Christmas Tag 2020

Image taken from GIPHY

Christmas is now less than a week away and you know what? I have zero festive spirit behind me and it kinda sucks. SO, I thought I would have a go at being festive in the run up to Christmas and found this Christmas tag online! I’m going to nominate everyone who reads this post to give this tag a go themselves!

I think I’m not feeling festive due to a mixture of COVID, age and especially due to the loss I experienced in September. So, I would really love to get into the festive spirit now… Especially with Christmas just around the corner. I really hope you guys enjoy the tag and take part in it too!

Image taken from GIPHY

What’s your favourite Christmas movie?

This is quite an easy one and it’s hands down Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. I just fell in love with the film more so than the original one… But I do love Home Alone just the same! I just found it to be the perfect Christmas film growing up, but I also loved watching it throughout the year too. It’s usually the first Christmas film I stick on in the year and this year it was kind of different to the other times I’ve watched it. I found myself questioning a lot of what happened and it made me laugh! A couple of runner ups here are Jingle All The Way and The Grinch (the one with Jim Carrey).

Have you ever had a white Christmas?

I don’t remember to be perfectly honest with you… I know in 2017 we had snow just before Christmas which was amazing! I literally had to Google when we last had a white Christmas in Birmingham and apparently it was 2010… But I cannot remember that for the life of me. 😛

Where do you usually spend your holiday?

Mostly at home now, but me and Dane tend to change it up each year and go to each others families together Christmas Day. However I think after this year we’ll be staying at home all day. I like to be able to cook our Christmas dinner together but then we tend to have to “rush” and then go out not long after eating. It’ll be nice not to have to rush around this year.

What’s your favourite Christmas song?

Paul McCartney – “Wonderful Christmastime” and Slade – “Merry Christmas Everybody” are two that always come to mind. I do like “Last Christmas” as well BUT I overheard it so much one year that I can’t stand when I hear it now. This year, as of yet I haven’t listened to ANY Christmas songs yet and I’m happy with that… 😛

Do you open any presents on Christmas Eve?

Not really to be honest with you, we like to wait until the big day to open our gifts for one another. We get breakfast, snuggle up in bed and exchange gifts. I’m quite excited for Dane to have his presents this year as I’ve really spoilt him. 🙂

Image taken from Sugar Bunny Shop – You can pre-order the Santa’s Reindeer Wood Ornament Garland now!

Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer?

Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Comic Blitzen, Rudolph (of course) and Vixie? I know there’s more but I can’t think of them… *Googles* Prancer, Dancer, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Dasher, Vixen, Blitzen, and Rudolph! I got five out of nine so I didn’t do toooooo badly! 😛

What holiday traditions are you looking forward to this year?

We don’t really have any to be perfectly honest with you… I think one we’ve really gotten now is the whole, breakfast in bed and opening presents together. 🙂

Is your Christmas tree real or fake?

It’s fake. I’d buy a real one but our living room isn’t big enough for it… Although I have always wanted a tiny one to keep on the table OR by the front door over December. Maybe next year. 🙂

What’s your favourite holiday food/treat/sweet?

I’m a sucker for the dinner to be honest with you. I love sweet ham over Christmas with pigs in blankets, massive Yorkshire puddings, my mom’s gravy (mines good but it will never beat hers!) and crispy AF roast potatoes. 😀 I’m cooking lamb this year. The first Christmas we did at home (2018) the meat I cooked wasn’t good and it was such a shame, so I’m giving it another go this year in the hopes it’s really yummy! 🙂

Be honest. Do you prefer giving or receiving gifts?

Giving gifts. I love being able to buy gifts for people who either won’t buy the item in question for themselves, or surprise them with something I know they would love and appreciate but don’t actually know about and such. Plus it’s always nice to buy a gift and see someone’s face light up. 🙂 I especially love when I see Dane open his gifts, as well as my mom.

Christmas 2018 – Olivia Burton fox snow globe watch from my mom.

Christmas 2013 – Cinnamon the German Market fox from Dane.

What’s the best Christmas present you’ve ever received?

One that comes to mind is my Olivia Burton fox snow globe watch. My mom bought this for me in 2018 and I still love it so much. As the little crystals move around inside it’s one I always stare at during meetings at work and when I’m out and about… However, I haven’t worn it much this year due to lockdown but before COVID existed I was wearing this all the time! She even got my name etched on the band too, which is a really nice touch. I may try and get a replacement band at some point soon as the one I have at the moment is looking tired.

Alongside that there is also one of the presents I received from Dane when we had our first Christmas together – this little fox plushie. I don’t think we’ve been to another Birmingham German Market together since 2013, but whilst we were there we walked past a stand that sold plushies. I saw this cute little fox and Dane bought it for me straight away. I still own this plush to this day and it’s now in my plushie cupboard, where he belongs! It just always reminds me of Dane and how excited I was for Christmas with him. For a very long time I’d hated Christmas, but when he came into my life he really made me feel better about this time of year. P.S. We called my little fox Cinnamon. 🙂

What’s your dream place to visit for the holiday season?

Japan, for sure! I would love to go to see how festive it would be, have a KFC for Christmas dinner and if possible stay somewhere like a private onsen where we could spend the evening in and out of the hot bath, eat yummy food and just relax together and exchange presents. It might be something I suggest to Dane in the future for sure. 🙂 I’d only want to go for a week, maybe ten days at a push so we can enjoy the festive period together.

Are you a pro present wrapper or do you fail miserably?

I’m in-between. Before I met Dane I used to fail miserably as I never really concentrated or had as much to wrap as previous. I feel especially since we moved in together I spend a bit more time on my wrapping and whilst I’m not a pro, I’m definitely better! I’ve watched how my dad and one of my friends wrap their presents and they’re definite pros! They take their time, make lots of folds and more and their gifts look to good to open. 🙂

1995 – My parents bought me the Pocahontas Braided Beauty doll for Christmas when I was five. Image taken from Amazon.

What’s your most memorable Christmas memory?

Mmm… I don’t know to be perfectly honest. There’s a couple that stand out but I always love to share this one…

When I was five Pocahontas came out and I fell in love with that film (still one of my favourites!) and my parents made sure to buy me plenty of Pocahontas presents that Christmas. I received a cute red jumper/sweater with Pocahontas on, that I LIVED in for as long as I can remember. They also bought me the Pocahontas braided beauty doll which I LOVED! It came with Pocahontas doll as well a a braiding tool that looked like Meeko. I loved Meeko and my parents knew that, but I imagine there weren’t any specific Meeko toys and this was close enough. PLUS I had long hair growing up, that my mom would braid for me, so I imagine she saw this when shopping in Toys R Us and bought it because it was all the things I loved. 🙂 It was clearly a thought out gift for me as a kid. 🙂

What made you realise the truth about Christmas?

I remember I had written a letter for Father Christmas as a kid, as well as drew some pictures of Rudolph and Father Christmas. I knew it was my dad when I woke up the next day to read, “Well done!”, “Great picture!” and “Merry Christmas” on each picture and the letter I wrote. I know my dad’s writing and it was the same. It was from then on I knew who was really delivering my Christmas presents and who they were from. I’d had my suspicions for a while and I’m pretty sure the year before I’d seen my dad putting presents in my room as I turned in my sleep and was half awake.

What makes the holidays special for you?

Being with people I love and making them smile. Obviously yummy food and being merry is always good too, BUT it is definitely about making people happy and being around the people who make you happy. I’m sad that I can’t see my parents properly over Christmas. They’ll be driving over to my house next week to drop off gifts and have a chat from the front door to their car at the end of the drive. This year has been hard for my family due to our loss in September and I especially feel for my mom this year. I just wish I could give her a hug and a kiss when exchanging gifts and more. I know the time will come where we can ALL make up for lost time… But it’s just really hard this year.

So, there we have it! The Christmas Tag! It’s kind of started getting me into the Christmas spirit this afternoon whilst answering the tag questions and to be honest with you guys, I hope I get more and more festive as the time goes on.

This evening I’m actually going to host a mini “German Market at home” for me and Dane. I’m making hot dogs (not the nasty shit in the jars!), fries and instead of hot chocolate, I’m going to serve chocolate cake with Bailey’s!

I’m super excited for it and I just hope it goes down well. 🙂

How are you all feeling about Christmas this year? Especially with COVID. Me and Dane will be staying at home throughout the festive period, including New Year to stay safe at home. I hope my readers will be doing the same…

Please let me know what you are most excited about this year in the comments. 🙂

Until next time guys, please stay safe during these times and see you soon.

Christmas Presents I Wanted As A Teenager VS Presents I Want Now

It’s Christmas Eve and everyone is pretty much ready for Christmas now… Right? RIGHT?! I bloody hope so anyway, otherwise you’re pushing it a little bit… 😛

Last year I wrote about what gifts I would have wanted as a kid, as well as gifts I was wishing after for Christmas. You can read that post here.

This year I decided to do the same sort of thing on Christmas Eve, but I wanted to do a list of items I lusted and asked for as a teenager. When it came to thinking about items for this post, I really forgot about how much stuff I wanted as a teenager and how much of the stuff on the list I still own. It’s just made me think a lot… About how old I am! 😛

Of course as well as talking about items I asked for as a teenager, I’ll also be talking about items I’m hoping I’ve received for Christmas tomorrow.

I really hope you enjoy this post as I know I enjoyed writing the one last year about when I was little. Gosh I honestly can’t believe it’s Christmas Day tomorrow. This month has really flown!

• Apple iPod Mini 1st Generation in Green.

I remember when the iPod first came out and my brother had one. I loved it and the thought of having all my music in one place was such a mind blowing and life changing idea! I used to use my CD Walkman all the time but I hated changing CD’s in it constantly or having just the one and it boring the hell out of me after the third play. I remember asking my mom for this for Christmas, but it didn’t come out until my birthday so I actually got it then. However, I never got to keep this iPod. Reasons for this were because the iPod broke and my mom was reluctant to replace it. I don’t know if you remember, but back in the day there were rumours that Apple were notorious for not testing their products and the first batches that people would buy would always be rubbish. This seemed to be the case with my green iPod as only a month or two into owning it it started to play up. It wouldn’t charge and when it did the charge lasted for seconds. It was confusing and upsetting, so my mom took me back to the shop (Dixons to be exact! Remember them?) to get a refund. I was upset already at this point that she wouldn’t replace it, instead she just wanted her money back. I understood why, she was angry that she’d spent a lot of money on the iPod for it to break so soon. So we explained in the shop what was wrong and how she wanted her money back. “The back light is constantly on. Is this how it’s been since you bought it?” It was, I always left the back light on. “Well we aren’t giving you a refund then. You’ve broken it yourself by leaving that back light on.” This was such a shitty attitude and my mom already being annoyed, was even more annoyed now! I was gutted. My dad took me to another Dixons store to try and get a refund for the iPod, we explained what we had to the first store and they gave us a full refund without any questions or judgement. PHEW! I never did get another iPod Mini to replace that one but when I started university I bought my iPod Nano, which I still own and use to this day. 🙂

• Converse All Star Hi Tops in Red.

The Christmas I received these was the year of my teenage years where I started to become who I am now… If that makes sense? I’d discovered so many of my favourite things including music, films, books, TV shows and especially what style of clothing I loved. I’d been eyeing up Converse hi tops for a while and especially wanted the red pair as they were different. I remember my brother taking me to the Bullring in Birmingham and buying me some new clothes for Christmas and my birthday. It was such a bizarre day to be honest with you… He bought me loads of clothes including jeans, tops and hoodies and he also bought me my hi tops, which I loved and wore them for about 2 years until I couldn’t anymore. They just wore down so much they were too uncomfortable to wear anymore. I still have them though… I don’t think I could ever part with them now in all honesty! I don’t know if I’d ever buy another pair of Converse now… I’m too much of a Vans and Docs girl now.

• Angel Eau de Parfum by Thierry Mugler.

This was my first “proper” perfume that I owned and to this day I still own it! Not the same bottle as I would have had back in the day, but I always need a bottle of Angel in my life now. It reminds me of my mom to be honest with you, as I remember her buying this and falling in love with the smell! Angel is just such a unique perfume and anyone who loves their fragrance will instantly know what this is after you get a whiff of it. I remember as a teenager always asking for a bottle of this as I wanted my own, I didn’t want to keep sneaking my mom’s. 😛 I can’t remember if my mom bought me a bottle for Christmas, or if I was bought it after someone went on holiday. I know I had a bottle as a teenager though and I felt glam as fuck! 😛

• Kodak Easyshare Camera with Printer.

I remember my mom taking me to Dixons to buy this for me for Christmas. It wasn’t a surprise come Christmas Day but I loved it so much! I had wanted a digital camera for the longest time so my mom took me to have a look at what kind of camera I could pick up. We saw the Kodak ones with printers and were sold! I used this camera and printer to death to be honest with you and I’m pretty sure they still work! Yes, over 10 years later and I still own both the camera and the printer. I remember staying in my room taking selfie photos all the time and of my dog. I remember filmed a video of my dog Madge on this camera and it’s still the cutest thing. I wish I had that footage somewhere online so I could watch it now and link it here. But the best thing about this camera was as soon as you’ve taken your photos you could print them off AND you could plug the printer into your computer and print photos from off of there. It was a fab little device and I loved it so much. 🙂

• The Sims 2 PC Game.

This was something I wanted so badly, so when I opened it on Christmas Day from my brother I was so ecstatic! I remember him installing it for me and I couldn’t keep still at the anticipation of playing it. I spent so many days and nights playing this game and even played it whenever I went to see my cousins after school and over the weekends. I just fell in love with it. I actually really miss playing Sims 2 as I found it was the easiest to play, as well as the funniest! Every Christmas and birthday I’d always get the expansion packs too, which was awesome. Honestly though, many wasted years of my youth went into this game. 😛

• Sony Ericsson W800.

After the whole iPod fiasco I was without an MP3 player for quite sometime. I also had a bit of a shit mobile as well. It was okay and it did the job, but as a teenager everyone wanted a good camera on their phone, as well as other things. I asked for this for Christmas but I didn’t get it until towards the end of secondary school. From memory it was marketed as one of the first phones to also double up as an MP3 player and this really did call to me! Plus it was white and orange, what more would you want from a phone as a teenager?! I always loved getting new phones over Christmas, it was just awesome back in the day. It’s different though these days for kids. They want them to go online and take selfies, where back when I was a teenager you just wanted something that could take photos and best games on there. 😛 I remember this phone also had a selfie mirror on the back, which was always amazing.

• Nintendo DS in Pink.

The final item on this list and one I wanted for years, and years, and years but I never got, which in turn I was gutted about. I asked for this for many years but the one year it was in a package with the Nintendogs game and I KNEW I really wanted it that Christmas. My dad even took me to GAME to buy it for me, but my brother talked him out of it saying, “Don’t get her that, Nintendo DS is shit! Get her a PSP instead!” So my dad made me look into the PSP and the games and I didn’t want any of them. So alas, due to the Nintendo DS being “shit” I never got one. Years later my dad bought me a red Nintendo DS Lite, which was amazing. 😛 I am still gutted though that it took so long for me to get a Nintendo DS because of my brothers inaccuracies. 😛

OKAY so that’s all the items that I remember fondly asking for as a teenager for Christmas, as well as a bit of a back story into what happened when I got them/if I got them. ^_^

NOW onto the gifts I’ve wished for this Christmas! Some of these items I know I’ve been gifted, or asked for from Dane, his family and my own family. I know this list is probably boring, but meh. 😛

• Persona 5 Morgana Plush.

I can’t tell you how long I have wanted this Morgana plush for! It’s not cheap to get a hold of though, which in itself sucks! I really hope deep down that Dane has bought me it for Christmas though, as I really want him. 🙂 I think I might have to treat myself to him sooner rather than later as I’d hate to see a SOLD OUT on him on the two websites I’ve found him on… It would definitely suck! Maybe if I don’t get him for Christmas or birthday, he can be a birthday treat to myself… 😛

• Disney Wall-E Earth Day Pop Vinyl.

I literally just went to Amazon to see how much this guy is going for. Bloody hell, nearly £50! DAYUM. I’m really hoping Dane has picked him up for me for Christmas as it’s so damn cute and to be perfectly honest with you, how the first Wall-E pop vinyl should have looked really. If I do get him, he’ll stay in the box. 😛

• South Park Princess Kenny Mug.

This is such a random thing on this list, but something I’d love either way! I think I’d love this mug more for work to be fair. I recently bought the t-shirt with Princess Kenny on and I’m in love. Princess Kenny is for sure one of my favourite things to come out of South Park and she’s definitely my boo. 😉 I doubt very much I’ll get this mug for Christmas or birthday, but if I go to Fobidden Planet anytime soon, I may pick it up to use at work. 🙂

• Fox Wall Tapestry by ARiAillustr.

I have a feeling Dane has bought me this for Christmas… It’s something I expressed that I really wanted for our bedroom. He’s always commented how he wanted a feature wall behind our bed, but I just can’t commit to something like that, especially as we have built in wardrobes in front of the bed with mirrors on. Imagine waking up every morning and just seeing a red wall? FYI that’s what he wanted. 😛 However when I found this fox wall tapestry I fell in love with it! It’s such a pretty design on it and with a simple stick on wall hooks it’ll be up and down in no time! I’m also hoping I have some fairy lights to hang around it too. 😛

• Olivia Burton Snow Globe Blush & Silver Watch.

I already know I have this for Christmas, as my mom has bought it for me, which in turn is so lovely of her. 🙂 She asked me what I wanted as a gift as she hadn’t got a clue and when I suggested this watch (and of course the hefty price tag!) she was over the moon to pick it up! That’s the good thing with both mine and her birthday’s right after Christmas and just days apart from each other (mine is the 6th and hers is the 7th!) so we can buy each other expensive gifts and have them for both occasions. 🙂 I LOVE this watch so much though! For a year now I’ve wanted a really nice designer watch, but as of yet I didn’t quite find anything I liked the look of, or showed who I am… If that makes sense? I love foxes, as everyone knows so when I saw that Olivia Burton were bringing a watch out with a fox on the face, I knew I had to get it. Bless my mom she’s also got my name etched onto the band too, which is gorgeous. She told me I could have it before Christmas, but I’m waiting until tomorrow. 🙂

• Elodie the Unicorn Humidifier.

I can’t remember how long I’ve wanted this for… I think it must be almost 2 years now! It was on Kickstarter and I wanted to back it so much, but I never bothered. It worked out quite expensive at the time. Elodie The Unicorn is an American branded item too so shipping was a bomb! I waited and waited and eventually Firebox started stocking Elodie The Unicorn items, one of which I spoke about recently on this post. However, I would love this humidifier for more than just the way it looks. I really want it to put essential oils in of an evening and during the weekends when me and Dane aren’t at work. Lavender for evenings and eucalyptus for when me and Dane have colds. I have a funny feeling that I’ve been bought this for Christmas… 😛

• Loungefly Pokemon Eevee Embosed Tri-Fold Wallet.

I am gutted at the time of writing this post because I was actually going to order this for myself. It’s now out of stock and due to that a part of me has kind of died… I don’t need a new wallet, but I’d like to have one if I could. Mines definitely showing it’s age now. I doubt very much that I have this for Christmas, but a small part of me hopes I do. :’)

• Pandora Bobby Bot Dog Charm.

I’ve had my eye on this Pandora charm for a while now. I’ve not really asked for any Pandora charms for some time and I don’t really know why… I guess I just haven’t liked the look of any, you know? However I do really LOVE this Bobby Bot dog! It’s so adorable and definitely something different. I tell you what though, for what it is it’s fucking expensive! It’s £50, which isn’t cheap for a Pandora charm in my opinion. I doubt very much that I have this for Christmas as I didn’t think of giving it as a gift idea…

So there’s my wish lists from back when I was a teenager to now I’m an adult! 😀 As you’ll probably see from both lists, thing never change with me. 😛

I do miss being younger and having a carefree life, but at the same time I actually don’t miss those years of dealing with puberty, the heartbreak I felt when lusting after boys who thought I was grotesque and not having any freedom. 😛

I want to know what some of your memorable Christmas gifts were from when you were a teenager? As well as what gifts you’d like to receive come Christmas day? 🙂

I have to add whilst it’s all well and good me talking about receiving gifts tomorrow and enjoying time with loved ones, we always have to remember there are people out there not as fortunate as some to have a lovely warm home and family members to be around at Christmas.

I always think of people who are both homeless and dealing with mental health issues around Christmas and it truly breaks my heart.

With that in mind, if you’re struggling today, tomorrow and for the rest of 2018 please make sure to drop me a message on any of my social media pages. I will always be happy and welcoming to you if you need someone to rant to. ❤

On that note, I hope you have an amazing Christmas and a happy New Year! 🙂