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My husband is always suggesting the idea of us going away for Christmas. Spending the week in a log cabin with an open fire – somewhere where it snows for sure! I flirt with this idea a little – after all the idea of spending Christmas morning surrounded by snowy mountains has Hallmark Christmas written all over it! The trouble is anyone that knows me personally will tell you I am a real homebody, particularly when it comes to Christmas. What can I say? I like my traditions and my home comforts! I don’t think it would be the same spending Christmas somewhere else. Home is simply Christmas for me, and there are a few things that really make it feel like Christmas has arrived!
Festive Music
I have a hard and fast rule that there are to be no Christmas songs played or sung before November 1st. My Granny always said it was bad luck and I am ridiculously superstitious much to the dismay of my husband! That being said the morning after Halloween is fair game and that is the moment my Christmas playlist is dusted off! Christmas songs make me feel festive and excited for the holiday season. If you pay me a visit over the holiday period, there will always be a Christmas song playing in the background!
Christmas Scents
I’m also a complete sucker for Christmas fragrance – it’s another one of those things that gets me all festive. Come November it’s out with the autumnal pumpkin scents and in with Christmas. My house wouldn’t be my home without a candle burning in the evening, and I get so excited for the Christmas scents. Over the past week, I’ve been struck down with a viral cold, and it has made me so sad mostly because I was unable to smell my scented candles!! I personally love the big jar candles. They last ages and burn down evenly, which is a candle addicts dream let me tell you! I’m currently burning the life out of “Winter Wonder” – I highly recommend!
Sentimental Cards & Messages
Another way I get our home ready for Christmas is by displaying all the Christmas cards we receive each year. A lot of our family live further afield, which means that we don’t get to celebrate in person. To make up for that, we exchange Christmas cards containing sentimental messages and updates that we like to cherish. In previous years, I have displayed them on the windowsill; however, they often fall down or look cluttered and then they aren’t as appreciated as I would like.
This year I am putting them on display – pride of place using this Trio Star Card Holder. Not only does it look festive, but it can also hold up to 60 Christmas Cards too!
Festive Decorating
Alongside the cards, the rest of the house is also decorated within an inch of its life! That’s the beauty of having children – they adore all the glitz and glam. Henry, my eldest, has been nagging to put the decorations up since November. Although I’m all about the house smelling like Mrs Claus’ kitchen, I’m back to the superstitions when it comes to decorating! So, as you can imagine, when we do get around to putting the tree up, we like to go all out. I like to add to our collection each year, and I am always on the lookout for personalised items. This is why I fell in love with this Light Up Lantern, which is personalised with our family name.
We don’t usually do much outside when it comes to decorating, and that’s because we have only recently moved. Our old house didn’t have much of a front, and there wasn’t really anywhere for decorations outside. This year we have a gorgeous tree in our front garden that looks beautiful in Summer when it is full of leaves. However, it looks a bit sad as we are coming into winter so I thought it would be a good idea to make it festive! These LED Sparkle balls hang so nicely from the branches and twinkle gently it now looks magical!
Christmas Eve Box Traditions
Last month I wrote a blog post about creating Christmas Eve boxes for the boys. It’s a tradition we have continued for years and one the whole family loves. I make the boxes up in advance, but they don’t get them until the afternoon of Christmas Eve. We all have early baths and get snuggled in Christmas PJ’s, watch festive films and eat our body weight in chocolate.
Stockings & Sacks
As Christmas Eve draws to a close, we have the same routine. First, we head out into the garden and sprinkle down some reindeer food. We then pour Father Christmas a glass of milk and leave it beside a Mince Pie and a carrot for Rudolph. We then turn off the tree lights lay out the stockings and Christmas sacks and head up to bed. This year is Hugo’s first Christmas that he will really understand, so I wanted to get both boys matching stockings and sacks that were personalised. They are both really excited to put these out this Christmas!!
You see it’s all these little touches that make Christmas magical for me and I couldn’t imagine leaving them behind. Perhaps one day we will give it a try, but for now, this is the perfect scenario!
Are you a homebody like me? Do you have your own traditions and ways of making home feel like Christmas?
The items I have mentioned in this blog are from Studio.co.uk. I am working with them as a brand ambassador however their items are an absolute bargain! To make shopping even easier Studio have just launched their new app so you can browse their whole collection of items directly from your phone!
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Love as always!
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