Christmas is such a special time of year. Since I was a little girl it has been the most wonderful occasion. As a little girl, waking up on Christmas morning to find the tree surrounded by all those presents from Santa. Boy was he a generous chap! Yup, it was awesome. The thing about having divorced parents means you get to celebrate Christmas not once but twice every year. First was waking up at my dad’s parents’ home opening presents and having a big breakfast. After spending a wonderful morning with the family I would head off to my mom’s parents’ house where I would open even more presents and eat a yummy Christmas lunch. Or sometimes, I’d start off with my mom and her parents, and that was extra special because then we would put out milk and cookies for Santa who would actually eat them while I slept. Every year I looked forward to these moments with each of my families. Seriously, it was awesome.

As an adult, not much has changed, I still love Christmas just as much.

Here’s what I love;

1. I love Christmas music. I love singing along to songs on the radio and who doesn’t know the words to EVERY SINGLE WORD of Rudolf the red-nosed reindeer? I’m one of those total freaks who loves it when the shopping malls start playing music in September.
2. Glitter, baubles and shiny things. Every year I get as excited as a five-year old when the decorations go up. I can’t resist buying cute new baubles even though they don’t match any of the decorations I already have.
3. The tree! Every year we put up some weird and wonderful tree. One year it was a tree made of stacked books, another year a branch in a vase. This year is a cool wooden pole tree. Nothing beats a good old-fashioned pine tree though. Nothing means Christmas more than the scent of pine trees in your home.
4. Buying presents! Yup, BUYING presents. I love planning what I’m going to get for everyone, I swear the struggle is real trying not to just buy everything for myself the entire time but I do love shopping for presents. I do not love crowds while doing so though.
5. Spending time with loved ones. When everyone goes on leave and there’s time to just laze around with each other. That’s the best time. Here in South Africa, Christmas time is summer time so we spend a lot of time cooking meat out in the sun and drinking beer. It’s the best. The pool is always ice-cold and the days are always warm. Nothing is better than sharing that time with the people you love.
6.  Receiving presents. As selfless as giving presents is, I love getting presents just as much. I love picking up a present around the tree and finding my name on a prettily wrapped box. The best wrapped presents are always from my mom. That woman is magical when it comes to wrapping things up all pretty.
7. Drinking tonnes of wine. I feel like I don’t need to explain this one. After being pregnant for most of this year and not being able to have any alcohol, this Christmas is going to be a pretty exciting one.
8. White Christmases. On the few occasions that I’ve been lucky enough to spend Christmas in Europe, I’ve loved seeing snow fall, everything turn white and to snuggle up in front of a cosy fire. I love drinking mulled wine and wrapping up warm. I love Christmas in the wintertime!
9. Setting the Christmas Table. Because CHRISTMAS TABLE DECOR!! Seriously… it’s like a gift on its own!
10. Last but not least, of course, the food! I love a good old Christmas feast. Traditionally, we eat turkey and then a whole lot more just to be safe that no one starves to death. Our table is usually filled with a huge feast and I love eating left overs for days.

So you see, Christmas to me is a time to sit down with the ones you love and have a good time together while drinking lots of wine and being merry. You can finally sit back knowing that the year is almost behind you and all the bad things that may have happened in the year are now safely behind you and the new year is rapidly approaching. With the new year comes a new chance to start over, get things right and finally start putting your goals into action.

Ahh yes, what I love most about Christmas, is everything!

I’m off on a family vacation. First time flying with my son, wish me luck! I’ll see you in the new year. Hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Thanks for being a part of my 2015 and helping make it a great year!

All my love

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