festivities — Blog — Gwennan Rees

Starting a new job has been exhausting and whilst I’m fully in the swing of employment, everything else in my life has been a whirlwind so when Jet2 got in touch to talk Christmas breaks and hampers, it was a no brainer on my part.

This Christmas, for the last minute buys and the people you want to treat most - why not gift them the gift of a well deserved break.

12 Christmas Memories.

FYI the photo above is me on my first Christmas at a cheeky 10 weeks old.

I'm sure like me you can pull a thousand Christmas memories from the old brain bank and it's hard to choose just 12 but I've talked about Christmas a lot on this old blog and on Steph's so hopefully here's 12 you haven't heard before.

11 Things To Do On Christmas Day.

The big day is creeping ever closer and I've talked a lot about tradition over the past fortnight since I've been working on my 12 days series. There are some things we all do on Christmas Day and some things I think are maybe a bit more, niche shall we say, to each family.

Think of it as a bucket list of sorts, a checklist of things to tick off with your loved ones on the 25th.

10 (very) Last Minute Gift Ideas.

It might have escaped your knowledge but it's Christmas on Monday.

You can't go wrong with stuff for the home, mugs, cosy clothes or food and you can take any of these ideas and make them work for all the ladies and all the blokes in your life. Make haste and buy my last minute pals!

8 Ways To Make Christmas Last Ages (Or A Few Extra Days At Least)

So if you've read my post a few days back on why Christmas is the best time of the year then it'll come as no surprise that I like to make it last as long as possible. Sure it might be one date on the calendar but it starts December 1st we all know that.

If you're also resembling Buddy the elf at this point in the week like I am then here's 8 ways to make it last as long as you possibly can - or at least longer than solely the 25th December.

6 Reasons Why Christmas Is The Best Time Of Year.

I mean I don't wish it was Christmas every day like the song says but it certainly is the best time of the year isn't it? For me it's more about the build up, the festive period, maybe the whole month of December than the actual day itself. It's the excitement, the preparation, the hint of Christmas spirit. It's the carols everywhere, the really cold sunny days, doing your shopping, wearing your gloves to de ice the car..... it really is the whole season of it.

So here's 6 reasons why for me, Christmas is the best time of the year.

5 Ways To Wrap Your Christmas Presents*

Aside from eating turkey sandwiches and putting up the decorations, wrapping is probably my favourite Christmas activity. I love wrapping presents at the best of times and this time of year means I have about 20 million individual parcels to festoon with ribbon and bows and tags and I am in my element.

Here's my top 5 Pinterest inspired ways to wrap presents that even the least crafty of us can master....

The 12 Days Of Christmas.

Ok so traditionally the 12 days of Christmas are the 12 following the big day but what's the point in me waxing lyrical about festivities that have passed? My 12 days will run from tomorrow right through to Christmas Eve itself and looks something a little like this......

Turning My House Into A Grotto*

It's Christmas 2017 and the first one Joss and I have a whole house to decorate so naturally I got 4 trees and made it a grotto.

This year to celebrate the extra room Joss wanted a real tree but seemed to think that meant relegating the two fake ones I had from uni to the back of the cupboard. He very quickly realised the error of his ways when suddenly we had a 5ft real tree in the hall, a 6ft fake one in the living room, a 4 ft fake one on the stairs and then B&Q had 3ft ones on a clearance sale for TWO QUID and whadda ya know - now there's one on the landing too.

DIY Fillable Baubles.

I promised you two DIYs this Christmas and I didn't disappoint did I?

Following the success of my Christmas wreath I thought I'd try my hand at fillable baubles for our Christmas tree. I have a really sentimental tree theme, less about specific colours and more about things that mean something to us or a collection of things we've accumulated over the years. Every year we buy a few new baubles to add to the tree and this year I thought it'd be sweet if I had a go at making my own.

DIY Christmas Wreath.

For 2017 I decided to try a DIY Christmas wreath for our front door. We have a tiny one in the shape of a star I bought 2 years ago which is going on the back door this year so I thought I'd create something of my own to welcome our guests to our little grotto.

It's super easy, you don't have to be a artist and you can make it as cheap or expensive as you want (my total spend was £13.50 but I have loads of bells, bows and buttons leftover for future projects!)