 So here we are, January is upon us. There was no snow at Christmas and no peace on Earth globally. Too many people will have been sucked into a commercial Christmas and one they cannot afford. So perhaps now is a good time to take stock of last Christmas while taking notes to prevent a GroundHog Day Christmas December 2019.
Did you really need to spend as much as you did? Could you really afford what you bought or have you racked up debt that will haunt you all year? Have you been binning leftover food? Did you really enjoy Christmas? Were you stressed out at Christmas? Were you exhausted post Christmas? The list goes on and on. Christmas should be about you and yours. You do not have to celebrate the same way as others. In fact you do not have to celebrate at all if you prefer not to! Rows, frayed tempers, broken relationships, fists to the face and body, drunken binges, huge debts and more are sadly Christmas reality for many. Why set yourself up for such a scenario? Now is a good time to plan for a very different Christmas from now on. New Year's resolutions are fine but by now most people will have broken them. You can take stock and plan a fresh start at any time of year. Rather than making "how you do next Christmas" part of a New Year's resolution simply plan ahead. Think about what you enjoyed, what you did not like and what you hated and commit to implement change for the better. Obvious ways to limit the financial burden include:- Stick to a shopping plan. Avoid spur of the moment purchases. All the glittering Christmas paraphernalia for sale looks grand but do you really need the latest baubles. Put a little money aside for Christmas as and when you can. Make a list, just like Santa, and stick to it, buying any bargains you come across during the year. Identify problem areas over Christmas and consider how you can avoid negative situations. In the end Christmas is just another day unless for you it has religious significance. Holiday time from work, along with the children on holiday from school, can add pressure on relationships, but only if you let it. So you hated Christmas 2018? So what are you going to do to prevent Christmas 2019 following a similar path? After all whether or not your Christmas is stressful is down to YOU! Have a peaceful Christmas, tips and ideas A more peaceful Christmas Avoid Black Friday spending pitfalls Decorating your Christmas tree on the cheap What to do with Christmas leftovers
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 The best book to give your mom, no matter what your age, is a 'Why I love My Mother book'.
Some mothers love reading and they might appreciate a romantic novel or even a biography, but there cannot be any mum who would not appreciate her very own, personalised book. This is something which you can create yourself. Even if you are only a child your father, granny or another relative can help you. But it could be a joint effort with your brothers and sisters. The book can be as a simple as loose sheets of paper clipped together or something more substantial created in a journal or notebook. Here are some ideas for creating such a book.
It might be a good idea to jot things down, as they happen, into a rough book. This way the actual gift can be quite neat and you can organise it whichever way you want to. You can intersperse your writing with family stories, memorabilia and happy memories plus a great selection of photographs. You will be surprised at how quickly you will fill such a book. The biggest cost in this gift is your time and this will be something which your mother will appreciate more than any expensive gift. You may also be surprised at the fun you can have putting such a book together; the memories it stirs may be funny, poignant or a mixture of many emotions. If this book is created with love it will be the best book your mum will ever receive, be read over and over again and really show her that you care. Don't forget as well that you will benefit from this gift by remembering lots of instances, which you may have otherwise forgotten, or would not have even noticed as they happened. Above all you will realise more than anything just how precious your Mother is to you. Perfect for Christmas, Mother's Day and Birthdays too!  I don’t know about you but I love putting up the Christmas tree, arranging all of the cards and decorating my home with lovely, twinkling Christmas lights, when the holiday season comes around again. Most readers may agree but how many of you feel the same about taking the tree and decorations down at the end of the season, and packing them away for another year?
Not very many probably although sometimes we are ready to move on and away from Christmas time. Pre-Christmas most people, especially children, are excited and looking forward to the Holiday season but once it is over many of us are looking forward to January and perhaps a poor cash flow, a return to work, freezing cold weather, never ending sales of cheap and cheerful Christmas cards and paper, and not much else. Big deal! No wonder some people get a little depressed post-Christmas. In this frame of mind the dismantling of the Christmas decorations is just another chore and one that is tedious and time consuming. However it does not have to be like that. Post-Christmas treats If you decorate your Christmas tree with a few chocolates, some Christmas crackers and the odd surprise they will add to the fun when it is dismantling time again. If you do this perhaps you could easily persuade the whole family to join in with the task of dismantling the tree. A few crackers could be pulled, chocolates scoffed and surprises opened to make the job in hand more enjoyable. Plan of action It is best to plan the dismantling a little beforehand rather than just begrudgingly try to hide Christmas for another year. As with most chores the work will be easier if it is organised and planned well. Make sure that you know:- • what you are going to store the decorations in • where you will store them until next Christmas • just who is responsible for what. If there a few of you allocate jobs so that perhaps one person takes the decorations down, another dusts the decorations, one wraps them carefully in tissue paper and the other packs them away. A few glasses of the remaining Christmas sherry, plonk or stronger will help keep your spirits up whilst you work. Decide also what you are going to do first It may be the wisest choice to take down the lights before the tree or the other way around. A lot will depend on just how many decorations you have put up, the type of decoration and your circumstances. Timing Think about the best time of day to start removing your Christmas decorations. Perhaps it will be as well to do the indoor decorations after the little ones have gone to bed. Obviously it will be wise to tackle outdoor lights and decorations before it gets dark and only in decent weather, if possible. Many people choose to do this work on the weekend, nearest to Twelfth Night, as they have more free-time. Do not vacuum until you have finished all of the dismantling and packing away as you will be wasting your time. Whatever you do you will still leave you finding small bits of tinsel and Christmas tree way into spring. Safety first Do not be silly. Make sure that you follow safe working practices when you take down any decorations at home or work. If you have to reach up high or climb steps or ladders ensure that:- • the steps or ladders are suitable and fit for purpose • you do not overstretch • you are not in the house or workplace alone Take your time Try not to rush. If you pick a free day you can take your time. This will ensure that you are safe, the decorations are undamaged and that they will be stored well for use next Christmas After all you do not want to have to buy new Christmas decorations just because you have been careless, do you? Overall Make sure that you have suitable storage space set aside before you start dismantling your decorations. Ensure that you have all the tools that you need out and to hand. These may be scissors, tape, packing boxes, dusters and tissue paper. Try to clean and wrap everything well ensuring that electricity leads and wires are tangle free. If you pack well your life should be a little easier next year when you set about decorating your home again for Christmas. Think how you will organise the storage space also. For example our decorations are stored in the loft of our home which has limited access. Because of this the heavier items are put in last, so that they are near to the trap door. Finally label each box so that you know just where the lights are, for example. This will help if you want to change which decorations you put up each year and will also help you get items out in order. Much as putting up the Christmas decorations each year can be enjoyable this is not usually the case if you have simply dragged all the decorations down as quickly as possible the previous year, thrown them totally disorganised into any old box and topped them off with a tangled and twisted mass of Christmas lights. Of course you can do this if you want to but I for one prefer to keep the cheery Christmas spirit a little longer, take my time taking the decorations down and be well organised for next year. In the long run this saves time money and tempers from fraying.  Image credit Eileen Kersey Christmas Memories - What do you remember of Christmas past?
Those days of your childhood and youth when Christmas was oh so special. Just like a jigsaw puzzle needs all the pieces to be completed, your perfect Christmas memory will include many things. Whilst none are essential to having a wonderful Christmas some will be the necessary ingredients for your childhood Christmas memories. In Yorkshire, England in the late fifties and early sixties my Christmas was always quirky and individual; well it seemed that way to me. Each year my brother and I had a new bicycle but in truth the bikes were not new. Dad would spend much of his spare time during the Christmas countdown building a bike from a basic frame and what parts he could get hold of. It was years before we realised the effort he went to for this gift. 50 years later, more or less, we remember those bikes with great fondness. Then there was his woodworking endeavours. With a treadle fret-saw machine he would work away, when we were small children, in the old coal shed of our home. Come Christmas we always had a wonderful array of weird and wacky individual toys. Mum was creative too, but crochet and knitting was her thing. She would make beautiful clothes for my dolls, hats, gloves and scarves for us and so much more. We were not poor, as in Tiny Tim's family in the Dickens novel Scrooge, but like so many families in the early period after the Second World War money was tight. Yet for all that I have glorious memories of family parties, gifts, Santa and a decorated home. Back then it was tissue paper decorations and paper chains which you spent hours sticking together but it was fun and Christmassy. My childhood cosy Christmas has a tiny tree, a loving family, a warm home, good food and laughter. So what is needed now for my perfect cosy Christmas? Let it snow Snow may not be an essential ingredient of Christmas and in fact it can be a pain in the backside. However most of us have a romantic idea of a cosy Christmas at home, tucked up warm and safe from the snow which is coming down in flurries outside. A white Christmas in the UK remains elusive yet most of us think of snow when we remember Christmas past. In truth a snowy Christmas may be few and far between. The large house shown in this image is located on my journey home from work. During a particularly snowy winter of recent years chaos ensued. As usual in the UK snow puts a stop to life as we know it, albeit temporarily. Buses do not run, cars skid off roads and pavements or walkways remain under snow for days. This particular year it was for weeks and it was deep, hard packed down snow. Having to walk home may have been a bind but it was scenic. Trudging home means that you appreciate your home all the more. You yearn for the warmth which will welcome you home. For me the heart of our home is our cosy fire. We may have central heating but the fire is the focal point of our room and a great place to relax. At Christmas it is dressed with a pre-lit Garland which is not made of real greenery but still looks fab. As the flames lick the back of the chimney the Christmas tree lights provide the only other lighting it is cosy, Christmassy and spells HOME. Home is where the heart is Our home may be small compared to the large house above but it may be a palace compared to those who live in shanty towns with little cheer at any time of year. We should never forget though that home is where the heart is. Whether you can afford to dress your home to the nines for Christmas or not in some ways is immaterial. Arriving home from my snowy trek my heart lifted as soon as I approached. The light had taken on a strange eerie blue glow which when shown on Christmas Cards looks false and unreal. It is however a fact of certain snowy conditions. It made everything look colder though and so added to the anticipation of getting in front of my fireplace. Hearth and Home Our Victorian styled hearth has a fire that springs to life at the flick of a switch. It is a gas fire with realistic looking coals. Gone are the days when I can be bothered to faff about and light a real, living fire. The one we have is economical, easy to use, environmentally OK and efficient. Once it is lit the flames flicker away and all visitors always remark how cosy it is. You may prefer a real fire which will be that one step better. Either way though it offers a warm glow, which is cosy to snuggle around, unlike our central heating radiators. For me our fire and hearth is central to our Christmas. Here in Yorkshire whether it snows or not it will be cold. It could be a damp cold as winds tend to blow off the North Sea. Whatever happens outdoors though will not affect my cosy Christmas. I will be snuggled up in front of a roaring fire revelling in the glow of Christmas. |
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