Why I love Christmas

For anyone who knows me, or follows me on Twitter you may be aware that (while I am struggling this year and things are getting a little on top of me) I do LOVE Christmas!

I am so lucky that I have so many amazing Christmas memories that I have made over the years.

Coming from a ‘cereal packet’ family, I had some great childhood Christmases – writing letters to Father Christmas (based on the list from the Argos catalogue), visiting Father Christmas in his Grotto, hanging stockings, leaving out a mince pie and sherry, Christmas Dinner with the family… I feel blessed to have been able to have experienced such Traditional, Family Orientated Christmases.

Not only was I given the Traditional Family Christmas, but my Brother and I were truly spoilt by my parents, as well as the rest of family and friends. We were never left disappointed or wanting for anything.

Now, that isn’t to say that every Christmas has been easy. One year for instance, brought us a festive period which impacted me in ways I am still dealing with, and would have been enough to spoil Christmas for the rest of time, but my parents made the best of it for us. Christmas can be hard at times… for a post about loss and Christmas time click here.

So why is it that I love Christmas so much?

• I enjoy the build-up – the anticipation of what the season will bring. For those lucky enough to have time off with their families over Christmas, it is so lovely to have the time off to look forward to at the end of the year
• The music!! I can’t help it! I just love the music – from the Christmas carols, to the classics and the novelty Christmas songs… I love it all! I love the nostalgia it brings and my mood can be influenced by music so I find it is good for me! I love walking around the shops doing my Christmas shopping when the Christmas music is on (I have to admit though I have to go early morning to do my shopping to prevent me getting stressed out about all the people around)
• Christmas Movies – So many feel good Christmas movies out there to watch! From classics like ‘Home Alone’, to Christmas chick flicks like ‘The Holiday’, I love to spend time watching as many as I can squeeze in during the festive season, in between shopping and wrapping! See what my favourites are here.
• Spoiling my loved ones – particularly true for my parents – they gave us such great Christmas memories during our childhood that I try each year to spoil them a little bit in the way that they did for us (I know it isn’t all material, but I enjoy having the luxury of being able to spoil people I love)
• Decorations – everywhere!!! In the house, in the town, in the shops, in the workplace!!! Lights, trees, glitter, tinsel, red, gold, green… I love it!!
• Spending time with your family and friends, and being lazy – the one time of year we all try and have time off at the same time and we spend our days with friends and family, or lazing around on the couch watching movies, eating chocolate and not feeling guilty about it!!
• The food!! Turkey, Brussel sprouts, roast potatoes, carrots, turnips, and pigs in blankets… the list goes on! No Christmas dinner is complete without a Christmas cracker of course, with the typically rubbish joke!! But it isn’t just about the dinner. It is about the buffets, the tubs of chocolates that every house seems to have, the cheese and crackers we all buy at this time of year, satsumas, nuts… the list goes on! We see it, we eat it!! And then beat ourselves up over it come January!
• Traditions – we have a few traditions as a family, and even myself and my husband have begun our own traditions… watching ‘The Muppet Christmas Carol’ on Christmas Eve while eating KFC for example! It is a strange one, but we love it!! We also save all our Christmas cards for family (like parents, each other, brothers etc.) and we all exchange cards on Christmas Eve… kind of like a card version of exchanging gifts I guess. I like it, as it kind of makes it a bit more special!

So… those are just some of the things I love about Christmas!! There are surely more, but those are some.

I am interested to hear what you like about Christmas?

Not everyone finds Christmas an enjoyable time of year, that is why we are running the ‘Angels Christmas Sanctuary’ (#AngelsChristmasSanctuary) on Twitter from the @MHCrisisAngels account. Drop us a DM on Twitter if you are interested.