Haul | The Lovely Presents I Was Given For Christmas (2013)

I had a lovely Christmas with my family this year, and although we're now approaching the New Year, I'm still overwhelmed by how much I was spoilt by my loved ones this week. My family were extremely generous and gave far more than I deserved; I found myself quite taken a back by their generosity when I took everything upstairs to put away and saw it all together. I still feel so grateful for every present; and appreciate every person who spent money, time, and effort on giving the gifts to me this year.

Christmas, for me, isn't about receiving presents at all. Although it's exciting to be given a pile of presents each December, Christmas is about spending time with the people I love, and remembering other people in my life that I can't spend it with; even if it's just by acknowledging them with a thoughtful note in a Christmas card. I get a great deal of joy from spoiling my friends and family, too, and the festive season is a time for me to lavish them with lovely presents and I always get carried away! I love putting presents together for somebody who deserves to be spoiled rotten, it's so satisfying!

Christmas is also a time when I truly appreciate what I have, when so many people out there have nothing but the clothes on their backs. And right now, I'm aware of just how much I have and how lucky I am to have it! So, please bare that in mind as I show you the wonderful presents I was given for Christmas this year. I'm not sharing them to boast or make you jealous; I just enjoy reading these kind of posts on other blogs, and thought you might like to see them, too. I know some people detest 'haul' posts, and if you're one of them, you might prefer to press the little x in the corner now...

So, first up are The Elf Boots. I was given this pair of forest green studded ankle boots from my parents. I already have the same boots in burgundy and black, and I put a little request in for this pair. They're by Collection at Simply Be, and come in E and EEE widths; I chose the latter and they're so roomy and comfortable. 

My parents also gave me the Remington Keratin Therapy Pro Curl curling tong, as I've wanted a curling tong for years. I'm looking forward to playing with it, and seeing if I can get the curls to stay in my hair.

Not great pictures, as it just did not want to cooperate, but I love my new gold snakeskin effect satchel from River Island.

My older sister, and my brother-in-law bought me this pretty fairisle jumper. It has a little angora in it and it's incredibly soft to the touch. I'm so impressed by TU at Sainsburys' clothes this season; this one's a beauty.

They also gave me an Inglot breathable nail enamel in 639 and an Inglot nail enamel pen in 27. I'm wearing the nail polish now, and it's so pretty, and I can't wait to get creative with the nail art pen. My other sister gave me the gorgeous Lush Emotional Brilliance lipstick in Decisive.

I was given quite a lot of beauty products from various family members.

My favourites of the bunch are the Lush pieces. I was given a box of four products by my Auntie, and a gift bag full from the parents.

I was also gifted this cute bobbin-shaped craft box, which will make a quirky display item in my boudoir.

A few little things: a lion cross stitch kit; a necklace; a pair of real purple pearl studs; a cupcake shaped manicure set; and a bookmark calendar.

I was treated to a plentiful assortment of edible goodies. That's me set until Easter!

How cute is this little Santa teddy tin? I might have to refill him with goodies and pass him along to someone else next Christmas. Or just regift to myself!

The day after Boxing Day, I was given a belated Christmas present from the little sis, who bought me the Stila Naturally Beautiful Eyeshadow Palette that I've had my eye on all year! My sis always leaves her Christmas shopping until the last minute, so it arrived late, but it helped stretch Christmas further!

And my mother forgot she'd also bought me these pearl accessories, and remembered them on Boxing Day. The necklace, earrings, and simple bracelet came in a set, and the other bracelet was in it's own little pouch. The pearls are real, and I can't quite believe how lovely the are!

So, as you can see, I've been a really lucky girl this year, and was spoilt rotten! I appreciate every last gift!

I'm off to get started on the 'thank you' cards to show my gratitude.

What were you spoilt with this year?

Christmas 2013

Hello there! Happy belated Christmas!

I hope that you all had an absolutely fantastic Christmas this year, and that a certain Mr Claus was kind to you! Did you get everything that you wanted this year?

I personally had a lovely Christmas with my family, and I'm feeling extremely blessed for all that I have in my life at the moment, even if I don't have a lot. I may not have been able to attend our family gathering, but I was able to spend some quality time with my immediate family at home. The house was filled with festive music, loud voices, and laughter, with bright winter sunshine pouring through the windows, and more than enough scrumptious food and drink to indulge in. I was spoilt rotten by my family, and the presents I gave brought smiles to their faces. A perfect Christmas, if you ask me. And I'd say that without receiving any presents, as it's not what Christmas is about for me.

On Christmas Eve, I was miraculously up and out of the house before 9am, and popped in to town with my sister for some last minute shopping. I may have returned with a nail polish or two to wear on Christmas Day, along with the last of the food shopping. I spent the afternoon recovering, wrapping up my Dad's presents to my Mum, and napping.

In the evening of Christmas Eve, my Mum put together a buffet tea and made waaay too much food, so we still have a ton of left overs in the fridge. We feasted on cold cuts, quiches, assorted cheeses and crackers, salad, mini turkey pasties, various nibbles made from pastry, vol-au-vonts, bread, meats, pavlova and my sister's chocolate squidgy log, amongst other delicious goodies. Most of it homemade. I forgot to take a photo of the spread before everyone had tucked in, but you get the idea.

I then went to put favours together for the Christmas dinner table.

After our Christmas Eve buffet, my Mum helped me make my Blackberry and Apple trifle, that I've made every Christmas since 2006. (Find the recipe here). I needed a little assistance this year as I was succumbing to the pain by this point, but it's very simple to make. It has blackberries, raspberries, apples and Madeira cake underneath those layers of custard and cream, (I also added in peaches this year) and it's the perfect dessert to indulge in at Christmas. This year's was absolutely delicious.

Christmas morning came, and we all roused later than we've ever done on Christmas Day. After less than four hours broken sleep, I awoke just before half eight, and everyone else soon followed. I don't think we've ever been up later than 7am on Christmas Day! We must be getting old!

The tree on Christmas morning before we opened our presents.

My parents still lay out presents to my younger sister and I in separate piles on our sofas. This was my stack waiting to be unwrapping. I was spoilt rotten this year! (I'll reveal the generous presents I was given in another post). We spent over an hour exchanging gifts from each other, and gifts under the tree from other relatives.

I was in my fleecy Primark reindeer pyjamas until midday. These pj bottoms are so soft and cosy, and only cost a fiver!

My older sister and brother-in-law stopped by at 11am to exchange gifts. She'd wrapped up two of my presents like crackers, which were so beautifully wrapped I just had to share them. We both had the same Cath Kidston wrapping paper and labels this year.

I think my woodland fireplace display looked lovely in the bright winter sunshine.

After I was showered, dressed, and made-up, I set to work on dressing the table for dinner. Do you like our very mis-matched decor? We're not fancy enough to be overly colour-coordinated for a casual family dinner, when it's just the six of us.

On Christmas Eve, we couldn't find our favour boxes anywhere, but I had an eureka moment, and remembered my Mum had a ton of fabric given to her a while back. She had a bag filled with red tulle, some embellished, that had been used for prom and bridesmaid dresses. I cut six squares out with pinking shears, popped a pretty cake case in the middle of each and added in a few chocolates, before tying them with some ribbon. Voila, thrifty table favours! I personally think they looked really pretty, and everybody else loved them.

My handmade crackers also went down a storm. I filled them with chocolates and festive scratch cards. The only person who won anything was the birthday girl (my Mum); who won a £1. Haha!

The place cards were from Paperchase. I had my older sister write them.

I added in paper straws left over from a summer barbecue. My little sister had bought windmill straws, too.

The design on our Christmas place mats.

I don't know how to make napkins in to swans, so I made paper planes instead! Haha!

Christmas dinner was delicious, and as always, my favourite meal of the year. I had turkey, stuffing, roast and mashed potatoes, broccoli, butternut squash, parsnips, carrots, and gravy. My eyes were clearly bigger than my stomach, as I ate about half of what I put on my plate. The highlights for me were my sister's roast potatoes, and the honey garlic parsnips and carrots she made to contribute to the meal. My Mum was responsible for most of the delicious meal, and we finished with her apple pie.

It wouldn't be Christmas in our house without a tin of Cadbury's Roses.

I spent ages doing my eye make up for dinner. I wore green eyeshadow, with black liquid eyeliner thinly lining the top lid, which I went over with a green glitter liner. I lined the bottom lash line with a black pencil eyeliner, and the inner lash line with a teal-blue. I'm not sure why my face looks so much darker than my shoulders, as I wasn't wearing foundation. I was letting my skin recover, since my new foundation has made me break out more than I've ever done in my life.

I forgot to snap a few pictures of my outfit, but I was wearing my navy fish-print peplum dress that I bought from AX Paris about a year and a half ago, with black tights. It's lovely and loose, which is perfect for Christmas Day indulging!

I did, however, take a quick pic of my Christmas Day manicure. I bought the two polishes on Christmas Eve especially for the occasion. I wore Maxfactor Max Effect Mini Nail Polish in Deep Mauve and Barry M Textured Nail Effect Nail Paint in Countess on my thumbs and ring fingers. It's a gorgeous mixture of chocolate, plum, gold, red and green.

After dinner, we all went in to the living room to relax in front of the TV for a while. I was stretched out on the small sofa with a heat pack on my back, as being out of bed was putting me in a lot of pain, while the TV flicked between Tangled and Toy Story 3. The older sis and brother in law left around 5pm, and I went home with them, although I only managed an hour before I had to admit defeat and come home to bed. I was hoping to enjoy the evening with them over a few drinks, but in hindsight I think that idea was never going to happen.

I was so exhausted, I slept from 7-9pm-ish, before dozing off again for another hour or two! I snuggled up with a couple of festive films until 6am, when I dropped off and slept on and off until 6:20pm and missed Boxing Day. If that wasn't bad enough, I slept another four hours before midnight! I think Christmas must've really exhausted me this year, because I fell asleep yesterday evening, too! I'm just glad I managed to fight my nocturnal sleeping pattern to be conscious enough to enjoy the festivities from the 23rd to the 25th! I had such a lovely Christmas, and although I'm sad that it's now over for another year, I can't wait to see what the New Year brings.

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas, and I hope you have a very Happy New Year!