There are only three more sleeps left until Christmas! My excitement is off the chart! I’m heading home on the late train after work tomorrow, which will allow me to spend the entirety of Christmas Eve with my family. I’m planning on playing with my little cousins, going to mass and doing plenty of smooching with the boyfriend. There will probably also be a bit of last-minute cooking involved as my mother and aunt try desperately to get everything organised for the big day.

 

 

This week, I’m loving:

 

 

– finally being able to tell people that Ross and I are moving in together. I’ve known for a while, but I didn’t want to blab it everywhere until things were definite. Now that all the contracts are signed, and I’ve given my notice at work, it’s safe to make the news public. I am ridiculously excited.

 

– Gingerbread. Honestly, nothing makes it feel more like Christmas to me than a piece of gingerbread dipped in black coffee. Actually, the taste of cheap advent calendar chocolate comes close, but it doesn’t have quite the same punch as gingerbread.  Ross and I made gingerbread men on the weekend, and then decorated them to look like our favorite characters.  From left to right you can see Eric Cartman, Raphael, Harry Potter and a Zombie in gingerbread form.

 

 

– My family. I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone for Christmas. I don’t get that much family time, so having a couple of days just for spending with the people I love is really special to me.

 

 

– Fairytale in New York by The Pogues. I’ve listened to it so many times this week. I cry every time I hear it, and the tears always start flowing at exactly the same place in the song. I always start bawling when I hear the line, “Happy Christmas, I love you baby”.

 

 

– Christmas in Hollis by Run DMC. Another classic Christmas song that I’ve listened to way too many times in the lead-up to Christmas.

 

 

– Watching my favourite childhood Christmas films. There’s an old film called Santa Claus, which stars Dudley Moore as a wayward elf. I watched it all the time as a kid, and I found a copy of it on DVD last year. It always puts me in the Christmas mood. It also features John Lithgow as an evil toy company executive.  I watched it last night, and I actually found myself tearing up as the opening music played.  This was a film I watched countless times as a little girl, not only at Christmas, but when I was sick, when it was rainy, if I was bored and any other chance I got.  When I heard that music, I was three years old again, sitting on my family’s brown and yellow sofa watching the film while my mother hand-lettered her Christmas cards at the table a few feet away.  It’s certainly not the best Christmas movie there is, but it reminds me so vividly of my childhood,  which certainly puts me in the Christmas spirit.

 

 

– Neon nail polish.

 

 

– Free gifts with purchase.

 

 

– Smiling and saying “Merry Christmas” to strangers on the street.

 

 

I hope you all have a lovely Christmas. I will be away for the next few days, so I’m going to be taking a bit of a blog holiday. I’ll be back to regular posting late next week. Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you all!