How we celebrate Christmas

We don't do Christmas. Well we do decorations, cards and presents and like to eat well, but we've not done Christmas in the traditional way for a very long time.

We met 21 years ago. We are a blended family, with kids spending Christmas with their extended families. We would have a party with family and friends over the New Year, the kids would still get their gifts, all together and we'd do a roast of sorts, pull crackers and tell silly jokes. We'd eat beans on toast on Christmas day, stay with friends or visit my Gran for the day. Then we moved abroad, with only 2 kids still at home. 

In 2010 we gate crashed a friends on Christmas Eve and slept on their sofa and went to the pub for a few drinks. Then stayed in a hotel one of our kids worked at, had Steak and chips for dinner and ate breakfast with Bristol City FC on Boxing Day.

The kids spent their Christmas when we lived in South Africa with their UK family, we spent it with different friends over the next 4 years, then we moved to Dubai and spent our first Christmas in a hotel and for the next 6 years we booked a Christmas Brunch and one or two of the kids joined us each year.

For Christmas 2020, we spent Christmas on our own. Peter was in Saudi and I was in a hotel on the beach in Dubai. With that in mind you'll understand the blog post I've linked up with last week.

We do however have some Christmas things/activities we do regardless of where we've been living.

Visit Santa - even if it is with the dog.

Explore the neighbourhood to look at the decorations. Not as glam as Dubai, but our friends house and just as much fun to see.

Dress the cat up.

Visit a winter glow. This one is in Malvern.

Persuade Peter to wear an item of festive clothing.

Christmas bedding.

Dress the dog up.

Borrow a neighbours child for crafting activities.

Our last UK Christmas was 2009. I can't remember what we did, but I found a picture of the tree piled with presents.

I've bought a new tree this year and decorated it with all the ornaments we've collected since we've been abroad. A combination of flags, camels, cactus, palm trees and beaded ornaments and a wide selection of safari animals.

The fireplace.

Decorations from South Africa and Dubai.

Decorations bought from our travels.

A rather wonky new Christmas tree.

Presents received and presents to give out.

Anyone else make such a mess? It's not like the movies is it with just one box held by your partner while the family put baubles on the tree and sing carols.

New Traditions.

Cake decorating, Christmas outfits and Christmas day with the next generation.

Week 43 One Daily Positive and Project 365. Spa weekend and Pumpkin patch.

Another busy week for me anyway out and about with family and friends, still spending as much time outside as possible and LFT testing and mask wearing.

Have you seen the price of petrol after the imaginary shortage? It's not just fuel, but the cost of building materials etc. I guess it's down to the shortage of drivers and being in higher demand so people can just charge what they like. It's certainly not down to increased head count in the work place or pay rises. I can imagine with the new raise in the minimum wage that it will be passed down the chain to the customers. 

296 Collected my friend and off to Warwick for last years birthday present treat from Peter. The Spa was great, everything explained on arrival, treatment, lunch, pool and saunas, one two many cocktails and dinner.

297 Had breakfast, packed and drove home via a coffee stop in Stratford upon Avon. The rest of the day was spent doing nothing other than watching TV.

298 Our conservatory is too cold now for me to sit in and the dining room is being used as storage waiting for the kitchen and extension to be started as well as us storing stuff for my mum before she moves into her new home in the next few weeks. I decided to move the dining room table into the conservatory and pack everything else up. We've got an oil fire we can use to warm the conservatory when we want to use it and there's now some space in the dining room for me to be able to still use my pod chair.

299 Our 19th wedding anniversary, we sort of don't bother celebrating, I got Peter a card and we walked the dog into town and went for a breakfast. The rest of the day was spent with me organising my dressing table items as Peter is making me a new one (current one from Ikea) I sorted through the Halloween decorations and laminated last years.

300 Up early to collect MIL and off to Avon Valley to visit the Pumpkin patch with Bob, meeting up with SIL, 2 nieces and our great nephew, we had lunch and I dropped some Halloween treats off for my friends twins on my way home. Behind the scenes with MIL and SIL at Great Nephews photo shoot.

301 Collected child 1 and off to Cheltenham to the Christmas fair, tickets courtesy of our next door neighbour, my new Christmas tree arrived so I put it up to check it out and evening spent in front of the TV and blogging. I spotted this on the way to the post office.

302 Day spent in my pjs. Peter walked the dog and did the food shopping while I decorated the house for Halloween and wrapped Christmas presents that I am posting to Australia, South Africa, America, Canada, Dubai and Germany. I like to get them off early as the postal systems differ worldwide.

I ordered a new Christmas tree, set it up to check the branches opened fully. It's now back in it's box waiting for December 1st.

On the blog this week:

Happy Halloween A visit to the Pumpkin Patch.

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