Christmas Is… Over For Another Year

 

Christmas Is… Food Overload!

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Is… Time With Family

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Is… Present Time!

 

 

 

 

Christmas Is… 5am Starts

 

 

Christmas: Festive Fatigue

It’s only 5 more sleeps till the fat man in the red suit shimmy’s his way down the chimney and I am starting to get very excited. I love just about everything about Christmas, putting up the tree, choosing the perfect present for everyone, baking the little gift packs, sitting around in our pj’s opening our presents before breakfast and of course sitting down together for the big lunchtime feast!

The problem is that real life is interfering with my preparations. Mr Bond working away, then coming back early, then thinking he had to go back all this week, then not needing to has made time management tricky. Food poisoning, houseguests, postal delays, teething and unpredictable weather patterns are all working against me and I have been wiped out with a case of Festive Fatigue.

In theory, I should be organised, I should be able to get ALL the things on my list done, and look like this while I’m doing it.

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But this is not the 50s, I do not own pearl earrings and would not be caught dead in a red check apron.

So right now I actually look like this.

Constantly.

Christmas: Baked Gifts

About 6 years ago when Clever Baker Friend and I worked together we thought it would be a great idea to make some baked Christmas gifts to give to the people we worked with. At the time we had about 6 people to hand our treats out to and since then it has become a tradition. At its peak we made 35 packs for people but fortunately we have down sized a little since then. Something that hasn’t changed in that time is the joy we get from giving these boxes of hand made goodies to our friends and family. They seem to enjoy them too because each year we get asked if we will be making them again – we couldn’t stop now even if we wanted to!

Originally we would spend 1 or 2 whole days together baking and packaging while we listened to Christmas Carols, but with 3 children under 4 between us we find it easier to divide up the cooking and packaging to do it at home. Not nearly as fun, but far more practical than trying to coordinate it around naps, feeds and other activities. The packaging changes each year depending on the best bargain available this year, we opted for white cupcake boxes with simple baking paper so the food is the star. Our core menu consists of:

• Coconut Ice
• Turkish Delight White Christmas
• Curried Fruit and Nut Mix
• Panforte

All I Want For Christmas: The Stocking Filler Edition

I know, I know, I already wrote a Christmas Wishlist, but Jess from Diary Of A SAHM tagged me from her’s recently and she is too gorgeous to refuse so I thought I would do a more realistic list of things that I think would make good stocking filler pressies. Most of these items are just basic things that probably aren’t considered ‘gifty’ but I do love getting little things that I can use every day just as much as the big ticket items (well, almost).

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Christmas: Printing and Gifting

Ever since we had Skye I have found getting Christmas gifts for some of our relatives so much easier. Generally Grandparents and Great Grandparents love anything that has a photo of a small child slapped on it and it’s far less weird now that I can use photo’s of my own child. The list of items you can personalise with a picture is amazing, so you are sure to find something that will suit. Last year I gave out personalised calendars and they were a big hit with everyone, this year I hope to do something similar and have also ordered some canvas prints for some of the relatives. The budget and scale of your personalised gifts is also flexible and here I am going to share some of my favourites.

All I Want For Christmas Is… A Whole Bloody Lot Actually!

Usually at this time of year I am so busy thinking about what gifts I am going to buy everyone else that when it comes time to offer my suggestions to other people I got totally blank and end up asking for something a bit random. This year though I have a quite lengthy and at times expensive wish list and since there is little chance I will see most of these items, I am just going to share with you while a dream – care to join me?

Christmas: Making a List and Checking It Twice

With Christmas less than 7 weeks away I thought it was probably about time I unveiled the full extent of my Christmas nerdiness by sharing my Christmas Gift Budget Planner. I have always fancied myself a bit of a Mrs Claus or at the very least, Santa’s super organised PA. Of all the things I love about Christmas, my favourite thing is knowing I nailed choosing a present for someone, even better if I have done so under budget. Budget has always been a bit of a problem for me, often I think of the perfect gift for someone only to find it is more than I had planned on spending, but because it is just what I was after, I get it anyway. I hate having to feel tight when it comes to presents but by the time you have gone even $5-$10 over on each person, it can be a big blow to the bank balance. I also try to avoid buying the same type of present for people each year (unless they request something) so tracking the gifts each year ensures I don’t buy my sister-in-law yet another cook book!

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I’ve Started Christmas Shopping–In June

I am not sure what is worse – the act or the admission. I have inadvertently begun my Christmas shopping already… and it’s not for Skye. Ordinarily I am a super freaky Christmas nerd with many self-imposed rules and expectations. It is one of the only areas of my life that is consistently organised and tracked, actually some would consider it compulsive. Months ahead of the festive season my cupboard is overflowing with items that I have collected, always for a specific recipient (I rarely buy gifts without knowing who they will go to). I maintain a spreadsheet of all the people I buy gifts for to ensure that I don’t buy them duplicate gifts, and use a gift app on my phone to keep gift ideas on hand at all times, but even I have NEVER begun buying gifts before the new financial year. I am even a little overly keen for those who celebrate Christmas in July for goodness sake!