My Christmas Eve to do list!

Christmas Eve has a mix of excitement, chaos and always a little panic about losing a present that I hid so well. For me it's the day where everything comes together, the food, the gifts and a day when I feel like I never sit down. Every year I make a Christmas Eve to do list. Not because I’m that organised but because it keeps me from getting swept up in the flurry of glitter and mince pies. My family do help but this year it's just Ellie and I home today. Eek!

On my to-do list today is:

Cook the meat!

As soon as I get up I get on with cooking the meat. This year I am cooking a turkey, gammon and beef joint. The hours it spends cooking are worth it just for the smell wafting through the house. It might seem like a lot of meat but we all don't like the same things and the joints are not huge!

Visit the farm shop!

Every year I visit the local farm shop for the vegetables! Somehow, the carrots, parsnips and sprouts taste better from here than anywhere else, the farm shop is way better than the supermarket as they never run out and everything seems bigger and fresher! I always say that I am just going for veggies but always end up buying chutney's, pork pies and sweet treats!

Prep the veg!

Back home and it’s time to get the vegetables prepped. Carrots, parsnips, sprouts, potatoes and so on. I will peel and chop everything ready to cook on Christmas day. This is where I feel organised but at the same time slightly overwhelmed.

Make party food for tonight!

While the turkey is doing its thing in the oven I think about tonight. It’s Christmas Eve which means picky bits and snacks for tea. Mini quiches, pizza, cheese straws, chicken on sticks, corndogs, all the usual suspects. I will cook it all in the air fryer. I like to keep it simple and maybe sneak a little taste of everything along the way because I never make time to sit down and eat lunch.

Make a trifle!

I don't know how this tradition started but as a child there would always be a home made trifle in the fridge over Christmas and a big one! A layer of jelly with sponge fingers, custard and cream are essential for a proper trifle. Making it is as much fun as eating it. I always think of the trifle from the TV show Friends, mine won't have the beef or peas. hehehe

Wrap the last of the presents!

This isn't my job, it's Stu's. There are a couple of bigger presents which need wrapping and some extras that I recently bought that never made it to my pile when I was wrapping.

Tidy a little!

Before the festivities truly begin, I like to do a quick tidy. Not a full on spring clean, that can wait until January but a little decluttering to make the house feel festive and welcoming. It’s amazing what a few minutes of putting things in drawers, fluffing cushions and wiping surfaces can do.

Drink fizzy wine!

This deserves its own step because it’s basically my Christmas Eve fuel. Whether I sip it while prepping vegetables or just standing there like I waiting to do something, it makes everything more festive and by this point I’ve earned it.

Set the dining room table!

Christmas dinner might be tomorrow but setting the table early gives me one less thing to worry about. I like to go all out with festive napkins, the best cutlery and of course Christmas Crackers. This will be a job for Ellie but I know I will go and rearrange everything to how I want it. Oops.

Have a soak in the bath!

After all the running around I take some time to relax. A long soak in the bath is my Christmas Eve treat for myself. I throw in a bath bomb and will put a face mask on. 

Put on Christmas PJ's!

After all the prep I finally get to slip into my Christmas pj's and make my family wear theirs too. I will spend the next 10 minutes trying to get a photo of us all.

Bring the presents downstairs!

I try to bring all the wrapped presents downstairs tonight and put them all in piles for everyone to open in the morning! Seeing the piles makes me so happy!

An early bedtime!

Finally, as the clock creeps closer to bedtime I do something I never do and go to bed early!

What do you have planned for today?

Winter comforts I can’t live without!

Winter is not my favourite season, I am always complaining about the cold and I hate it. So I thought I’d round up the winter comforts I absolutely refuse to live without. The little things that make the season cosy instead of cruel.

Blankets!

Let’s start with the obvious: the blankets! There isn't just one because I need options and I need layers. There’s the fluffy one, the knitted one, the weighted one that threatens to pin me to my armchair forever. Each has a purpose and I love each one for different reasons and at least with having more than one I don't have to go without a blanket while one is in the washing machine!

Hot drinks!

Tea is lovely all year round but a cup of tea in the winter just hit's different and then there’s hot chocolate! Whipped cream, marshmallows and if it doesn’t look like a dessert I don’t want it. Winter drinks are like a warm hug for your soul.

Candles!

You’d think I’m hosting a séance some evenings with the amount of candles I light. They are needed though. The scented candles are mood lifters and winter is when they are needed. Vanilla, cinnamon, mulled wine, pine and cookie scents. My living room smells like Santa’s workshop at times and there’s something magical about that warm glow on a dark evening.

All the comfort food!

Winter meals are an excuse to eat things that involve potatoes in three different forms. There's stews, casseroles, soups so thick your spoon stands up on its own and the bread! Winter bread is different. Crusty, warm and slathered in salty butter. Then there are the slow cooker meals, they make the whole house smell amazing and take little effort to put together. There is also the baking! Cakes, cookies, cinnamon rolls and gingerbread, the smell alone is comfort enough.

Pyjamas!

Nobody thrives in winter wearing tight jeans and proper clothes. hehehe It’s the season for soft, slouchy, oversized pyjamas that make you wonder if you should ever wear proper clothes again. I’m talking fleecy sets, fluffy socks, sometimes slippers so squishy that it's like a hug for your feet. Some days I stick a hoodie on over my pyjamas and pass it off as loungewear and if delivery drivers judge me I don't care, they’re out here in shorts in December anyway so they can't be trusted.

Hand creams and lip balms!

Winter does awful things to my skin so hand cream becomes a survival item. I keep one in every room and I’m forever applying it like I’m in a skincare advert.

Evenings in with zero guilt!

In summer if you stay inside people look at you like you’ve committed a crime but in winter everyone just nods in understanding. One of my favourite winter comforts is the do nothing evenings. When it gets dark early and the house gets warm doing nothing feels productive. It's self care! 

Seasonal TV specials and films!

Winter TV is the best with the Christmas specials, snowy dramas and heart warming comedies! These shows are just different when the evenings are dark and the blankets are ready. I have a list every year of must watch specials and there’s nothing more comforting than knowing your winter evenings are already planned.

Long hot baths!

Winter is the season when baths become a must. I throw in bubbles, bath bombs, oils, salts whatever I can find like I’m a wizard mixing potions. I love that moment when the bathroom is warm and I sink into the water thinking this is luxury!

Winter walks!

This one surprised even me but winter walks have become one of those comforts I didn’t know I needed. Not the freezing ones where your face hurts but the crisp, still mornings when the air feels fresh and your coat actually does its job and when I get home where it's cosy and warm a cup of tea is extra special.

What are your favourite winter comforts?

What we will be eating for Christmas dinner! #MealPlanningMonday

This weeks meal plan post is a bit different from other weeks because It's Christmas!! This week we will be living off party food, Christmas dinner and leftovers so I thought instead of boring you with the meal plan I would share what we will be eating on out Christmas Dinner!

If you’ve never had a proper British Christmas dinner let me tell you it’s not just a meal, it’s an event! This is the roast of all roasts, the one we plan, prep and slightly panic over for weeks in advance. The kitchen looks like a war zone, the oven works harder than Santa’s sleigh and by the end of it all we’re full, happy and swearing we’ll never eat again until pudding shows up. I go into full on festive feast mode with every type of vegetable, gravy that flows like a river, and enough food to feed the entire street and still have leftovers for sandwiches the next day.

Starting with the most important part: the meat!

The star of our Christmas dinner is always the meat. This year we have 3 joints of meat. Turkey, gammon and beef! It might seem a lot but we don't all like the same things and we have an extra person with us for Christmas. Everything will get eaten or put in the freezer to use at a later date. Speaking of freezers by now I should have got the meat out to defrost!

The vegetables and lots of them!! 

The vegetables at Christmas dinner are a big deal here and there are many!

We’ve got roast potatoes, they’re golden and crispy on the outside with a fluffy inside. Then there’s mashed potato, buttery and smooth. Some might say having both roast and mashed potato is overkill. Those people are wrong!

We also have roast parsnips and carrots. Brussels sprouts are mandatory even if half the family swears they hate them. Boiled and then fried up with a bit of bacon, they make an appearance every single year because it just wouldn’t feel right without them. There’s also cauliflower cheese, it’s basically cauliflower baked in a creamy cheese sauce until it’s bubbling and golden on top and just to make sure every colour of the rainbow’s covered, there’s red cabbage: cooked with vinegar and apples and mashed turnip, which adds that lovely earthy flavour. It’s a proper mix of textures and tastes with a bit of sweetness here, a bit of creaminess there. Every forkful is different, and that’s what makes it special!

Pigs in blankets!

If you’ve never heard of them, they’re little sausages, we usually use chipolatas wrapped in streaky bacon and roasted until crispy. They’re bite sized, salty and absolutely addictive. In our house, they disappear faster than the Christmas chocolates. They’re the perfect mix of savoury and smoky, and no matter how many I make there are never any left. This year I have also got some pre-made ones wrapped with maple streaky bacon! Yum!

Stuffing!

Stuffing is another area where I go slightly over the top but that’s part of the fun. We usually have a few varieties: a sage and onion stuffing, a chestnut one and sometimes even a sausage meat version. I also treat us to a fancy stuffing from M&S. You know the ones, the gourmet style ones with things like cranberry, apple or caramelised onion mixed through. It just adds that little touch of luxury to the plate. You can always rely on M&S to make the humble stuffing feel posh. Everyone has their favourite so it’s only fair to have options.

The gravy!

Finally we reach the most important finishing touch, the gravy! It’s not just a drizzle, it’s a necessity. Christmas dinner without gravy would be like a tree without lights. Some people go all out with homemade turkey stock and drippings but I’ll admit, I’m not above a good gravy granules shortcut. I always make sure there’s plenty. By the time we’re done the plate’s basically swimming in it and that’s exactly how it should be.

Drinks and laughter!

Once everything’s plated up, we raise a glass usually Bucks Fizz, that perfect mix of orange juice and prosecco. It’s light, fizzy and makes the whole meal feel extra special. The table’s full of chatter, paper crowns from the crackers and someone pretending they’re too full to eat pudding but change their mind when they see it. 

Our Christmas dinner might sound like a lot and it is but that’s the whole charm of it. We cook too much, eat too much and spend half the afternoon in a food coma but that’s what makes it magical and the bonus is that we live of the leftovers for a few days so I don't have to cook!! 

What will you be having for Christmas dinner?

A photo every day for a year! 14th - 20th December! Week 51 of #Project365

Are we all ready for Christmas? I feel ready. All the presents are bought and wrapped, we've visited family, the big food shop is coming tomorrow and now we just need a good tidy up which I am going to get the family to help with.

We are having a nice quiet weekend. Ellie and I have dyed our hair and done our nails. She was very excited to have long nails back on, they're not practical for college so she's making the most of them during the Christmas break!

I have decided that next weekend the 28th when my Project 365 will usually be posted I am going to hang on and post it on the 31st, finishing the year of in one post and starting from day one the following weekend. I hope that makes sense.

Now for a photo every day!

348/365 - 14th December

The WWE wrestler John Cena. He had his last match in the early hours of Sunday morning and I stayed up to watch. He didn't win but he went out the right way. It was worth staying up just to see everyone come from back stage to show their respect and give him a big cheer.

349/365 - 15th December

I never buy a paper TV guide apart from at this time of year! I like to go through and mark off what I am planning on watching on TV and what I need to record. Are paper TV guides still a thing or do they just get created at Christmas for people like me who have this tradition?

350/365 - 16th December

I caught up with Neighbours, my last ever catch up because the show has ended again. Hmmf! I am sure at some point it will be brought back. I really don't understand why it was finished, every time I went on Amazon it was in the top 10 most watched things on there!

351/365 - 17th December

Becky was off to her works Christmas party. She had a lovely time with great food and fantastic company. She brought her Deadpool Christmas jumper out for the occasion.

352/365 - 18th December

It wouldn't be Christmas without getting a new Christmas mug. I got this from Morrisons for a couple of pound! I think it's so pretty!

353/365 - 19th December

Christmas nails, I bought them months ago and put them somewhere safe. Isn't it funny how that somewhere safe place is somewhere that you would never think of putting things like this, it took me a while to find them. They were in the kitchen junk drawer. 

354/365 - 20th December

Hair dye day for Ellie and I. I'm going bright red, probably pink, my hair doesn't seem to like the red anymore and dark red for Ellie.

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