Since it’s only seven days until Christmas (yes, I’m screaming too!), I thought I’d discuss some of my favourite things about the festive season.
Getting to spend time with family and friends
I love spending time with those close to me regardless of the season, but there’s something cosy and wonderful about doing so around Christmas. Sharing stories and catching up over mince pies and hot drinks (alcoholic or no!) always seems even more enjoyable when everyone’s feeling the festive spirit.
Christmas lights
If there’s one thing that really gets my excited for December 25th, it’s Christmas lights. In the UK, (and US, I believe, but please let me know if this happens elsewhere too!) it’s a tradition during the festive period to decorate your house or garden with lights. Not everyone dos this, but for those that do it’s a fun way to show Christmas cheer, and I love seeing people’s inventive, quirky, and sometimes extravagant light displays. There’s just something very cosy and hopeful about seeing gold, silver, and rainbow lights in the darkness. (In previous years we’ve had gold lights, but this year we’ve got rainbow lights and they look almost fairy tale-esque. Also, they I’ve decided they’re also showing support the LGBTIQIA+ community.)
Snow
I love snow itself, but my overall enjoyment of the fluffy white powder depends on whether I have to travel anywhere or commute to work. A week ago we had A LOT of snow, and it caused chaos for my trains to work. But when I was out for a frosty walk or watching it fall, I couldn’t help but think it was beautiful. So no matter how many problems it causes (thank you, terrible British infrastructure) I’ll always love snow on a deeper level.
Christmas cheer and good will
Around Christmas time, people always seem to be more cheerful and buoyant. People complain less and are more tolerant of one another; I’ve often heard people brush things off with a shrug and a simple, ‘well it’s Christmas isn’t it?’. Everyone wishes each other merry Christmas, and complete strangers greet each other in the streets. I love that. The sense that we’re all united in our joy and show our love more openly. I wish we were more like this the whole year round, but I’ll take what I can get, and enjoy it over the festive period.
Mince pies and nut roasts
The build up to Christmas is always made better by exciting, festive treats, and this year I’m thrilled to see so many vegan options on the shelves. Co-op are doing vegan Christmas pudding, gluten free mince pies, and vegan/dairy free chocolate bites, and Holland and Barrett have vegan pigs in blankets and soya/gluten free Yorkshire puddings. Asda have gone all out with vegan After Eight chocolates, and vegan chocolate advent calendars, and even Costa are doing vegan Christmas cake slices. So if you’re vegan, like me, or veggie, gluten free, dairy free, or have any other dietary requirements, Christmas food has been saved this year, thanks to high demand for alternatives.
Christmas reading
Of course, this wouldn’t be a true Kate blog post without mentioning my love for reading at Christmas. Usually, I have more time over the festive period because I’m off on holiday and this year I’ve been lucky enough to book a delightful ten days off. This means more time to appreciate all of the above, but also more reading time. I’m not really a seasonal reader, so I’ll read anything at any time of the year, but I love cosying up with exciting new fantasy novels or old favourites over the holidays. I usually ask for at least a few (*cough* seven *cough*) books for Christmas too, so I always look forward to opening them on Christmas Day and then beginning them soon after. If you’re curious about which books I’ve asked for this year, you can check out my blog post about them here.
What are some of your favourite things about Christmas? Do you have a particular activity, book, or food that you love to indulge in? Drop me a comment and spread the Christmas cheer!
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I love snow too! I live in the middle of nowhere so the snow was amazing here. I just went out in it and enjoyed it
Apparently I’m brooklyn they get professionals to decorate their houses for Xmas! I’m going to go and see when I’m in New York!
Wow, that sounds great! I was working a fair bit so I didn’t end up going out in it all that much, but I had a lovely walk through it with my mum in our wellies one day. 🙂
No way! I didn’t know that, but somehow it doesn’t surprise me. 😉 You get some incredible Christmas lights in the US. Ooh, that’s exciting, when are you heading to New York?
The lights make all the difference! I don’t think there’s a tree in town that not had fairy lights thrown into its branches, and I love it oh so much 😀