My Handmade Christmas Crackers and Table Favours 2017

Hi guys!

How was your Christmas? I hope you all had a lovely one, and that Santa was kind to you. 

I had a great, albeit quiet Christmas at home with my family and the dogs, exchanging presents, watching festive TV, and falling in to food comas from eating waaaay too much delicious food. I'm going to tell you all about my Christmas properly in a couple of days, once I finally have a chance to sit down and go through my photos, but in the meantime, I wanted to quickly show you the Christmas crackers and table favours I made this year while I have five minutes to myself. I had hoped to blog about them before Christmas, but life was so hectic I ran out of time.

Every year, I like to make my own Christmas crackers instead of buying a box of over-priced, ready-made crackers full of cheap tat. There's nothing wrong with ready made crackers, of course, but I personally really enjoy making my own, and have fun personalising them each year. I always buy a Christmas cracker kit from Hobbycraft to construct myself, and then fill them with whatever gifts I fancy- which usually ends up being chocolates, scratch cards, or mini beauty products. They always go down really well with my family.

I wasn't impressed with the designs on offer at Hobbycraft this Christmas, and settled for the Santa and Reindeer cracker kit, which was a lot more cutesy and childish than I'd usually go for. I wasn't sure I even liked them until I took them out of the packaging, and started making them the night before Christmas Eve, and realised they actually looked pretty damn cute. 

To make them, all I had to do was to place a paper hat and a joke in to the centre of the back of the card, roll each cracker in to a cylinder-shape, slide the three tabs in to the pre-cut slots, tie a piece of curling ribbon in to the middle of the diamond cut-outs to cinch in one end, drop in the surprises, and cinch in the other end to seal them. It was super easy to do, and I had all six made in under fifteen minutes.

This year, I filled our crackers with an assortment of festive Lindt chocolates, which included mini chocolate Santas, reindeer, teddy bears, and truffles. We had quite a few chocolates left over as each cracker only held four, so I popped the rest in to the little festive fabric pouches my Mum made from some Christmas fabric, and added them to the Christmas dinner table as table favours. Both the crackers and the favours were a winner with my family on Christmas Day; everybody loved them! They were the perfect finishing touch to Christmas dinner, and the chocolate was a real treat at the end of the meal. I particularly enjoyed the milk and white chocolate truffles- they were so good!

The crackers went down so well this year that I'll definitely be making my own Christmas crackers again next Christmas. Who knows, I might even try to make them from scratch next year, although the kits from Hobbycraft make cracker making so quick and easy, I don't know I'll bother. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Have you ever made your own Christmas crackers or do you prefer to buy yours pre-made?

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Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Merry Christmas, lovelies!

It's Christmassssssssss! (Sorry, I couldn't resist)!

After all those weeks of Christmas shopping, wrapping presents, and decking the halls, Christmas Day is finally here, and you'd better believe I'm loving every moment of it! 

I'll be spending the day at home with just my immediate family, including my sister and brother-in-law who are visiting from Germany for a few days. I'm fully intending to eat lots of delicious festive treats, watch a couple of Christmas movies, blast out some festive tunes, and dress Rosie up in a Christmas jumper, before falling in to a food coma after our Christmas meal sometime around mid-afternoon. I can't wait!

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas how ever you're spending it (or have a lovely day if you don't celebrate it), and get spoiled rotten with presents from your loved ones. Be sure to stuff your faces with delicious Christmas foods, and have a few drinks for me! You deserve it.

I'll be back in a day or two to fill you in on what I get up to, and what I got for Christmas, but for now I'm just going to log off and enjoy Christmas with my family.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

DIY Christmas Advent House

Merry Christmas Eve Eve, guys!

I've been busy doing loads of Christmas crafting every day this December, and I've been loving every minute of it. I've made a bunch of pom pom wreaths, done a load of Christmas cross stitching, and most recently, I've completed my own wooden Advent house.

I was inspired to try this project after I saw a tutorial from Hobbycraft pop up on social media which showed how to turn one of their wooden houses in to a colourful Advent house. They painted the house white and some of the cubby holes in colourful acrylic paints, and finished off by adding patterned Christmas paper to some of the others. It looked super cute, and I thought it would make a lovely Christmas decoration to pull out year after year, so I popped in to Hobbycraft especially to buy one, and placed a separate order for the paints once I'd decided what I was going to do with it.

From the start, I knew I wasn't going to make it in to an Advent calendar, but instead use it to display small decorations or even some of my nail polish collection. However, I still followed parts of their tutorial, and went for a similar look.

I began by painting the whole house with two coats of white chalky finish paint using a square brush, and a small watercolour brush to get in to the corners the larger brush couldn't reach. This took me a few afternoons (as I had to work in short stages because of back and joint pain), and a whole 250ml pot of paint. I found painting it really therapeutic, but the paint didn't always go on as smoothly as I'd hoped, which I think was because I used a cheap paint brush with crappy bristles from my parents' DIY supplies as I forgot to buy a suitable brush to use. I'm hoping I can neaten it up a little by gently sanding it down, but thankfully, the bad paint job is only noticeable close up.

Once the paint was completely dry, it was time to start getting creative. I gathered my supplies together, and decided to use some of my mid-century style Christmas patterned card, wrapping paper, and fat quarters to decorate some of the cubby holes with to give it a retro look. I still had a lot of amazing fifties-style fabric left over from making hoop art last Christmas, that I knew would be perfect for what I had in mind.

I measured each section with a tape measure, and cut out card to fit. With the patterned card, I simply cut each piece out and popped them in place, but for the fabric and wrapping paper, I first cut out white card to fit, and attached the fabric and wrapping paper to the card with double-sided tape to give them a nice rigid back. I then wedged each background in place, and they've remained in place perfectly, without the need for glue or tape. I thought it was best not to stick them in like the tutorial shows, to make it easier to switch up the backgrounds from year to year if I fancy a change, or want to update the look to keep up with festive trends or a change in our Christmas decor. I also decided not to paint some of the sections in red and green acrylic paints like I was originally intending, for the same reasons, but mostly because I really like the way it looks now without feeling the need to add in bold blocks of colour.

I'm so pleased with my finished Christmas house, and glad to have found another project that allowed me to use my fifties Christmas fat quarters again, because I love those fabrics. I still need to find plenty of small decorations to display in the house, but I think it makes such a lovely and unique Christmas decoration on its own, and fits in perfectly with many of my decorations. I currently have it sitting alongside the Christmas tree in my bedroom, surrounded by a mountain of presents and baubles, and it looks great! I have a feeling I'll be bringing it out year after year for many years to come.

The Advent houses are unfortunately sold out online now, but check your local Hobbycraft store if you want to give this project a go, as they could still have some in stock. Okay, it's a bit late to start a new Christmas project now, but you could always put one away to work on next December. They retail for just £5, and the white chalky finish paint will set you back another fiver. It's then up to you what festive paper, card, fabric, or wall paper to use to decorate your house, and if you want to paint any of the compartments with colourful acrylic paints, which start at around £1.50 a bottle. It's a great inexpensive, fun, and easy project, and in my opinion, totally worth the money, time, and effort. I only wish I'd picked up a second house to paint and turn in to a nail polish display house!

Apologies for how awful today's photos are. The daylight has been so dark and dreary all month, and I've been waiting and waiting for some decent light to take photos in, but it's England and of course, our Winter daylight is shit. I gave up and took a few photos on my phone for Instagram as Christmas will soon be over, and decided to use them for the blog post, too, as I'm running out of time to share Christmas posts. I'll replace these photos with better quality and better dressed photos after Christmas, whenever we finally get some decent daylight again, and I have the energy for taking photos. I really must invest in studio lights for next Winter!

Anyway, I hope you're all having a lovely Christmas Eve Eve whatever you're up to. Are you guys all ready for Christmas yet? I've finally got all the presents wrapped, and the decorations hung, and once I get the Christmas crackers and table favours made, I'll be ready to start baking, relaxing, and celebrating tomorrow. Only two more sleeps!!

What are your plans for Christmas?

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Would Your Rather: Christmas Edition

I was tagged to do this fun, festive Would You Rather... post by the lovely Leah from Love Leah, and being the season to be jolly and all, I'm more than happy to oblige, so let's get crackin'.

Eat Brussel sprouts or cauliflower cheese?

I'm not a fan of Brussel sprouts, but cauliflower cheese is delicious when it's done well. Anyway, who cares about veggies when there's roast potatoes on the table?

Have twinkling or still lights?

Both are great, but I think I prefer softly twinkling lights, as I love the way the light hits the baubles on the tree, and makes them glitter and shimmer. I can't deal with fast-paced flashing lights in the house, though, as they do my head in after a minute or two. 

Eat gingerbread or Ferrero Rocher?

I love a bit of gingerbread at Christmas time, but nothing beats a Ferrero Rocher. They're actually my favourite chocolates, so they never last long around me!

Open your presents with only immediate family or with all your family members?

I would be so uncomfortable opening presents with a million people watching me, so the answer will always be with my immediate family only. I usually open presents with my parents and younger sister, and then we exchange presents with my older sister and brother-in-law around lunchtime when they arrive for the day. Now my older sister and brother-in-law have moved to Germany and will be staying this Christmas, I think we'll all be opening presents together this year.

Cook Christmas dinner for the whole family or don't eat Christmas dinner at all?

Christmas dinner is my favourite meal of the year and I wouldn't want to go without it, but I've never attempted to cook Christmas dinner before, so I would probably give everybody food poisoning. I'd probably crack on and at least try to cook for everybody, but whether it would be edible or not is another question!

Have a real Christmas tree or a fake Christmas tree?

You really can't beat a real tree at Christmas, especially for the incredible smell, but we have had some amazing artificial Christmas trees over the years, too. We have a fake tree in the living room, and I have a real tree in my bedroom this year, so I've got the best of both worlds.

Use blue, yellow, white, or multi-coloured lights?

I love multi-coloured lights on the tree in the living room, and white lights for decorating my bedroom. 

Eat mince pies or Christmas cake?

I don't like either, and I have no idea which I'd prefer now since I've not eaten either in so long. Give me some chocolate yule log or a slice of my Mum's apple pie any day!

Wake up at 6am or 10am?

I'm past the days of being so excited for Christmas that I'd be raring to go at 6am. I'd rather get up at 10am and feel well rested, although I prefer to be up around 8am so I don't waste too much of Christmas morning asleep. 

Drink champagne or hot chocolate?

There's nothing like a mug of hot chocolate at Christmas time, especially a Costa hot chocolate with marshmallows (sans cream for this lactose-intolerant). It's far more festive and comforting than a glass of champagne.

Eat Heroes or Roses?

Definitely Roses. We always have a tub of Roses in our house at Christmas time, and it's a tradition we've followed since I was a baby. It wouldn't be Christmas without breaking open a tub on Christmas morning, and fishing for a Golden Barrel or Hazel Whirl. 

Get a puppy for Christmas or a kitten for Christmas?

Neither. I love both, but I don't agree with giving pets as gifts, and I couldn't imagine a worse time to take on a new pet. Christmas is so hectic as it is without bringing a new pet in to the house and having to find your feet, house break, train, and socialise a puppy or kitten.You can't give it the care it needs and deserves when you're busy celebrating Christmas, opening presents, cooking a feast, or going out to visit family, and you can't enjoy all the festivities if you're running around after a mischievous little critter that's in to everything. Plus, can you imagine how scary it must be for a puppy or kitten to be taken from its Mum and litter mates in to a new home full of loud merry people, music, bright lights, and Christmas decorations when it's never been exposed to any of those things before? It would be terrified. It's better to take on a new pet during a less hectic time of year, after you've done you're research, found the right breed for your family and lifestyle, and thought about the responsibility of pet ownership through thoroughly. Contrary to what some idiots think, you can't just discard a puppy or kitten like an old toy when the novelty has worn off, so you should never adopt an animal on a whim; a pet is a for life and not just for Christmas. Don't give pets as gifts! If you're serious about adopting an animal, wait until after the holidays when things have calmed down and life has returned to normal. I promise it will be worth the wait.

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Watch Elf or Home Alone?

That's a tough one... They're both brilliant Christmas movies and I love to watch them both every year, but I think I'd have to go with Home Alone because it's been a part of my Christmases since childhood, and it's an absolute classic. I only discovered Elf in my twenties, and while I love it, it doesn't quite compare to the comedic value of John Candy, and two villains being hilariously tortured and outsmarted by a sadistic eight year old. Plus the iconic soundtrack never fails to get me in to the Christmas spirit.

Only be able to listen to Christmas songs all year round or never hear a Christmas song again?

I love Christmas music, so I'd happily listen to Christmas songs all year round. I occasionally get the urge to play particular festive tunes during other times of year, anyway! (I'm not saying that I actually do, though. I'm not that crazy).

Wake up bright and early and get all the best Boxing Day sale goodies or stay warm and cosy in bed wearing your new Christmas pyjamas?

Stay warm and cosy in bed. I never feel the urge to go out shopping on Boxing Day after getting a stack of presents the day before, but if there's anything I'm hoping to buy, I'll do it online from the comfort of my bed or sofa. In my house, Boxing Day is a day to spend at home relaxing, watching festive TV, and eating turkey sandwiches; a chance to really unwind after a busy month preparing for Christmas.  I honestly wouldn't have it any other way. There's plenty of other days in the year for shopping.

I'm supposed to tag four people to complete the tag, but I don't want to put any pressure on anyone so close to Christmas when you're probably all super busy, so I tag anyone who wants to give it a go! Make sure you send me the links to your post if you decide to take part as I'd love to read your answers!

Are you ready for Christmas yet or have you still got a million things to do?

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What I've Bought My Dog For Christmas

I love to spoil my friends and family with presents at Christmas time, but that generosity isn't just reserved for my human family; I like to shower my four-legged family members with gifts, too.

My Tibetan terrier, Rosie, is as much a part of the family as my parents and siblings, so why wouldn't I include her at Christmas time? She deserves to join in on the fun, too. I love any chance to spoil her rotten, and as it's still a novelty having my own dog at Christmas (this is her second Christmas with us), I may have gotten a little carried away and bought her loads of treats and toys this year. I just couldn't help myself. 

I'm sure I'm not the only one who loves spoiling their dog(s) at Christmas time, so I thought it would be fun to show you what I bought Rosie for Christmas before I wrap everything up and put them under the tree. (Yes, I'll even be wrapping her presents; she always has so much fun ripping open the paper to find out what's inside!) Keep reading to find out what I got her. Apologies for how plain the photos are today; I'm struggling to mobilise at the moment and haven't got the energy for pretty flatlays, so these were the best I could do.

I've always loved finding a chocolate selection box under the tree on Christmas morning, so when I came across the Armitage Good Boy Pawsley selection box on Amazon, I knew I had to get it for Rosie. It's filled with five 40-50g bags of bite-sized treats including Doggy Chocolate Drops, Mini Marrow Bones, Turkey and Cranberry Flavour Bones, Yuletide Yummies, and Beef Bonies, along with a packet of five rawhide Munchy Rolls, which is pretty good value for £6.99. She's not sampled any Armitage Good Boy treats before, but I think she's going to love trying all of the bones, biscuits, and chocolate for the first time. I might avoid giving her the Munchy Rolls, though, as I'm not sold on feeding dogs those dyed rawhide treats.

I also picked out some meaty treats from Armitage's Good Boy deli range on Amazon, including Succulent Pigs In Blankets, Succulent Festive Bangers, and Chewy Chicken Stars, which I know Rosie is going to go nuts for. She'll be high-fiving me all over the shop to get these out of my hands. They're all made of at least 69% real meat (mostly chicken breast), and they're the perfect treats for spoiling the dog at Christmas without giving them human festive foods. A lot of our Christmas food can in fact be really dangerous for our four legged fur babies, as many of our festive treats are toxic to dogs, or too high in fat and salt for a dog's digestive system to process, so it's best to stay clear of human food when treating our dogs at Christmas, and reach for dog treats like these instead.

Petface always have the loveliest Christmas gifts for dogs, and I couldn't resist picking up one of their reindeer toy and treat gift sets when I was in Sainsburys a couple of weeks ago. It features the most adorable corduroy reindeer toy, and a big packet of grain free, oven-baked Turkey & Cranberry biscuits, and it's fantastic value at just £6. I actually bought one of these sets for Rosie last year, too, and she loved it. She enjoyed chewing the reindeer to pieces, played with the box, and wolfed down each bone we gave her, so it seemed like a no-brainer to treat her to the set again this Christmas.

Rosie loves playing with toys (and when I say 'play', I mainly mean 'chew to pieces'), so I had to buy her some new soft toys to murder this Christmas. I bought her a squeaky Petface corduroy reindeer with rope legs for £5, and a tweed gingerbread man for £4 from Sainsburys, and also picked out a cute Armitage Good Boy squeaky reindeer with rope legs from Morrison's for £4. They'll probably all be trashed by New Year's, but she'll have so much fun tearing them apart, so even if they are short-lived, I won't feel like the money is wasted. Plus, they were all inexpensive compared to most plush dog toys, so they didn't break the bank in the first place.

To give Rosie a real treat this Christmas, I decided to pick up a couple of things from Lily's Kitchen for her to try for the first time. When I saw that they do a Three Bird Feast wet dog food for Christmas, I just had to get her a tin (£1.99 for a 400g tin) for Christmas Day so she can have her own dog-friendly Christmas dinner. It's been specially created with turkey, goose, and duck, plus parsnips, organic carrots, cranberries, broccoli, organic apple, and a variety of minerals and herbs to give dogs a wholesome Christmas feast. It's free from soya, wheat and grains, and contains none of the bad stuff like artificial additives or GMOs, so as dog food goes, it doesn't get much better than this. I'm reassured that I'll be feeding Rosie a healthy, natural Christmas meal, and I'm confident she's going to love it. She'll probably have the bowl licked clean in minutes.

I'm also giving her a Lily's Kitchen Christmas Cracker, which is filled with heart-shaped, bite-sized biscuit treats made from turkey, cranberries, thyme and cinnamon. To be honest, they don't look like anything special, but it's what's on the inside that counts- they're packed full of goodness, and the cinnamon works as a wonderfully warming anti-inflammatory that helps boost energy, circulation, and brain health. Rosie definitely doesn't need any more energy, but I'm all for treats that look after her health. Plus the packaging is adorable, too. The Christmas crackers are £3.49 each, and currently on promotion with two for £5 on their website.

Now I just need to wrap up her presents, and put them under the tree ready for Christmas morning. I'm looking forward to watching her open everything, and seeing her play with her new toys in a few days. Naturally, I won't be giving her all the treats over Christmas; they'll be occasional rewards and the stash will hopefully last her for months, but she'll certainly get spoiled a little more than usual if she behaves herself this Christmas. She deserves a merry Christmas, too.

I'll leave you with this photo of Rosie sitting like a person, which I took on Saturday, and absolutely cracks me up...

I don't always sit like this, but when I do...

Do you buy your pets presents for Christmas? If you do, what have you bought for them this year?

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Christmas Things Haul 2017

Rosie's First Snow Day

Christmas Things Haul 2017

Over the last couple of months, I've acquired quite a few Christmas bits and bobs, so I thought it was about time for my annual Christmas Things Haul. 

I haven't been able to buy as many decorations or festive fashion pieces as I would usually do at this time of year, as I'm on a tight budget this Christmas, but I still have plenty of things to show you. I've picked up essentials like gift wrap and Christmas cards, managed to stock up on festive craft supplies from Hobbycraft, and even treated myself to the cutest reindeer bedding from ASDA. Well, just see for yourself...

Santa and Reindeer Christmas Cracker Kit: £4 // Gingerbread Man Bunting Sewing Kit:£3 // Red and White Christmas Washi Tape Set: £1 // Papermania Love Santa A5 Postage Stamps: £1.29 // Papermania Love Santa Stick Sheet £0.99 // Bright Green Acrylic Paint: £1.50 // Red Acrylic Paint: £1.50 // Burgundy Acrylic Paint: £1.50 // White Chalky Finish Paint: £5 // Multi-Coloured Jingle Bells: £2.50 // Fern Green Satin Ribbon: £1 // Red Satin Ribbon: £1.30

I always do a big Hobbycraft haul before Christmas, picking up all the supplies I need for Christmas craft projects and present wrapping. This year I had to be very tame- not that you can tell, as I still came away with loads of stuff- but there have been Christmases when I've come out of Hobbycraft a hundred pounds lighter! What can I say? I find shopping for craft supplies and stationery as tempting and addictive as shopping for beauty products... if not more so. I bought ribbons, jingle bells, and red tissue paper for present wrapping, a wooden Advent house and chalk and acrylic paints in festive colours to paint it with, Christmas washi tapes, a Christmas cracker kit, a gingerbread bunting kit, retro festive stamps and stickers, double-sided tape, and a trio of paper fans which were on sale for the bargain price of £1. I'll give you a closer look at some of the best bits...

Santa and Reindeer Christmas Cracker Kit: £4 // Gingerbread Man Bunting Sewing Kit: £3

I always buy a Christmas cracker kit from Hobbycraft every year as I like to make and personalise my own crackers for Christmas Day. It's far more fun then buying them pre-made. I wasn't that impressed with the designs this year, though, and settled for the Santa and Reindeer Cracker Kit as I thought it would match our festive tableware best. The designs are a little cuter than I tend to go for, but they're kinda fun, and should go down well with the family on Christmas Day.

One of the cutest things I picked up this Christmas is the Gingerbread Man Bunting Sewing Kit which I had to buy when I saw it was only £3. Yes, £3! If that wasn't great enough, I had a discount code, so I paid just £2.70 for it! It has little felt gingerbread men and gingham hearts to sew and string together, and it was too adorable to resist. I haven't actually managed to make it yet, but I'm hoping I'll still have time before Christmas. I'll give you a peek at it when it's done.

Unfortunately neither the cracker or bunting kit seems to be available online anymore, but it could be worth giving your local Hobbycraft a visit if you want to get your hands on them.

Papermania Love Santa A5 Postage Stamps: £1.29 // Papermania Love Santa Stick Sheet £0.99

Look how cute these Papermania Love Santa mid-century style Christmas stamps and stickers are! I love fifties Christmas designs, so I just couldn't resist picking some up when I placed my last online order. I thought they'd be perfect for decorating Christmas cards and parcels. They're currently out of stock at Hobbycraft online, but Craft Stash still have some available, which I've linked to above.

Red and White Christmas Washi Tape Set: £1

I also added a set of red and white Christmas washi tapes to my basket as they were only £1, which I'll probably use to jazz up some Christmas card envelopes. Again, they're out of stock online, but they should still be available in store.

Wooden Advent Open House: £5

And one of my favourite Hobbycraft purchases was this £5 wooden Advent house, which I was inspired to purchase after seeing their tutorial for making a colourful Advent house (here). Last week, I painted the whole thing in chalky finish white paint, and I'm currently in the process of sticking festive patterned fabrics and papers on to the backs of some of the cubby-holes. I'm not actually making it in to an Advent calendar, but planning to use it to display some decorations, although it occurred to me that it would be ideal for displaying some of my nail polish collection, too. I was thinking about picking up another one for that purpose, but now we're so far in to Advent it's, you've guessed it, sold out online, and I probably won't make it in store before Christmas now.

Happy Santa Throw: £6 // Vintage Deer Reversible Double Duvet Set: £12 

ASDA always have the loveliest Christmas bedding collections, and this year has been no different. As soon as I saw it, I fell in love with the Vintage Deer Reversible Duvet Set, which is covered in fifties-style reindeer, Christmas trees, candy canes, baubles, birds, tinsel, presents and stars, with ditsy multi coloured stars on the other side. It's the best Christmas bedding set ever! For £12 for a double, I couldn't resist it and treated myself to it, along with the Happy Santa Throw, which is the softest baby blue fleece blanket ever, with retro Santas, reindeer, and dogs all over it. The best part is, it was the bargain price of £6! You'll get to see them properly when I blog a Christmas bedroom tour later in the month, or you can take a peek at them on my Instagram here now.

Dot Com Gift Shop Set of 12 Baubles: £4.95

Last year, I treated myself to this gorgeous set of twelve vintage style glass baubles from Dot Com Gift Shop, and I love them so much that I went ahead and bought a second box of them last week to fill the tree. The set includes twelve large baubles in four colours and three designs- an ice skating scene, Santa in a reindeer led sleigh, and a Merry Christmas design- and they're absolutely beautiful. They were originally £19.95 for the set, but they've been on offer for just £4.95 for a couple of years, which is amazing value. I love the mid-century style, and they also remind me of some of the colourful baubles we had on our family Christmas tree growing up (many of which we still have). I only wish Dot Com Gift Shop sold other decorations like them.

Cath Kidston Polar Bear Roll Wrap Set: £9

During the Black Friday sales, I purchased this year's wrapping paper, and once again I went with a set from Cath Kidston. I think it's the fourth of fifth year in a row that I've used Cath Kidston wrapping paper, so it's becoming somewhat of a tradition! I just love their Christmas collections, and their Christmas wrapping paper always makes presents look so pretty under the tree. This roll wrap pack features three of this year's Christmas prints; Polar Bears, Snowflakes, and Snowmen, and I snagged them for £7 instead of £9. They also seem to be sold out online now, but try your local store. 

Paperchase Box of 50 Christmas Cards £8

Last week, I ordered myself a box of 50 Christmas cards from Paperchase online, taking advantage of the 30% off boxed Christmas cards deal that is still running. Paperchase always make the best cards, and it's a brand I almost always go with at Christmas time. Apparently, I wasn't paying enough attention when I ordered them, as I thought I'd ordered one of the charity boxes of mixed cards, where every single card is a different design, like I usually go for. I ended up with a box of nine very mediocre designs with multiples of each, and am very much underwhelmed with them. Several of the designs don't even have a message on the inside. Apart from one or two designs, they're just a bit crap. I left the card purchasing a bit late to buy some different cards, so I ended up using them along with the last of last year's Cath Kidston cards, but they're definitely not what I was hoping to send out this year. Not that anyone is going to notice either way, LOL.

Christmas To Color Adult Colouring Book By Mary Tanana: £9.64

About a month ago, I treated myself to the Christmas To Color adult Christmas colouring book by Mary Tanana to relax with this Christmas. It's filled with the most beautiful Christmas pictures, and has to be one of the prettiest Christmas colouring books I've come across. I actually purchased it with the hope of painting some of the pictures to destress this month, but I've not had a spare second to paint yet. I have done some colouring, though, and it's been lovely to relax with. I'm planning to review it properly for you before Christmas, but I can tell you now, if you want a good Christmas colouring book, this is the one to go for!

Ciaté Mini Mani Month Advent Calendar: £50

Of course, I also splurged on the Ciaté Mini Mani Month nail polish Advent calendar, which I reviewed here a few weeks ago. I'm loving opening the boxes to a different nail polish or nail treat every day, and it has some amazing shades inside. I'm sharing what I find inside each day over on my Instagram... but I've been so busy preparing for Christmas, it's ending up being more like every other day. Haha!

Cadbury Dairy Milk Advent Calendar: £1.50

And it just wouldn't be Christmas without a Cadbury Dairy Milk Advent calendar, so I got myself one of these bad boys, too. My sisters and I had Cadbury Advent calendars to count down the days 'til Christmas with most years growing up, so it's making me really nostalgic, and even the taste of the chocolate keeps taking me back to childhood each day! I love it!

So, that's my Christmas haul...what Christmassy things have you been buying this Christmas?

Rosie's First Snow Day

I can't tell you how excited I was to wake up on Sunday morning to find the world outside my window blanketed in deep snow.

We hadn't had more than a light flurry in five years, so naturally I was as excited as a kid on Christmas morning to find over half a foot of snow had fallen during the night, and giant snowflakes were still blizzarding down from the sky. The view from my bedroom window looked like a winter wonderland... and trust me, there's nothing wondrous about that view of terraced RAF houses on an average day. Somehow a dusting of snow can make anywhere look pretty.

I'm always excited when it snows because we don't get much snow here in south east England. If we're lucky, we might get snowfall a couple of times each Winter, but we've not had more than a few flakes in around five years, and I don't think we've had snow this deep since 2010. To wake up to so much snow on Sunday was a real novelty, and I couldn't stop myself from chucking on some clothes, and getting out in to the garden with my camera at first light. I'm just an over grown child at heart when it comes to snow!

I intended to take photos of the snow-draped wintry scene outside, but that soon went out the window, as Rosie decided it was the perfect time to play ball, and kept launching snow-caked tennis balls in my direction. I ended up taking heaps of photos of her playing in the snow instead in between throws.

Sunday was Rosie's first ever snow day. She'd never seen snow on the ground before, and barked at it through the window when she first saw it! (Though, to be fair, that dog barks at everything). I didn't get to see her venture out in to the snow for the first time, as my parents let her outside just before I got up, but she was so excited she was zooming around the garden like crazy. She was still super excited when she followed me outside in to the snow half an hour later, and it was hilarious watching her playing in the snow and experiencing it all for the first time. She was prancing around, eating mouthfuls of snow, and running around playing catch, but getting super confused each time the ball sank in the snow before her eyes, and disappeared. Her expression was like that of a small child trying to figure out how its Dad had got its nose. I was in stitches.

I stayed outside in the snow for about an hour, playing ball, taking photos, and getting covered in snow, before retreating back inside to the warmth because I could no longer feel my fingers. It was fucking freezing outside. 

I was exhausted from just playing in the garden, so after thawing dreadlocks of snow off of Rosie's little legs, I went back up to bed, and sat and watched the snow falling from my window. 

It snowed heavily all day without a break, and was still snowing when it got dark late afternoon. By the end of the day, we had almost a foot of snow on the ground! It was magical.

We still had snow on the ground the next morning, and even though the temperature had dropped well below freezing, I couldn't resist taking some more photos outside. Once again, I had an excitable dog bouncing around wanting to play ball. Her reaction to the snow really was adorable.

We still have some snow on the ground today, but the rain melted much of it away last night. It's a shame it's almost gone already, but I enjoyed living in my own winter wonderland while it lasted. It made the last few days even more festive, and is getting me all excited for Christmas now. I just hope it's not the only snowfall we get this winter because I love it. It's one of life's little pleasures.

Did you get snow over the weekend?