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In Family Time, General

Early Bargainous Christmas Preparation

Author Nicki CawoodPosted on 2 Comments

I am a Christmas fiend and make no apologies for it. I adore this time of the year and have already started with my prep.

First up, the house. I love interiors as much as I do Christmas and so in November each year I start thinking about sorting the house out. There’s the obligatory decluttering sessions, the carpets have been cleaned downstairs (local people – look up Heaven Scent Cleaning Services, Michelle worked magic on my cream carpets and was unbelievably affordable!) and then onto revamping the lounge and dining room.

I’ve stolen this absolutely gorgeous piece from my parents and given it a little tart up. This is one of those solid pieces that you loved as a child and cherish when older. The photographs don’t do it justice so I’ll take some more pictures in December when it’s all covered with Christmas decs.

 

Next up, my bargain of the year (which again will be re-snapped when dressed properly), a new, solid and rather gorgeous extending dining table. An Ebay find from a local seller which was a steal, even including hiring a van man to fetch it for me.

New Table

Of course I needed new Christmas tins. No Christmas is complete without Christmas tins crammed full of fabulous goodies and these beauties were just 3.99 from my favourite supermarket, Lidl. Lovely aren’t they?

 

LidlTins

And the first new additions to our Christmas decorations (although I suspect these will stay out all year). A real steal these lovely owls from Ribbons and Bows look just fabulous.

New friends

I have Taylor’s birthday on Sunday and Roy’s next week so the “proper” Christmas prep will start in earnest after then. I’ve ticked a fair few bits off the list this week though and just can’t wait to pull it all together with my Christmas decorations and favourite pieces.

None of this cost very much in the grand scheme of things and will all add to our wonderful family home at Christmas time.
How are your Christmas preparations coming along?

 

If like me you love all things festive head over to Festive Friday, a wonderful collection of posts from fellow Christmas friends, led by the ever inspiring (and quite lovely)  Chris Mosler.

Festive Friday at Thinly Spread
In Family Time

The Christmas Preparation Starts Here

Author Nicki CawoodPosted on 1 Comment
My favorite family decorating picture - this is Kieran and I
My favorite family decorating picture – this is Kieran and I

 

I know, I know! It is November and us Christmas loons need to sort ourselves out and put a hold on our festive cheer so ridiculously early, and all that jazz. As it happens I do agree that playing Christmas music in stores on the first of November could be a little premature but as for the rest….. I can’t wait to get started!

Christmas is a very special time for us, not just Roy, myself and the boys but my whole family as I am one of six siblings and we still all go to Mum and Dad’s house on Xmas every year to exchange gifts with each other before going off to attend to our own fabulous Christmas day traditions. Obviously with so many siblings, so many extra family members and SO many fun events to attend before and during Christmas it makes sense for us to start early.

 

This week I set myself a list of “Christmas things to do” and here is what I have achieved:

Check gifts: I save with Park during the year and so in October I received a wad of vouchers for use against my Christmas present buying. I have also been picking things up as and when I’ve seen a suitable bargain. This week I took everything down, checked what I have against my master list and reminded myself of what I need to get still.

Gather Inspiration: I adore Christmas magazines (although still can’t get my hands on the Good Housekeeping Christmas Edition!) and build a healthy collection before the season is out. I have also been spending an obscene amount of time pinning crafts and recipes on Pinterest.

CHRISTMASMAG

Start Stockpiling: The idea was to go to Lidl, get a few festive goodies to put away and not eat any of them. I did buy festive goodies….. that is all I have to say on that.

Get Wrap and Cards: Done! If I’d been very clever I’d have bought sellotape too but hey-ho, I need to leave something for next week.

Slim For Santa: Every year I give my slimming journey an extra kick so I will *hopefully* look better in Xmas photos. This year I have decided that I am being ridiculous and unrealistic and am looking forward to a relaxed and sensible but not so much slimming Christmas.

All in all I think my Christmas prep so far is going pretty well, what do you think? Are you super-organised and have you started ticking things off a master list yet?

*This post has been entered in my favourite linky, in fact the only linky I take part in which is called Festive Friday and this week’s posts can be found here.

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