My Best Christmas Blog Posts

Since I started blogging in 2012, I have created a lot of Christmas blog content. Christmas crafts, festive product reviews, Christmas room tours, helpful lists and tips, and so much more. As I still need to take photos for the other festive blog posts I have planned (but am currently being hindered by neck pain from my injury), today I thought I'd dust off the archives and do a round up of some of my best Christmas posts from over the years. Hopefully you'll find some posts you haven't seen before here, and who knows, maybe you'll even find some crafts you'd like to try, or some tips or ideas that you'll find helpful.

Still interested? Let's get started...

Last year, I wrote a review of my two beautiful Christmas brooches from Erstwilder's Festive Splendour Christmas Collection.

My little collection of Erstwilder Kitschy Christmas brooches.

If you enjoy colouring-in or are in need of a way to destress this Christmas, I'd recommend my review of the Christmas to Color colouring book by Mary Tanana. It's filled with the most beautiful, intricate Christmas illustrations to colour in.

The DIY Christmas crackers I made last Christmas using a cute Nutcracker cracker kit from Hobbycraft. You can also check out the crackers I made in 2017, and 2016. I'll be bringing you this year's DIY Christmas crackers in the next couple of weeks. I just have to make them first!

If you want to make some unique decorations to hang on the wall or even gift as presents, you might enjoy my DIY easy Christmas hoop art post.

Need some inspiration for this year's Christmas Eve box? Check out my DIY Christmas Eve Box from Christmas 2018. You might also like this one from 2016, and this one from 2015.

A retro reindeer cross stitch I stitched last Christmas.

Want to make your Insta Stories super festive but are short of ideas? Never fear, here's my 101 Christmas Instagram Story Ideas.

Christmas wreaths don't just have to be made from foliage or baubles. They can even be made out of pom poms- like my DIY Christmas pudding pom pom wreath from Christmas 2018. It's so easy to make, too!

Christmas is the most expensive time of the year, but festive activities don't have to cost you a fortune. Here's a list of 101 inexpensive things to do this Christmas.

Last year I shared my Christmas bucket list, with 40 things I have always wanted to do at Christmas time.

I love a good tagged post, and last year I did The Cracking Christmas Tag. If you want to know what Christmas songs I loathe or what I get up to on Christmas Eve, this is the post for you.

How to make these asymmetric DIY Christmas pom pom wreaths.

A round up of Christmas cross stitches I made in 2016.



A look at the DIY Advent House I made using a Hobbycraft Advent house, and kitschy paper, fabric, and wrapping papers.

Christmas is the season of good will and generosity, and if you want to do a good deed for someone this December, here's a list of 50 alternative ways to give back this Christmas to give you a few ideas.

Looking for some festive ways to enjoy your free time this Christmas? Here's a list of 101 Things To Do This Christmas to inspire you.

For anyone who likes to get creative with their blog or social media photos, here's a list of 75 of the Best Christmas Blog Photo Props.



Here's 50 of my money-saving Christmas shopping tips to help you stretch your money further and save a few pounds this Christmas.

If you're looking for some ideas for Blogmas posts, you might find my list of 200 Christmas blog post ideas will come in handy.

Navigating the Christmas season isn't easy when you have a chronic illness. It's exhausting, it elevates pain, it brings on flares, and requires more spoons than most of us have to spare. If you're nodding your head, and struggle to cope with the festive season, I wrote a Chronic Pain and Chronic Illness Christmas Survival Guide a couple of years ago which you might find helpful. It's packed full of my own tips and advice for surviving Christmas, which I learnt through trial and error. You might also appreciate my list of 25 Ways to Enjoy Christmas on Bed Rest.

A Christmas bedroom tour from 2016.



Love A Christmas Carol and colouring-in? Escape to Christmas Past is the Christmas colouring book review for you.

Another great adult Christmas colouring book I reviewed in the past is Johanna's Christmas by Johanna Basford. It's filled with the prettiest festive illustrations to bring to life with colour. (Apologies for the atrocious photos).

In 2016, I made this colourful Christmas cross stitch sampler, and showcased it on the blog.

Way back in December 2015, I shared a look at my Christmas novelty bags.

Photos of my bedroom decorated for Christmas 2015.

A look at some of the Riverdrift House Scandi-style Christmas cross stitches I made in 2015.

My review of the Zen Colouring Winter Wonderland Christmas colouring book.



How our living room was decorated for Christmas 2014. 

And in case you missed them...

My review of this year's Ciaté Mini Mani Month Advent calendar.

I also wrote a review of the Essie nail polish Advent calendar, complete with spoilers of the contents.

If you haven't got your Advent calendar for the 12 days of Christmas yet or want to see if any of your favourites have gone on sale so you can grab a beauty bargain, here's this year's round-up of Every Beauty Advent Calendar For Christmas 2019.

Earlier this week, I shared my Christmas to do list entitled 50 Things I Want to Do This Christmas.

I finally got around to showing you how I decorated my bedroom for Christmas last year with a Christmas bedroom tour post this week.

And last but not least, here's what I got for Christmas last year.

If by some miracle you've made it to the end of this post (thanks for sticking with me!), and still want to see more Christmas content, you can find all of my Christmas posts here.

I've also got plenty more festive-themed posts to come this December, so be sure to keep an eye out for those!

What kind of Christmas content do you enjoy reading most on blogs?

What I Got For Christmas Last Year (2018)

Today, I'm going to show you what I got for Christmas last year, as I never did get around to blogging this post last Christmas. I took the photos, I had the text written up by the New Year, but I wasn't happy with my photos so I kept putting it off. I had hoped to retake them, but it never happened and before we knew it, it was Valentine's Day and far too late to be blogging about Christmas. It seemed a shame to delete a post I had spent ages working on, so I left it in my drafts, and at some point during the year, I realised I could just post it this Christmas instead. So that is what I'm here to do. Even if I still hate the photos and couldn't salvage the close up shots I took.

I know some people don't like these kind of posts, but I personally enjoy reading them on other blogs, and like to share mine every year. (Except last year, obviously). I don't do this to brag or to try to make anyone jealous or anything, but merely to share a part of my life with you guys, and make a record to look back on. I've actually been taking photos of what I got for Christmas since childhood, so I'm just keeping a tradition alive in a modern way. If Christmas hauls really aren't your cup of tea, you may prefer to click the 'x' button now. No hard feelings; I'll catch you next time. If you'd like to see what I got for Christmas, though, keep reading, and I'll get started. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin.

Last Christmas I received some amazing presents from my family. I probably received less presents than ever before as we've stopped exchanging gifts with our relatives and my parents have began giving us less now they're either side of the retirement line, but I still feel like I was spoiled rotten. 

My older sister and brother-in-law generously bought me a Fujifilm Instax Mini 9 camera in lime green, with the matching 'groovy case', and a couple of packs of patterned film to start me off. It's easily one of the best presents I received last year. I've wanted an Instax for years as it's been ages since I last owned an instant camera, and this one is such a pretty spring green (not a garish lime, like the name would suggest). It's a great little camera and really fun to use. I love using it to document special occasions, and bringing it along when I get out and about to pretty places. It's still such a novelty to hold printed photos in my hands again- even if the quality will never compare to today's digital cameras.

On Christmas Eve, the sister also arrived home from Germany with some festive Peeps marshmallows for us (I got a pack of candy cane flavoured birds, and green Christmas trees), a pack of praline Succhards chocolates (not pictured 'cause I'd eaten them already), and a gift bag of goodies left over from her work Christmas do. Inside were some gingerbread flavoured Lindor chocolates, two mini peppermint snowman chocolates, and some mini Gucci Bamboo perfumes, which smell amazing.

My younger sister gave me Animal Crossing for the DS, which I started playing the day after Boxing Day, and haven't been able to stop playing since. I think I've missed one day this whole year! It's so fun and addictive, and it's safe to say that I'm now obsessed. She also got me the cutest Hedwig mug, and the most amazing heart-shaped Polly Pocket bag from Truffle Shuffle. Polly Pockets were some of my favourite toys when I was growing up in the eighties and nineties, so it's basically the best bag ever! TBH, it's long over due- she's owed me a replacement Polly Pocket since she threw my Polly Pocket toy / money box (with all my pocket money inside) in to the river in Worcester when I was seven. She blames intrusive thoughts, but she was only four, so I'm not buying it. It was mint green with a high street inside, and a compartment underneath to keep your coins in- like this one. It was my favourite, and I'm still gutted, TBH. Did anyone else have one?

I received a variety of presents from my parents, but my favourite has to be the pretty Cath Kidston Alpine Ditsy bluetooth speaker that I'd asked them for. It's a small grey speaker with a floral Cath Kidston print across the top and sides, and it's such a pretty little gadget. The sound quality is fantastic, too, especially for the price. (It was under £40 full price, and on sale for about £17.50!) You charge it by USB which can give you four hours play time, but I've found you can connect the USB cord to a plug (not included) to use it as long as you want without interruption. I've got so much use out of it this year. The speaker is sadly no longer available, but you may still be able to find one on eBay or through Cath Kidston's outlet shops.

Along with the speakers, my parents gave me the Cath Kidston floral colouring book, a navy Joe browns cardigan with adorable little foxes peeking out from the pockets, macaron and French bulldog themed PJs, two cute Cookies and Biscuit sampler cross stitch kits from The World in Stitches, a tube of Pringles, a Galaxy Selection Box, a Terry's Chocolate Orange, and a tube of Caramac buttons.

I also received a little Christmas money, which I decided to spend on books and a brooch from Erstwilder. I bought the Life by the Horns brooch, a purple rhino brooch from the Out of Africa collection that had been at the top of my Erstwilder wish list for months. I found it on sale for £18.95, so I just couldn't resist it any longer. It's even cuter in person and definitely one of my favourite Erstwilder brooches to date. 

The books I picked up include The Next Person You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman, VOX by Christina Dalcher, and Bird Box by Josh Malerman. I've read all but Eleanor Oliphant this year, and I'd highly recommend all of them, especially Bird Box, which is one of the best books I've ever read.

I also bought two creative list journal books I'd been coveting for ages- 52 Lists for Togetherness by Moorea Seal, and the Breathe List Journal, which are both full of lists to fill in and gorgeous imagery. I'll do my best to review them both for you in the New Year because I think you'll love them, too.

If you'd like a closer look at anything, I took a video of my haul last Christmas, too. It's just a shaky amateur video, and not professional vlogger quality filming, but if it was all shiny and polished, you wouldn't know it was from me, would you?!



And that is what I was given for Christmas 2018!

Christmas really isn't about the presents for me (although, let's face it, they are a perk), but I got some fantastic presents from the family last year, and I'm so grateful for every present I was so thoughtfully given. Thank you, family; you did good!

If there's anything in these photos that you'd particularly like me to review, do let me know in the comments.

Hopefully you won't have to wait a whole year to see this year's Christmas present haul! I'll do my best to bring it to you straight after Christmas.

What did you get for Christmas last year?

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Wednesday Wish List

I wasn't going to post a wish list this week and planned to do something festive instead, but there's one collection I just had to share with you before it sells out, so here we are...

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My favourite Australian jewellery brand, Erstwilder, have teamed up with the amazing Australian designer, illustrator, and happy art creator, Pete Cromer, and created one of the most beautiful jewellery collections I think I've ever seen in my life.

I'll be honest, I'd never heard of Pete Cromer before Erstwilder announced this collection, but I've fallen in love with his bright and colourful style, as well as this entire brooch collection.

The Erstwilder x Pete Cromer range sees eighteen of Cromer's colourful designs brought to life as brooches. There are seventeen Australian animal brooches and one set of three adorable little Druid brooches, and they're all little works of art. I love these designs so much I could have happily bought the entire collection, if I wasn't poor, and if it wasn't Christmas time, but alas, I am and it is. Narrowing down my favourites was so difficult, but in the end, I bought the galah, thanks to some early Christmas money from my Nana, and put the kookaburra, Tasmanian devil, and Gouldian finch on lay buy to pay for after Christmas. I really wanted the koala, too, but it sold out everywhere while I was toying with how many I could put on lay-buy without making myself bankrupt. Sob!

Unsurprisingly, many of the pieces sold out almost immediately, but I've linked to all the pieces I could find in stock in the UK above. You can also shop the range direct from Erstwilder, and hunt down your favourite pieces from their stockists around the world here. I'm hoping to add more pieces to the collection after Christmas, and may have also added a few designs to my Christmas list.

My galah brooch arrived this morning and it's even more beautiful than I'd expected. I'll be sharing a photo of it on Instagram a little later today, and will review it with the other three pieces I purchased when they arrive in January.

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Erstwilder have also brought out matching stud earrings in the same resins used in the Pete Cromer brooch collection, so you can match your brooches to your earrings. I haven't picked up any of them yet, but I'm hoping to add some to my collection soon. They're all lovely, but I particularly love the purple pieces,  and the blue crescent moons. I have so many pairs of Erstwilder Essentials studs from previous collections, and I wear them with everything. They're only around £5.75 a pair (depending on the stockist), so they're really well priced, and great quality, too. They'd make excellent stocking fillers for anyone who loves colourful, quirky jewellery.

If you'd like to see more of the fashion pieces on my wish list, check out my style wish list boards on Pinterest. You can also find all previous Wednesday Wish List posts here.

Have you bought anything from the Erstwilder x Pete Cromer collections? Which pieces do you like best?

Christmas Bedroom Tour 2018

Last Christmas, in the chaos of the festive season, I never found the time to finish putting my Christmas Bedroom Tour post together to show you guys my Christmas decor. It seemed a shame to scrap a half-completed post, so I've kept it in my drafts all year to share this Christmas instead. I thought I'd kick off the festive season by looking back at how I decorated my bedroom for Christmas last December, and then I can get working on putting together this year's post- hopefully before next Christmas comes around!

I always decorate my bedroom for Christmas as I spend so much time on bed rest with my chronic pain, and don't often make it downstairs to enjoy the main decorations. I don't like to miss out on the festive cheer and pretty fairy lights just because I'm stuck in bed, so I always turn my bedroom in to a winter wonderland, too. My room may look like Christmas threw up on it, but the decorations make me happy each December, so I don't care.

Last year, I mostly decorated with colourful and kitsch decorations, and left the more traditional red, green, and white decorations packed away. I never actually decorate with a theme for Christmas; I just bring out my favourite ornaments year after year as I'm sentimental all the way when it comes to Christmas decor. It just so happens that most of my personal Christmas decorations are colourful, kitsch, and / or mid-century style as those are my favourites right now.

I bought a little tree and some white lights from Tesco last year, and dressed it with my favourite vintage-style ornaments, and a handful of vintage decorations my parents bought when they first set up home together in the seventies. They've always been some of my favourites from our family Christmas ornaments, so I borrowed a few to use last year. I still need to buy a tree topper and some kind of garland for my tree, but I never seem to get around to it.

Around the tree, I displayed tiny colourful baubles in glass jars, a few bottle brush trees from Hobbycraft, and a couple of my kitsch fifties-style Bambi deer from Paperchase, which I bought last year and absolutely love. I also sat the white wooden house I made beside it, which has festive backgrounds in some of the nooks, and housed my Christmas brooches and pins, along with a few little festive ornaments.

I wrapped last year's presents in mid-century style wrapping paper from Cath Kidston, a mix of baubles, robins, and snowmen, and embellished them with ribbons and jingle bells. I loved these designs, and I'm gutted Cath Kidston don't have Christmas wrapping paper this year.

My retro tea light holders were all from Cath Kidston several years ago. I bring them out each December, and feel all cosy as candles flicker from them while I'm watching a Christmas movie or reading a book.

Christmas decor isn't just confined to the tree in my house, I like to extend the festive cheer to my bedding as well. I have a few kitsch sets from George at ASDA from previous Christmases. This fifties deer set was new last year, and was so lovely to snuggle up under during December. I can't wait to dig this set out again this year; it's my favourite. ASDA have a similar set again this year here.

I displayed some of the Christmas hoop art I've made over the years on the old chimney breast in my room. I made them by framing festive fabrics in wooden embroidery hoops, and finishing the backs with circles of felt and a stitch. I never managed to get a decent photo of the entire display, so here's one from the year before when I began with less hoops.

On the back of my bedroom door, I hung up my Christmas novelty bags and festive patterned tote bags, and added in other bags in red and green. I then draped my The Snowmen fairy lights over the top.

Above my bookshelf, I hung paper snowflake decorations and a rainbow paper garland, and on my shelves I displayed Christmas books and movies, my little collection of light up decorations, some more kitsch fifties deer ornaments, and a selection of other Christmas decorations. I didn't get decent photos of this section as the daylight was terrible last December and this area of my room was too dark and shadowy, but I'll hopefully snap a few photos for this year's bedroom tour post instead. Here's another photo from the Christmas before.

There will have been a few other festive things dotted around my room that I've missed, but I think I'm going to leave it there.

You'll be able to see more of my decorations and what changes I've made to my Christmas bedroom decor this year in an up to date Christmas Bedroom Tour post really soon. (Hopefully before the month is through).

Do you decorate your bedroom for Christmas? Do you go for a theme or is it 'anything goes' in your house at Christmas?

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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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