Vision In Blue

I have to say, when I started seeing Christmas things hitting the shelves, I, like a lot of you sighed... walked down the aisle, picked up a seasonal tub of mini cheddars and went about the rest of my regular shopping. (By the way, am I the only one who wants those crinkly mini cheddars back? There must be a petition somewhere.) On December 1st, the date that everyone generally accepts as the official time for Christmas, that all changed. I got up early and headed to the office where I put up our tree and bedazzled desks with tinsel. I took just an hour of my time with some precarious clambering on tables, but it definitely kicked off my Christmas spirit. At that point I'd also basically finished my Christmas shopping and I'm now supremely skint until next pay day... next Friday... not that I'm counting down the days. Unfortunately it feels like most of my festivities are going to be saved for the office. There didn't seem like much point in putting up a tree...

I did a lot more gift crafting in 2015... Some were tailor-made for people and one idea in particular came from Pinterest, and that one I wanted to do for months and was glad for the excuse to make it. Terry's Chocolate Orange Christmas Pudding So this was my Pinterest spot and I was longing to make it. I decided I was going to make 5 of them (yes I was cocky and confident) for friends and family. Here's my chocolate pud making experience with some handy tips thrown in... Step 1: Buying the chocolate So I went off to The 99p Store (because that extra penny saved from Poundland makes a difference!) and brought all my maltesers. I have never seen a chocolate orange in any of the 99p/£1 shops, so next it was off to Tesco to get those, some milk and white chocolate for melting and then some icing for the decoration. I can't really tell you how many boxes of maltesers you'll need as an amount of them ended up in my mouth... one also made it onto the fl...

So, it isn't quite Christmas yet... I haven't even seen anything Christmassy in the shops yet, but I saw this and I knew I had to read it. Everyone knows the classic Christmas tale... of Home Alone. Kevin wishes his family would disappear after he's banished to bed for causing trouble. It turns out that sometimes wishes do come true. All the things Kevin is never allowed to do, he does, who wouldn't? But being on your own isn't all TV and sundaes. Strangers are scary, especially when he encounters Harry and Marv. As any kid would, he hides under the bed. That is until he realises he's the man of the house and he needs to act like one. Kevin is resourceful, and sensible, so after a day of household chores and a visit to church he sets to his plan. He'll protect his home against any invaders. Bumbling burglars are no match for a tricky kids and his new found friend though. As soon as I saw the cover of this book I loved it already. The illustrations by ...

... when all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In the hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there. --- Christmas is here again, the time for food and drink in excess. And a time, as is tradition with my friends, to exchange tacky Christmas presents. Over the years there have been many gloriously awful purchases. I missed the opportunity to give "Santa Cruz" baubles from Paperchase, a less than festive Santa on a cruise ship. Unfortunately they broke the budgetary requirements. Christmas tacky presents only have a few rules: Collectively you must spend under £5. They must be Christmas themed. To be tacky, they can't really be useful. The last one is really difficult to fulfil as we tend to try and make them useful out of spite... I know this means we might not win, but it also means the recipient tries to use them to prove they're not tacky, and that means p...