend blog post at the end of November… that’s when the Christmas excitement will really begin.
A blog by Amy 