50 Things I Want To Do This Christmas

It's December 2nd and that can only mean one thing- the festive season is officially here! 

Christmas is on its way; decorations are being hung, presents are being wrapped, Christmas tunes are being blared out wherever you turn- whether you want to hear them or not- and the cupboards are being stocked with delicious goodies that can't be touched 'til Christmas Day. I couldn't be happier; Christmas has always been my favourite time of year. (It's also the most stressful, but let's not focus on that).

There are so many fun festive activities I want or need to do between now and the end of the year so I can enjoy as much festive cheer as possible and get organised for the big day. I've actually come up with fifty things I'd like to do this Christmas, and I've written a to do list to motivate myself to do as many of them as I can. I probably won't manage all of them, but I'm going to do my best to complete as many of my festive goals as possible. I thought you might like to see what my goals are for December, so I'm here to share a list of 50 things I want to do this Christmas.

Let's get started...

1. Buy a little Christmas tree for my bedroom.

2. Decorate my bedroom for Christmas.

3. Decorate the tree and the rest of the house for Christmas with my family.

4. Cut down foliage (holly and fir branches etc.) from the garden to dress the fireplace with.

5. Go see the Christmas lights being switched on in my town.

6. Go to Bourton-on-the-Water's Christmas lights switch-on. (They stand their Christmas tree in the river running through the town centre and it's so pretty, with the fairy lights twinkling on the water).

7. Drive around to spot the best Christmas lights in my area.

8. Try to finish my Christmas cross stitch wall hanging- or at least complete as much of it as I can.

9. Watch The Nutcracker movie for the first time. (I've already bought myself a copy on DVD).

10. Have lots of Christmas movie marathons.

11. Watch a Christmas movie at the cinema. (I haven't actually been to the cinema since Mockinjay Part 2 because I find it too uncomfortable, but I'd happily grin and bear the pain for something festive. I miss going to the cinema).

12. Watch the new Gavin and Stacey Christmas Special. (I've been looking forward to this for months!)

13. Write and send my Christmas cards- and not at the last minute.

14. Make homemade Christmas crackers.

15. Make table favours for Christmas dinner.

16. Make felt floral Christmas wreaths. (I've only been planning to do this for about three  years...)

17. Make some more festive hoop art to fill my wall.

18. Finally make the Christmas snow globe I've been meaning to make for years.

19. Make the needle felt Christmas decorations I bought last year.

20. Put together this year's Christmas Eve Box to enjoy on Christmas Eve night.

21. Fill a Christmas gift box for a homeless person.

22. Finish my Christmas shopping.

23. Finish wrapping Christmas presents. (I started in November to make it easier on my back).

24. Try to document as much of the festive season as possible on Instagram.

25. Read A Literary Christmas.

26. Reread A Christmas Carol and Little Women.

27. Read a new-to-me Christmas novel.

28. Bake and decorate some Christmas cookies or cupcakes.

29. Make my blackberry and apple trifle on Christmas Eve.

30. Make some new Christmas playlists. (I've just got a new laptop and lost all the ones I'd saved from last Christmas).

31. Listen to lots of festive tunes.

32. Visit a garden centre to browse the Christmas departments and food halls.

33. Get photos of Rosie in a Christmas jumper.

34. Make dog treats for Rosie and Mia as a Christmas treat.

35. Try to blog lots of festive content- and schedule as much in advance as I can. (I've got quite a few posts planned already!)

36. Go out for hot chocolate.

37. Try a mince pie. (I haven't had one since I was little and don't know if I might actually like them now, so I need to find out).

38. Make a yule log. (I haven't made one since childhood, and I'd love to give it a go again).

39. Spend some quality time with my family over Christmas.

40. Find time to do a little painting with one of my Christmas colouring books.

41. Buy a new Christmas dress. (Preferably a Christmas patterned one, but otherwise just a pretty dress to wear over the holidays).

42. Buy a new pair of Christmas PJs to wear on Christmas Eve night and Christmas morning.

43. Wear the shit out of my Erstwilder Christmas brooches.

44. Take lots of photos and videos of the festivities.

45. Play a board game or two over Christmas.

46. Count down the days 'til Christmas with my nail polish Advent calendars, and share daily updates on Instagram. (Follow me on Instagram for daily reveals on the contents of my Ciaté and Essie nail polish calendars).

47. Make my Animal Crossing New Leaf town look super festive. (Everything changes with the seasons in Animal Crossing, so you get snow, festive outfits, festive furniture, and lots of other fun stuff I've yet to discover).

48. Do my best to participate in more surveys to make some last minute Christmas cash.

49. Buy lots of Christmas presents for my dog. (Rosie loves opening presents, and deserves some new toys).

50. Find some time to relax and destress.

And those are fifty things I'd like to do this Christmas.

What about you? What are you most looking forward to doing this Christmas?

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My Goals For 2019

It's a brand new year, so I guess it's time to set some goals for the year ahead! 

Don't worry; I'm not about to start spouting some "new year, new me!" bollocks. It's a new year, but you're still going to get the same old me... whether you like it or not! (Probably not!)

I'm not one for making big, unattainable, life-changing resolutions that I'm never going to achieve because where's the fun in failure?, but I do like to set myself some smaller goals to aim for each year. Goals like reading more books, places I want to visit locally, crafts I want to try, and plans for my blog for the year ahead. Goals I actually have a good chance of achieving but that still provide a challenge. This year, I've set myself lots of those kind of goals for the coming months, and if you'd like to hear about some of them, please keep reading!

So, in 2019, I would like to:

Read More

One of my top priorities for 2019 is to read more books. I finally got my reading mojo back in 2018, after years of being distracted by blogging and the Internet, and read more books than I've read in years. While I only finished about 17 or 18 books last year, it was still an improvement on the 7 I managed to read in 2017, and I would've read more if I could've. I'm hoping to do even better this year, and make time for even more books because it's something I really enjoy. I'm being realistic, and have set myself a goal of reading 25 books, which I should be able to achieve, but I'd like to get through even more if I can. I've just treated myself to several new novels with my Christmas money and I'm already over 200 pages through my first book of the year (Birdbox by Josh Malerman- which is amazing so far!), so I'm sure I'll make a dent in the challenge really quickly. If you have any book recommendations, let me know!

Do Lots of Crafting
I've realised that I'm rarely happier than when I'm creating and making things with my own two hands, so I want to spend 2019 doing as much crafting as possible. I want to make more time for the crafts I enjoy, and also challenge myself with lots of new crafts to learn some new skills. My crafty goals include:

♥ Do Lots of Cross Stitching

I didn't cross stitch as much as I would've liked last year, so I want to make up for it this year by cross stitching regularly, and making lots of fun designs.

♥ Design My Own Cross Stitch Pattern and Then Stitch It

I'm thinking of trying a simple geometric design to start with, as it shouldn't be too hard to get right. I've wanted to try creating my own patterns for years.

♥ Attempt More Embroidery Projects and Improve My Embroidery Skills

I haven't done a lot of embroidery, so I'd like to try to master it this year.

♥ Make Something on a Loom

I bought a small loom last year as I thought weaving looked like fun, but I still haven't made anything with it. This year I will. I just don't know what I'll make yet.

♥ Learn How to Needle Felt

It's a random craft, I know, but I'd love to give it a try. I actually bought a needle felting Christmas decoration kit this Autumn, but never found the time to make it, so this would be a good place to start.

♥ Try Card-Making

I've contemplated making my own cards for years and have never given it a try, but Aycan's DIY reindeer pom pom shaker Christmas cards have inspired me to actually attempt some this year.

♥ Learn to Crochet

Learning to crochet a granny square blanket has been on my to-do-list for years, but I still haven't got around to it. I really want to find the time to fit it in this year.

♥ Make More Hoop Art

I really want to make more hoop art, and try more elaborate designs, so I'm going to get started on this soon. I'd love to be able to fill a whole wall with my hoops.

♥ Learn How to Use a Sewing Machine

I learnt once, but haven't used one since I was about thirteen and had to study textiles in secondary school, so I can't remember how to use one. Back then I was useless with a sewing machine- probably as I had no interest in crafting and CBA- but now I'd love to learn how to use one again, and like to think I'd master it easily this time around. I'd love to be able to use one to make my own clothes, patchwork quilts, and bunting one day.

♥ Make Felt Wreaths

Over Christmas, I'd hoped to make felt floral Christmas wreaths, but ended up being too ill to make them, so I need to play catch up and make them this year instead. I also need to make a couple more of my floral spring wreaths, and I hope to blog tutorials for them, too!

Improve My Photography and Photo Editing Skills

One area of blogging I really struggle with is photography, particularly photo editing, which makes me want to pull my hair out on an almost daily basis. I just cannot get my photos to look good, no matter what I do. It consumes me, and stops me from publishing content far too often, and I need to find a solution before it drives me crazy. I know I say this every year, but I want to work hard on improving my photography and flatlays this year, and learn some new skills to make my photos look as good as they can.

Rebrand the Blog

Last year, I gave Polka Spots a brand new look with a Pipdig blog design, which I still absolutely love, but I never did find the time to rename and rebrand the blog. I've hated my blog name for almost seven years now, and it makes me cringe every time I see it, so I want to take the steps to rebrand and rechristen the blog to something less cringe-worthy ASAP.

Work Hard to Improve the Blog

This year, I'm aiming to work hard on my blog and provide quality content that I hope you guys will enjoy and want to read. I want to improve the quality of my writing, flatlays, and photos, and feature a variety of interesting topics. I'd love to include more crafts, beauty, books, stationery, fashion, homeware, and adventures on the blog, and work with more brands in 2019. I'd also like to be more interactive with you guys here and on social media, grow my readership, and work on self-promotion. Let the hard work commence! If there's anything you'd like to see more of on the blog, let me know in the comments!

Improve My Instagram

Despite its flaws (algorithm, anyone?), I bloody love Instagram. I love sharing photos from my day, and filling my grid with colourful and meaningful photos from my life that I can look back on. I particularly enjoy sharing perfectly unpolished little snippets on my Instagram Stories, and of course, gaining inspiration from others. I want to make the effort to fill my grid and stories with quality photos this year, and make my account something I can be proud of. I don't plan on going for a theme, but I want it to look as colourful as possible. If I can grow my following and engagement along the way, that would be wonderful, too.

Shop For Presents Throughout the Year

I want to do my best to pick up birthday and Christmas presents for my family and friends throughout the year to help spread-the-cost, and be super organised this year. I don't want to be skint at Christmas or be panicking about finishing my shopping days before Christmas again, like I was this Christmas.  It's too stressful. This year, I'm going to be prepared. In fact, I've already added four small presents to the present stash, so I'm off to a good start! I find picking up presents over the year really takes the stress out of gift-giving, and it gives me more time to find the perfect gifts, too.

Get Stuck in to Surveys Again

I didn't participate in anywhere near as many paid surveys in 2018 as I did in 2017, as I couldn't always be arsed to put in the effort for a few pennies. but I'm intending to get stuck in again this year.  I'm going to do it to pay for all those presents, but also to make some extra cash to live on because I barely have enough to get by. If you'd like to know more about earning money through online surveys, I wrote a post all about it here.

Look in to Ways to Manage My Arthritis

Over the last year or so, the arthritis I've suffered with since I was a pre-teen, has deteriorated and started to become problematic after two decades of being manageable. It's began causing excruciating pain, swollen joints, regular stiffness, and difficulty using my hands for every day tasks, which sure is sobering at the age of 33. Last month it was the worst it's ever been, so I know it's time to start looking in to new ways to manage my symptoms to see if anything out there can help. Anti-inflammatory drugs haven't worked for me, but I want to look in to anti-inflammatory diets as there are foods there are known to help with inflammation. (This isn't about dieting, but adding more foods with anti-inflammatory properties in to my diet in the hope of helping my joints). I'm also planning to speak with my rheumatologist again to find out if there's anything we can do to manage it, and have an appointment to see him again in a couple of weeks. I need to make sure I try everything I can to make it more manageable before accepting this as my new normal.

Lose the Extra Weight I Gained Last Year

Last year, I gained a little weight from spending so much time on bed rest and not taking care of myself as well as I should have, and in all honesty, I don't feel comfortable in my own skin anymore. I've tried to love the extra padding I've acquired, but the truth is, I don't. I don't even feel like myself anymore. I honestly don't give a shit about being plus size, but I definitely felt more comfortable in myself when I was a size or two smaller, so I'd like to get back to that. To be honest, the main reason I want to lose those extra pounds is so I can fit back in to my clothes. Most of my clothes no longer fit me and I can't afford to buy new ones, so it would be easier if I could fit back in to them. I miss my favourite dresses!

Eat Better

Continuing on from the last goal, I'm also aiming to eat better, and look after myself properly. It's time to start taking better care of myself.

Continue Training Rosie

My three-year-old Tibetan terrier, Rosie, still needs some work when it comes to recall and shutting up when she's asked (that dog could bark for England), so I'm going to continue training her until we've cracked it. I'd love it if she could have the freedom to wander off the lead in public and play with other dogs in the park without worrying about her getting hit by a car or going missing. She has the run of our garden at home, but it would be nice if she could have that freedom on her walks, too.

Have a Clear Out

I feel the need to have a good clear out at home, and get rid of some of the clutter- not only to raise a little extra cash, but to make some space, too. Sometimes it feels like my stuff is closing in on me. I also need to sort through and organise some of my digital files and photos, too, and try to keep on top of it. I think I'm going to make a start on this soon and start the year with a good spring clean.

Visit Somewhere New

It's unlikely that I will get a holiday or weekend away this year, but I hope I can at least visit somewhere new before the year is through.

Some Places I'd Like To Visit in 2019

♥ Brighton

♥ London.

♥ Badbury Clump woods, when it's carpeted with bluebells in the spring.

♥ A lavender field in The Cotswolds.

♥ A sunflower field, if I can find one close to home.

♥ The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

♥ The beach.

So, those are some of my goals for 2019... what are yours? Have you made any New Year's resolutions for 2019?