Last year I was traveling up until 24 December which meant I was far too busy leading up to Christmas, this year I vowed to try to slow down a week before Christmas and really focus on the most important things. Slowly but surely some lovely plans are being made. The week before Christmas will include:
- An afternoon and evening baking cookies with one of my best friends (one is my previous flatmate I was with until I moved due to work!). We plan to make as many as possible and hand them out to volunteers, homeless shelters, hospitals, hospices and police/fire.
- A day trip to Bath with my mum, time spent walking along the Roman Baths, visiting markets and just spending time together
- A Christmas Eve service with family and friends at a glorious Cathedral
- Hours spent tucked away by the fire reading
- Surprising one of my best friends at her work (she lives quite a fair distance and doesn’t know I have earmarked a day to just turn up, surprise her and take her out to lunch!)
- A photography session in my favourite woods and on my favourite beach!
- An evening out with 10 friends to see a Christmas film and enjoy mulled wine
- Visiting my aunt who has been very very ill, bringing her food and her favourite flowers and hugging her until it hurts!
- Spending Christmas day with 10 people I love dearly!
- Resting, resting and more resting
The great thing is I don’t need to set foot in a shop, the purchases I needed to make are all done, gift giving is very limited and I have asked everyone to please not buy me anything. What I am most looking forward to is spending time with people I love, letting people know how much I appreciate them and spending some time simply focusing on just how blessed I am!
How are your Christmas plans shaping up? I hope they are restful and joyous too!
Are you there, my dear? You won one of the stationery giveaways on my blog, but I need your snail mail addy to send it to you — please e-mail me!
As far as what I’m looking forward to/planning…
a visit to the Governor’s mansion (all dressed up for the holidays)
Christmas Eve services, though in a plain-jane American church, not the glorious cathedrals you see there…then an elaborate dinner of 7 fish courses, something we do every year.
And some weird traditions — like a can of black olives in the Christmas stocking, to be eaten while reading the gift book(s) that year.
Can I come with you-please??
What beautiful plans you have! I especially like the one about being tucked away reading for hours by the fire-that is a fantasy of mine at this point, I can’t see it ever happening with 3 little ones! I am actually a bit jealous of that! I hope you see what a gift that simple quiet time is! I yearn for that these days…Merry Christmas!
Your holiday sounds lovely! Haven’t got all my plans down yet, but they’re not going to be all that taxing either!