Things I’m not doing in December!

This is the month of twinkly lights, festive chaos and a never ending queue of to-do's. I’ve made a bold decision. I’m saying no to things which will bring me stress, to things I don't really enjoy doing or will cost too much money.

Here are the things that I am not doing this month:

I’m not braving the shops on the weekends!

I love the thrill of a good Christmas bargain but the thought of elbowing my way through crowded aisles while someone’s toddler throws a tantrum over a glittery unicorn, no thank you! December is crazy in town and this year I’m staying at home! I don't see the point of getting stressed when online shopping is available. I still shop locally and support small businesses and will shop during the week but not on a weekend!

I’m not overcommitting to festive events!

December can feel like a never ending string of social gatherings and events to go to but I am not going to go to everything. I did a lot of my festive things last month so I am going to say thank you for asking but no. I’m only going to the things I actually want to go to, the ones that bring that warm, happy glow rather than that why did I agree to this dread!

I’m not wrapping gifts at midnight because I forgot!

Last minute gift wrapping is not happening this year! If the gifts aren’t wrapped by the time they are needed I am not worrying, they can go in a gift bag or just as they are! I have actually been saving gift bags up to reuse. hehehe

I’m not buying fancy food we all pretend to like!

You know those Christmas nibbles that only ever get eaten on Christmas Day because we feel weirdly guilty throwing them out. The weird cheese nobody remembers buying, the posh crisps that taste like disappointment and the tin of biscuits where everyone just wants the chocolate ones. If it’s not going to be eaten, it’s not going in the trolley!

I’m not sending Christmas cards out of obligation.

I love a handwritten note but I send out Christmas cards just because I think I have to. There is the cards to buy and all of the stamps, have you seen the price of stamps! Eesh! My Christmas cheer will be shown digitally this year with funny messages, memes and maybe even a GIF or two!

I’m not baking lots!

Well not more than a couple of times this month. Pinterest makes it look easy: gingerbread, cookies, cranberry bread, chocolate dipped pretzels, cakes that looks like reindeers! Nope, it's not happening! I will be picking a couple of tried and tested recipes and that's all you're getting from me.

I’m not overdoing Christmas decorations!

This year I’ve made a very sensible, very grown up decision! I am not turning my house into a Santa’s Grotto this year! I love Christmas I really do but somewhere along the way decorating for Christmas has got too much! I’m decorating just enough to feel festive but without going over the top!

I’m not stressing about the perfect Christmas!

Instagram will try to tell me that I need Pinterest worthy decorations, a perfectly styled tree, a feast that could win awards and matching outfits for everyone in the family. This year I’m letting go. My tree will not be perfect, dinner might include a shop bought shortcut or three and the only thing we will have matching is our Christmas Eve pj's. Perfection is overrated!

I’m not comparing my December to anyone else’s!

Scrolling through social media is dangerous at this time of year. Someone’s house is sparkling like a winter wonderland and someone else has homemade mince pies arranged like art. This year I’m doing my own thing. My December doesn’t need to look like anyone else’s to be wonderful!

I’m not overthinking New Year’s resolutions!

Then comes the New Year’s resolutions. I’ll think about goals when I feel like it, in my own time and not because a calendar says I must.

What are you not doing in December?

Our weekly meal plan! 1st - 7th December! #MealPlanningMonday

Happy Monday and first of December! I could do with the next couple of weeks to go very slowly as I still have so much to do for Christmas! I am sure it will all get done, I'm not worrying yet.

Last weeks meal plan was a bit hit and miss. Some of the meals were made and eaten, some were not! I ended up not getting the food shopping delivery until Saturday so that put pay to the meat free sloppy joes and the home made fish fingers as I wasn't going out just to buy the ingredients. I did have a lovely meal out during the week! I think my favourite meal ever is turkey with all of the trimmings. I know that’s a bit predictable for this time of year but I can’t help myself. Give me turkey, stuffing, gravy, potatoes and even Brussels sprouts and I'm a happy person!

This week we are back on the Gousto meals as the freezer is just about empty apart from frozen chips, pasties and a whole heap of vegetables. I must get it defrosted this week as my dad is taking me shopping for all the frozen stuff for Christmas next week! Eek! 

On the menu this week we have:

Monday - Gousto meal - Oven Baked Sausage & Cauliflower Mac 'N' Cheese!

This one’s a brand new recipe for us. My lot love anything involving sausages and mac ’n’ cheese so I’m confident they’ll wolf it down. I had a peek at the ingredients and it looks very cheesy, a bit too cheesy for my liking. I’ll probably make myself something else.

Tuesday - Gousto meal - Warming Red Pepper Soup With Cheesy Garlic Ciabatta.

Soup season is here and I’m embracing it. There’s something so cosy about a big bowl of soup on a cold evening.

Wednesday - Gousto - Creamy Chicken Thigh, Leek & Carrot Pie!

This sounds lovely but I think it needs mashed potato on the side. A pie by itself always feels like it’s missing something.

Thursday - Sausage and bean pasties with chips.

These are freezer pasties, nothing fancy but I’ll balance it out with homemade chips so it feels like I at least tried.

Friday - Pizza!

A fail safe Friday plan. Everyone will be happy including me because there’s basically no washing up.

Saturday - Gousto meal - Hoisin Pork Burger With Black Sesame Chips!

We've had this before and it is so good plus it's a proper Saturday night tea. Burgers in buns with chips!

Sunday - Sausage, mashed potato and baked beans.

Nice and easy and my family love this meal. I might even make some Yorkshire Puddings to go with it!

What are you eating this week?

A photo every day for a year! 23rd - 29th November! Week 48 of #Project365

Happy last day of November! Can you believe how fast this month has gone? I hope December slows down a little as I want to enjoy every moment and I feel like I have so much to do even though I keep saying I am not going over the top this year.

I've had one of those weeks where nothing huge has happened but looking back it was a great one. The decorations are up, the house feels cosy, I’ve eaten good food and watched even better TV. It's been nice to have that calm before the madness of December kicks in!

We had the quietest weekend and today is going to be no different. Today is all about watching Christmas movies, eating nice food and doing nothing productive, just how Sunday's should be!

Now for a photo every day!

327/365 - 23rd November

The Christmas decorations went up! The big moment finally arrived and it was an all afternoon job with changing the living room around to make way for the tree and giving everywhere a good clean. How does behind the sofa get so dusty. Eesh! Everything now looks so festive and I stuck to my word about not going over the top with the decorations.

328/365 - 24th November

My new favourite thing, a heated cushion! It was meant to be a gift for someone else and now I’ve stolen it. I’ll rebuy but the fact that I even considered keeping it tells you how good it is and the best bit is that it's USB powered. So simple! It’s kept me warm all week without having to put the heating on when I am the only one at home. Well done to B&M for selling things I never knew I needed.

329/365 - 25th November

I had a lovely early Christmas lunch out and finished it off with a glass of Baileys! Tis the season. Baileys is one of those drinks I never touch outside of November and December and every year I think Why? This stuff is amazing but it stays a seasonal treat, maybe that’s what makes it feel so special.

330/365 - 26th November

The weather was in such a mood this week. On this day it looked gorgeous out, bright sunshine and blue sky but it was so cold and then the next day it was suddenly warm! About 12C which felt like a mini heatwave after the day before. At one point it felt warmer outside than in the house.

331/365 - 27th November

New Stranger Things episodes!! I planned my whole week around Thursday so I could sit and watch all the new episodes in one go. They were brilliant. I went through every emotion possible while watching: screaming at the TV, hiding behind my hands like a five year old, gasping like I’d never seen a twist before and laughing out loud, mostly at Dustin. Four episodes and not a single dull moment! I can't wait for more next month!

332/365 - 28th November

I love this time of year for the hedgerows. Everything looks a bit bare but then you get the gorgeous pop of red berries growing everywhere.

333/365 - 29th November

I spent yesterday afternoon exactly how I wish every day could be, wrapped up in a blanket with a hot chocolate, my heated cushion (yes, it’s still glued to me) and How The Grinch Stole Christmas on the TV.

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This week my Word of the Week is: Celebrating!! #WotW

This week my Word of the Week is:

What a week, well week and a couple of days since I wrote my last Word of the Week post. Everything that I wrote about last week went to plan apart from putting the Christmas decorations up on Saturday! After the early start on Friday, being in York all day, walking for miles and having a lateish night after going to the pub for a few drinks My body took one look at me, laughed and said, not today love! I needed a day of rest!

Today I am going to share all the little things I have been celebrating over the last week, there's been a lovely mix of silly wins, proper moments and me patting myself on the back for things other people probably would see as silly but I don't care. I'm happy.

I had such a lovely birthday. I felt really special. Thank you to everyone who sent me birthday wishes and gifts you’re all amazing and I appreciate it more than you know. My family went out of their way to make sure the day was full of smiles and nice moments. I did wake up early which is never good, especially when I’ve spent the entire night listening to both Stu and Ellie snoring like a pair of farm animals. I can survive one snorer but when there was two of them, it felt like torture! I told them the next morning that one of them is sleeping elsewhere next time. Ellie can have her own room in the hotel and take her snoring with her. Thankfully breakfast made up for it. We were at a Holiday Inn and the breakfasts can be a bit hit and miss. Sometimes it feels like you’re in a race trying to get a slice of toast while children sneeze on the sausages and grown adults push in but not this time! It was calm, peaceful and actually very nice. We went down as soon as they started serving and I've realised that is the time to get the best breakfast!

Our train to York ran late and we got some money back on our tickets because of the delay, it wasn't much but it did make me happier about having to stand in the cold. I wasn't stressing, I think I was just glad to get on the train out of the cold and there was no rush as I knew we'd get to York well before the Christmas markets opened. We arrived at York and you can read all about my favourite things in the blog post I published earlier in the week. We walked around, took loads of photos, got lost at least twice and soaked up all the Christmassy feelings. On the way home we arrived at the bus stop just as the bus pulled in and it was so nice to sit down, my poor feet were throbbing! The bus had charging points which I needed after taking so many photos and it was a double decker so we got to see all the little towns and villages on the way home, well we could until it got dark! We got home, changed and went straight back out to the pub for a few drinks and a game of bingo! It's been a while since our local pub had the bingo on so it was a real treat and I only went and won the first game. It was just for a line and I only got a free drink but a win is a win!

Saturday we were good for nothing. We needed that lazy day, I don't even remember what I did but I know it was nice to do nothing! Sunday was busy putting the decorations up and I was so pleased with how they turned out. I hadn't planned to have everything matching but somehow I did, all reds and greens!

This week has been good. Nothing huge or majorly exciting just lots of little wins and that’s what I’ve been celebrating. When I haven’t been out and about, I’ve been pottering around the house doing those tiny jobs that feel way more satisfying than they should. I celebrated emptying the dirty washing basket and then I went wild and put all the clean clothes away too. I’ve also been doing the usual getting ready for Christmas bits: making lists, planning things, organising, all that stuff that makes you feel like you’ve got your life together. I had a get together with friends having our annual Christmas meal. Prawn cocktail, turkey with all the trimmings and Christmas pudding and brandy sauce. It was a fantastic way to start the build up to Christmas! We also had the yearly gas safety check which was a surprise. I had about 20 minutes notice that the man was arriving, thank goodness the cupboard under the stairs has been kept tidy! I sorted it in July (I only know because it was in one of my grateful posts. lol) and usually by now it would be chaos again but everything was where it should be.

How has your week been? I hope you have had a good week. I am of course linking up with Anne who blogs at Raisie Bay to join in with her Word of the Week linky!