It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

In the immortal words of Noddy Holder, "IT'S CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!"

 

Okay, so technically Christmas Day is the 25th, meaning there are still 14 days to go, HOWEVER it is finally December and, as far as I am concerned, its Christmas.

 

I LOVE Christmas, it is without a doubt, my favourite time of year. As soon as the decorations go down at the end of the season I already start to think about how long it is until they can go back up again. There is just so much to love about this time of year, the songs (personal favourite is Merry Christmas Everyone by Shakin' Stevens), the films (Miracle on 34th Street, the scene with the deaf girl melts my heart every time),  the food, it suddenly becomes perfectly acceptable to eat ten times more than usual and I always make sure I make the most of it. The decorations are so pretty, the lights on the houses, the tv, the traditions that you might have in the family, mine have plenty and I wouldn't change them for the world! Not forgetting the Christmas jumpers, I have three, some call it excessive, I say I am dedicated. And so much more! No matter what is going on at the time, when December starts I start to feel that little bit happier and it takes a lot more to get me stressed and annoyed, which after previous events is a welcome change!

 

I returned home for the holidays on Friday and the decorations went up on Saturday causing me to go into excitement overload. The last week of term is worth a mention though, it was one of the best weeks in a long time, it was so good to relax a bit after the stress of term, spend some time with those closest to me, eat lots of food and party lots! I also got to exchange Christmas presents with a few people, it was so exciting to see them open their gifts and their reaction to them. I also got some truly lovely things, showing just how well my friends know me.

 

This week I did the rest of my Christmas shopping and I am now pretty much finished! Wrapping presents also makes me really excited, I love to spend time trying to make them look as pretty as possible. I raided card factory for pretty gift wrap accessories and they did not disappoint.

 

So now, with my Christmas eve candle burning, I think it is time to watch 'The Santa Clause' and write my Christmas cards whilst continuing to get ridiculously over-excited!!!

 

Let me know what you love most about this time of the year, I would love to know!

Home Comforts

After another terrible week I made the last minute decision to go home. So I packed up some stuff, threw it in the back of the car and then on Friday afternoon, I ran off from work and drove the two hours it takes me back to the familiar surroundings of my house. It was the best decision I had made all week. The only exception was possibly the decision to have garlic bread at the pub on Tuesday, it was the best garlic bread I have ever tasted. But that is a completely different matter!

 

What is it that makes home so reassuring? I don't know. Maybe its the fact that when I woke up on Saturday morning I had this strange sensation of being ever so slightly too warm, instead of peeling back the duvet in the anticipation that I would freeze the minute I did so. One of the main problems of being a student is the inability to be able to afford heating. Or maybe it was when I got in the shower I felt actual water run onto me, instead of some pathetic dribble that I have lean back into to feel any water at all. Or perhaps it was the amazing food on offer, and someone else cooking it for me. Or the comfort of waking up in my bedroom that I grew up in. Or possibly, and most definitely the most important reason, the fact that I was able to hug my mum, annoy my brother and be reassured that I had someone who cared about me right next to me. Within an hour of me arriving home my oldest friend was sat on the bed next to me and we were chatting and laughing away, all the stress of the past two weeks gone. Then I spent the evening on the sofa next to my family and just felt completely content. Of course this doesn't mean I hate university, I am also surrounded by those I love at my house there and do feel extremely comfortable there. But there is something about "home", its familiar, its safe and its comforting. I have not stopped smiling all weekend and just feel so much more relaxed then I did two days ago. Hopefully now I can start a new week tomorrow and feel slightly more positive about my degree and be less of a nightmare to be around, though I am not making any promises.

 

I suppose if all else fails, I could go back to that pub at university and get their garlic bread...