Sunday 25 December 2016

Blogmas Day 25: The True Meaning Of Christmas

I think that nowadays the true meaning of Christmas has slipped most people's minds. I mean, let's be honest, when we're planning what we're going to buy people and what food we need to get, none of us have the birth of Jesus Christ in mind, do we? I'm pretty sure that my family don't. Particularly for me, whenever I'm buying people stuff I don't think about what Jesus got, I think about whether or not I think they'll like the present and if it's in my price range or not. In fact, I don't think I know anyone who mentions the birth of Jesus once; either in the lead up to Christmas or on Christmas Day itself.

I mean, this apparently happened 2000 years ago and none of us were around then and religion isn't that much of a big thing as it was years ago. I doubt that there's as many people that go to church now as there was just 50 or even 60 years ago. We've all let our religious side slip more and more with each generation and it's got to the point where the birth at Jesus isn't even mentioned at all. All Christmas seems to be about nowadays is what the John Lewis Christmas advert is going to be and who's going to get this years Christmas number one.

I'll admit it, I'm not really that religious. I used to go to church every Christmas Eve but that was about as much as it got apart from the few times we had to go to church when I was in primary. But this was really rare and they did teach us a lot in assembly's about Jesus but I guess I just stopped listening after they would go through the exact same passage from the bible each and every year. I guess that if maybe my parents, or even if my family, had been more religious then maybe I'd focus more on the birth of Jesus. I can't exactly help it that I'm not that religious. I was christened when I was six months old but that's about as much as it gets. 

To me, however, the true meaning of Christmas is friends and family. This is because they are the people who have been there for us since day one and will continue to be there for as long as we need them. Our family in particular because they are literally the people who have bought us up and who have taught us the ways of the world and will help us prepare for what is to come later on in life. Our friends are also there for us a lot because they are the people who have chosen to be a part of our lives and weren't just stuck with us forever. Every one of our friends and family have been there for us through both the good and bad times. There have also been the times when we've been feeling particularly down and moody and don't want to talk to anyone; but they (our friends mainly) soon manage to get us to forget about it and to smile again. A lot of us in our lifetime will take our family and friends for granted because we just presume that they will always be there for us; but this isn't always the case.

Unfortunately, a much sadder part of Christmas is remembering our loved ones who are no longer with us. I'm sure that we can all think of at least one person who will have been missing from the dinner table today. The first Christmas is always one of the hardest because it's gone from them being there with us one year to them not being here the next. And even though it might not seem like it, we are all thinking of them and what they're missing out on. Because family and friends are everything at Christmas and it wouldn't be Christmas without them. But having to spend Christmas (and, in particular, Christmas Day) without our loved ones can be hard but we all manage to get through it each year somehow. And even though we try not to think about them too much because it's meant to be a time of happiness, not one of sadness, they will always be on our mind. And it's okay to get upset because we all miss someone dearly at this time of year, in fact it's all year round, but we all find a way of getting through the day.

So what does Christmas mean to me? Christmas means spending time with friends and family. Both of these sets of people are what makes us, us and for that I am thankful. I am thankful for the fact that I have such a great set of people around me to spend my Christmas, and in general my life, with. If it wasn't for these people then I have no idea where I'd be right now. So for that, I am thankful.

And finally, to you. You reading this have really completed my life as you manage to keep me going by reading this blog which encourages me to make more posts. If it wasn't for you then this blog wouldn't exist. I am thankful for those of you who have been here since I started this blog back in August 2015 and who have continued to read each and every post. Even to those of you who may have only just started reading this blog, I am so thankful for the fact that you are here. And to those of you who have found some kind of help with some of the stuff I have been posting that I have been going through, I am so thankful that those posts have helped you out and have potentially saved you. And to all of you, if you ever need me at any time, whether it be day or night, just feel free to get in contact and I promise you that I will get back to you as soon as I possibly can. You all mean the absolute world to me and I'd hate it if something happened to any of you and you felt like you couldn't talk to someone about it.

Well, this is my last post of 2016. I would just like to thank you all for this year. You've been there through all of the highs and lows and this blog has made it through a whole year. There have been times where I've felt like giving it all up because I've been too busy. But I've worked through it and you've all helped me with that. I hope that you all, and more of you, continue this journey with me into 2017 and I hope that we have a lot of laughs along the way. But for now, I would just like to say goodbye to 2016 and say a hearty hello to the year ahead.

Love Beth xx

Saturday 24 December 2016

Blogmas Day 24: Christmas Eve Traditions

I know that in yesterday's post I did mention how me and my family don't really have any Christmas traditions (well, not anymore anyway) but there are a few things that we do on Christmas Eve every year that have definitely become traditions in my household.

One of these traditions is to have crispy duck pancakes every Christmas Eve. Obviously we're going to be eating a LOT of food on Christmas Day so we don't really want anything that's going to be too filling. My mum always tends to go out before Christmas Eve and buy a duck pancake making kit (as you can probably tell, I have no idea what it's actually called). But it's basically just a pancake that has duck, hoisen sauce, cucumber and lettuce in it and it's honestly one of the nicest things I've ever eaten ever. I'm pretty sure we had this last year but I don't think we had some the year before because we were at my uncles. We were going to have some this year but when my mum went out to buy the kit, there were no more left. But we've pretty much had these duck pancakes every single year on Christmas Eve.

Another one of our Christmas Eve traditions is for me to cook the cauliflower cheese for Christmas Day. Now, this may seem like a weird one to some of you but I can't exactly cook (actually, I take that back, I can't cook at ALL) so making the cauliflower cheese is kind of like my contribution to Christmas dinner. We always have to cook (or at least prepare) a lot of the food on Christmas Eve because there isn't enough places to put all of the food. As this year we've got my nan and grandad coming round they're going to be making some of the food at their house and are then going to bring it round and we'll try and keep it warm at my house for a bit before we eat anything. But anyway, me making the cauliflower cheese has kind of become one of our Christmas Eve traditions because it's just something that I can do to help my mum out and it also makes me feel better in a way that I've contributed something for dinner.

Our final Christmas Eve tradition is to leave a mince pie for Santa and a carrot for the reindeer.  I have two younger brothers (aged 12 and 4) so for my four year old brother we still have to do the whole Santa preparation thing. The good thing about him believing in Santa is that whenever he misbehaves we can just tell him that if he doesn't start being good then Santa won't be coming and he soon shuts up for a bit. We always leave out a mince pie and some sort of drink (this year I think it was milk) and then we leave out a carrot and some water for the reindeer. We have probably been doing this routine ever since my first christmas and once either my brother grows out of this whole Santa thing or I move out, I'm genuinely going to miss this little tradition. This is one of the reasons why I really want children because I want to be able to make Christmas magical for them because I'm like a big kid when it comes to Christmas.

So there are my three Christmas Eve traditions. I'm really interested to know if you have any Christmas Eve traditions with your family, friends, or just with yourself so please comment them down below. I can't believe that it's actually Christmas Day tomorrow! This year has gone way too fast for me and it's really scary.

Love Beth xx

Friday 23 December 2016

Blogmas Day 23: What Are Your Christmas Traditions

A tradition is something that can mean a lot to many of us and is something that we do each year; and a lot of these traditions happen at Christmas. For some that might mean that they go to church on Christmas Eve every year and for others it could mean that they all go for a walk after they've eaten their dinner on Christmas Day. My family don't really have a Christmas tradition, well to me we don't anyway. But if I had to pick something that could be classed as a tradition, I would say that our family tradition at Christmas (well, it's more of a New Years tradition but it's basically the same thing - sort of) is to go and see a panto.

Now, when I was younger our tradition used to be to go to church every Christmas Eve. Every year I would be dragged out of my house to go to this Christmas Eve service at our local church to sing carols and watch a recreation of the Nativity scene. But I never really got it because I never saw my family as that religious but apparently they suddenly seemed to be at Christmas. However, when my parents split up in 2014 this all changed. We no longer went to church as we would spend Christmas Eve at our dads and I would like to think that we stopped going to church on Christmas Eve because of that reason. Anyway, we haven't done this Church thing in about two years and I doubt we're ever going to do it again. 

But on to our new tradition which is to go and see a panto every New Year's Eve. This has been our tradition since 2011 (so we're now in our fifth year) and it consists of me, my brother, my mum, my mums friends and their daughter. It did used to include my dad as well but when my parents split he no longer came to see the panto. But this year my youngest brother is coming with us being as though he turned four this year and my mum feels like he'd be more likely to understand what's going on and will be able to sit and watch it for however long it goes on for without getting bored. What we normally do after seeing a panto is go for a Chinese afterwards but this year we've decided to go to my mums friends house and then stay the night there for whatever reason. I've got to be honest, I would rather go out with my friends but I'm sure I'll be able to see them a couple of days later (I'm supposed to be spending New Year's Day with my dad) and plus it has sort of become a tradition now to spend New Year's Eve with them so I guess it's something I have to do. 

So there is my Christmas tradition (even though it's really more of a New Year's Eve tradition than a Christmas one) but we don't really have any Christmas traditions that I can think of in my family so I had to settle for that one. But I'm really interested to know what your Christmas traditions are so please let me know in the comments below.

Love Beth xx

Thursday 22 December 2016

Blogmas Day 22: Why Family Is Important At Christmas Time

I know I've said it quite a lot in these blogs and to various other people, but I don't particularly like spending time with my family over Christmas. Don't get me wrong, my family are okay and everything but there are some things about them that I don't particularly like. However I'm not really going to go into that today as being with your family is a very important part of Christmas and I really don't think you should take any of them for granted; no matter how much they annoy you.

Family is important at Christmas because they are the people who are always going to be there for you and you should never take them for granted. They are the people who created you and they are the people who you've learnt most of your life lessons from. As much as they say they're always gonna be in your life, friends come and go all the time. Even the slightest thing can push some of them away. But family aren't like that. Family will be around for the rest of your life. Your family have been there through all your ups and downs and will continue to do so. I know that I complain about my family all of the time but if it wasn't for them then I wouldn't be where I am today. I'd have a completely different life and I have no idea whether it would be worse or better than this one. I like to imagine it would be worse but I guess I'll never get to know the answer to that question.

So that's why family are important at Christmas. The majority of us will be spending Christmas Day with our family because they are the ones that gave us life and taught us right from wrong. You should always appreciate your family as I recently learnt that they can taken away from you in the blink of an eye when you didn't even get the chance to say goodbye. So make sure that this Christmas you tell your family that you love them and never, ever take them for granted.

Love Beth xx

Wednesday 21 December 2016

Blogmas Day 21: What Does Christmas Day Look Like In Your Household

Everyone knows that at Christmas, everyone tends to get a bit (very) stressed with buying presents (most of those are last minute), making sure we've got all the food we need and in general, just getting everything ready for the actual day itself. Even at the start of Christmas Day things tend to get a bit manic. So today I thought I'd let you all in on what Christmas Day is like in my house.

So, I'll normally wake up in the morning at around 7/8 (even though I say I'll wake up at 5 - literally just so I can watch Christmas films to get myself in the mood) and I'll go downstairs. My mum and brothers are usually already downstairs at this point and are waiting for me so that we can open our presents. Then we'll open pretty much all of our presents in one go and we might have breakfast if we feel like it; although I don't tend to eat it as I want to leave room for Christmas dinner.

Then after breakfast, my mum will continue with the Christmas dinner as she's probably already started it a few hours earlier to make sure it's all done in time. For the past few years I've made the cauliflower cheese, which I've normally prepared and cooked the night before so it only needs to be heated up the next day. But I'll also help my mum by watching my brothers and clearing up the mess from the presents so that the house is tidy and ready for when my Nan and grandad arrive.

My Nan and grandad usually arrive some time after 10 so usually around 11 I guess. They'll bring us their presemts, as well as the presents from some others, and we'll sit and open them. They've normally prepared the food that their bringing at their house so all that needs to be done with that is heating it all up. Again, I'll be keeping an eye on my brothers while my mum, Nan and grandad sort out dinner. It will normally end up with an argument between my mum and nan over what needs to be done when and my grandad will usually try and get involved which always seems to make it worse because he stresses about everything too much. 

Then after they're all over their arguments and have finally got the dinner sorted, we'll all sit down and eat the food (obviously). We also tend to have some Christmas music on in the background. We start with the starters and we often have mini Chinese and Indian starters. I know that's what I'm having this year but I think the rest of them are having different seafoods (I'm not a very big fan of seafood) and then we'll go for the main attraction - the actual Christmas dinner! We have roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, turkey, stuffing, parsnips, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower cheese, carrots, peas, broccoli, gravy, cranberry sauce and probably some other things as well but there's just so much food that I can't remember it all. We will also pull our crackers and then we'll wait a bit once we've eaten to move onto pudding. At this point we tend to have the Christmas pudding which I like to have with cream.

After we've eaten, we tend to just sit around and maybe watch some TV or play some games like charades. Christmas afternoon is kind of boring in my house because everything's pretty much done with and the only thing left to do is the washing up which, let's be honest, nobody really wants to do. If we manage to find some room later on then we might eat some Christmas cake (which, let's face it, there's always room for) but apart from that we don't really do anything, At around 7/8 my nan and grandad leave which leaves us (well mostly my mum and me) to do any other tidying up that absolutely has to be done that night and anything else is left until the next day. 

So there is what Christmas Day looks like in my household. Pretty boring I have to admit but it's not that bad and we do have some fun. But as a child I grew up having these massive family christmases and now it's down to six of us so it's definitely very weird and different but I guess I'll get used to it at some point. But I'm really interested to know what Christmas Day is like in your house. Is it the same as mine or totally different? Please let me know in the comments below.

Love Beth xx

Tuesday 20 December 2016

Blogmas Day 20: Who Will You Be Spending Christmas With

Over the past couple of years, my Christmases have definitely been a lot weirder than those of the past because of my parents splitting up. This has meant trying to find a way to spend an equal amount of time with both my mum and my dad whilst taking into consideration other family members and who's going to be where at Christmas. Obviously as I'm still only 16 I don't really need to sort out where I'm spending Christmas because my mum and dad tend to sort that out between themselves. However, it's something I'm probably going to have to start thinking about in a few years time but all I know is that I don't want to be focusing most of my attention on one parent and a lot less on the other.

So, on Christmas Eve this year I will be going to my dads with my two younger brothers. This is what we've done over the past couple of years so I guess it will continue to stay that way. As my dad currently lives with my grans I know that she'll be there and I don't think that any other family members will be there as we tend to have a family get together a few days after Christmas. What we've done before the past couple of years on Christmas Eve (and this year is no exception) we tend to go to the pub that's just around the corner from my grans and have lunch. To be honest we don't really do that much more than that and tend to spend the rest of the day at my grans. 

On Christmas Day I'm going to be spending it at home with my brothers, my mum and my nan and grandad. We normally tend to open our presents in the morning that are from my mum and maybe a few others and then I always end up having to keep an eye on my brothers whilst my mum makes a start on Christmas dinner. Then at some point my Nan and grandad turn up and we open our presents from them and then they help my mum with the Christmas dinner; although they've normally done their bit at their house. The rest of the day pretty much just involves us eating, drinking, watching tv and sometimes playing games like charades and stuff like that and my Nan and grandad usually don't leave until late that evening.

Then on Boxing Day, me and my brothers go back to my dads. This gives us chance to give him his present and we can open ours from him, my gran and my uncles and aunties. I'm pretty sure that my uncles and aunts won't be there on Boxing Day so it will just be me, my brothers, my dad and my gran. We also have our own Christmas Day there as well so we'll have turkey, sprouts, pigs in blankets; you name it, we probably have it. Other than that we pretty much spend the rest of the day chatting and watching tv. It is a bit boring but they're family so what can you do.

So that's who I'm going to be spending my Christmas with. Writing this post has actually got me really excited for Christmas as before it sort of felt like it's ages away and that it wasn't going to happen but this post has made me realise how close it actually is. Only five more days to go!

Love Beth xx

Monday 19 December 2016

Blogmas Day 19: Christmas Day Outfits

Sometimes this part of Christmas can be overlooked; however, on Christmas Day we all have to wear something. Some people, like myself, like to go for a traditional Christmas jumper (the uglier the better I always say). But some people might not want to go for that option (how dare you!) which might be because this year they're not actually with their family and might be having their first Christmas with their boy/girlfriends family so want to make a good impression. So I thought that on today's post I would give you a few other options to a Christmas jumper.

DISCLAIMER: all of these outfit ideas are from Pinterest. I will try and find separate links for the items but I can't promise anything.







I hope that this post has given you a little more of an idea of what you could wear on Christmas Day. I'm sorry that I've left this until 6 days before the actual day as I haven't really given you that long to get something if you like any of these ideas. I'm also sorry that I could only show you outfits that I've found on Pinterest but I really wanted to give you full outfit ideas instead of just one item of clothing. If you do decide to get any of these outfits then please let me know which one you chose in the comments below.

Love Beth xx



Sunday 18 December 2016

Blogmas Day 18: Holiday Outfit Ideas

Okay, so it gets to this time of year and there's plenty of parties going on and it gets to the point where we have no idea what to wear. It's like, we're stressed enough as it is by trying to buy presents for everyone, making sure we've sent out Christmas cards to everyone we know and sorting out where we're going for Christmas. Knowing what to wear to parties (and even the big day itself) is more stress added to everything else so today I thought that I'd help you out by giving you a few holiday outfit ideas for this festive party season.

Berry Sequin Sweater - £46
 
Christmas is all about sparkle and I saw this sweater in Next and instantly thought Christmas party season. If you're anything like me, I tend to find that sometimes wearing a dress can sometimes be a bit much and I don't wear them as much and would much prefer to wear a sweater. I thought that this would go really well with some black leggings (or possibly dark denim jeans) and black heels. You could wear this outfit on one of the occasions where you say you're going to wear jeans and a nice top - yet you can never find that nice top. This sweater is the nice top you've been looking for. Berry + sparkle = the perfect Christmas party outfit.

Lipsy Scuba Halta Mesh Sweetheart Skater Dress - £55
 
Nothing says simplistic yet elegant like a little black dress. I always find a little black dress to be kind of standard yet it's really easy to pull off and can go pretty well with anything you decide to wear with it. I think that you could team this dress with black heels and a small black bag with a gold chain. I also think that if you really want to pull of this look you could maybe curl your hair; but if you prefer your hair straightened then that would work just as well. Just go with whatever makes you comfortable. Again, this is also from next.

Fancy Dress
                

 
A lot of parties at this time of year are fancy dress. As you can see from the three pictures above, an elf, a snowman and Santa (mrs Claus) are some of the outfits that I have picked out. I would personally go as an elf because I'm really small but you can go for any of these or any costume that you find either online or in a fancy dress shop. Obviously, I can't put a price on any of these because different shops will sell them at different prices. However I imagine that most places will sell them for no more than £30. An alternative to this, though, is that you could either rent one or if you know a friend who has a spare costume that you could borrow, then use that. I imagine that you're only going to wear this once so I wouldn't really recommend you spending a lot of money on it.

Christmas Jumpers

Obviously you should probably (well, definitely) wear a Christmas jumper on Christmas Day. No one cares about you looking all done up and pretty (no offence) so a Christmas jumper and leggings is definitely the way to go. In fact, from now on, anyone who doesn't wear a Christmas jumper on Christmas Day is being disowned by me. There is no fun in Christmas if you are just going to sit there wearing nothing that is in any way, shape or form not related to Christmas. I personally love a good Christmas jumper and will most certainly be wearing one this year on Christmas Day to show my festive spirit. If you don't wear a Christmas jumper then you have no festive spirit. I'm sorry, but it's true.

I'm sorry that I couldn't give you a full long list of things you could wear for either parties or Christmas Day, but it's pretty impossible to try and cater for everyone's needs on here. Obviously everyone has certain styles they prefer and know what looks best on them. I've just tried to give you a few ideas if you genuinely have no idea what to wear. I know it's only a week until Christmas and that there have been loads of parties that have happened already (sorry for leaving this (kind of) late if you really needed help and you've already had your Christmas party) but it can't be helped I'm afraid. If you don't like the idea of any of these then I'm really sorry. One thing you could do is google Christmas party outfit ideas and see what comes up on there and hopefully you might find something. Similarly, if you have a really good idea of what someone could wear then please put it in the comments below to help that person out. Because Christmas is all about helping everyone else.

Love Beth xx




Saturday 17 December 2016

Blogmas Day 17: What Does Christmas Mean To You

For every person at Christmas, it can mean different things. Whether that's spending time with family and friends who you hardly ever see; or celebrating the birth of Christ. Today, I'm going to be telling you what Christmas really means to me and why I love to celebrate it. And the reason why I celebrate and love it so much is because it means I'm able to spend time with my friends and family.

Christmas means spending time with friends to me because they are the people who I am very fortunate to have met and to have shared such a huge amount of my life with: even though I've only known some of them for a few years. It's amazing how big an impact they've had on my life when they literally haven't even been here for a quarter of it. They basically know everything about me and have still chosen to stick by me and for that I am forever greatful. I see friends as the people who chose to be your family and aren't forced to be there. Friends can leave whenever they want but family have no choice in having to be around you or be there for you. But friends do have that choice. And as long as they choose to stay and make you feel good about yourself; then you know that you've got friends for life. 

Christmas also means spending time with family. I'm pretty sure we've all complained about our family at some point or another because there are many times when they drive us up the wall and make us wonder why we actually bother spending time with them. But at the end of the day they're our family and they're always going to be there; no matter what. They have been there for us since the start of our lives and will be there for many years to come. I know that I constantly say to people (I've also said it on here quite a few times as well) that my family drive me absolutely insane and that there are many times when I just can't be around them because I know that something's going to come up that's going to make me finally snap. But at the end of the day, they're the only people who are 100% always going to be there for me and can't ever walk out of my life without having some connection to me.

So that is what Christmas means to me. But I really want to know what Christmas means to you. Please let me know in the comments below what Christmas means to you as I'm really interested to know if it means the same to you as it does to me or if it means something else entirely.

Love Beth xx

Friday 16 December 2016

Blogmas Day 16: Christmas Food

Christmas food is probably one of the the biggest parts of Christmas Day. It's basically everything that you have with a roast dinner on one plate. I absolutely love the food we have at Christmas and for some reason, even though I eat it all at various parts throughout the year, it always tastes better somehow at Christmas. So here are the foods that I eat at Christmas.

Brussels Sprouts
 
Love them or hate them, Brussels sprouts are one of the main features of a Christmas dinner. I personally don't mind them. I know they're not the best tasting vegetables in the world but they don't taste as bad as some people make them out to. 

Turkey
 
Turkey is the main part of every Christmas dinner (unless you're vegetarian or vegan obviously) and is probably one of the main things that every meat eater looks forward to at Christmas. I know that some people chose other options to turkey to eat at Christmas, but I personally think that you can't have Christmas without turkey.

Pigs in Blankets
 
Pigs in blankets are probably my highlight of every Christmas. Literally when my mum and Nan were writing a list of food to get for Christmas Day, I had to keep on reminding them to remember to get pigs in blankets. Just looking at that picture is making my mouth water. As long as I have pigs in blankets on Christmas Day I'll be happy.

Christmas Pudding
 
I really like to eat Christmas pudding after I've eaten my Christmas dinner. I normally like to have it with cream and sometimes ice cream; all though it depends on how much I've already eaten. My gran normally makes quite a lot of Christmas puddings and always gives us a few and they are, so far, the best Christmas puddings I've ever eaten.

Christmas Cake
 
And to finish the whole lot off, I will normally end up eating a slice of Christmas cake at some point during the evening. I just find it a nice way to finish such a busy day off with a slice of Christmas cake and watching one of the Christmas specials on TV.

So there are some of my favourite Christmas foods. I think that mine are pretty standard and I'm really interest to know if you eat something completely different to what I eat. Also, if you're either vegetarian or vegan, what do you eat for Christmas? Please let me know in the comments below.

Love Beth xx

Thursday 15 December 2016

Blogmas Day 15: Favourite Childhood Christmas Memory

As I am 16, I have a number of different childhood memories from Christmas. There have been so many that it's been really hard to pick just one. However, I have picked one that I have found to be the most memorable and the most interesting for you.

I can't remember exactly how old I was but I think that I was about 6/7 and at a slight push I was probably 8; so it was sometime between 2006 and 2008. We'd spent the morning opening our presents and we'd just had our Christmas dinner. 

I remember looking outside and it was snowing quite heavily. I really wanted to go outside and play in it but my mum wouldn't let me until my dinner had gone down (I had probably eaten quite a lot to be fair). 

I'm pretty sure it had already snowed before Christmas Day that year as I can remember there being quite a lot of snow at the time and there was no way that that amount of snow could have fallen in the space of an hour. 

Anyway, in that space of time my mum finally let me outside. I can remember being so happy and excited that I was finally able to go out and play in the snow. It's the only Christmas that I can remember it actually snowing on Christmas Day. There had been years before that (and a few after) where there was snow on Christmas Day but it had been there for a few days already and it hadn't actually snowed on Christmas Day. I'm pretty sure that that year was my first (and possibly last) white Christmas.

I'm pretty sure that it was only me, my brother and my grandad that went outside. Everyone else stayed inside (BORING!!!). I can remember it vividly because I remember making a snowman with my brother and then we put my grandads pipe in its mouth. We used sticks as its arms and I have a feeling that we also put a scarf, hat and gloves on it. I know we definitely did one year but I can't quite remember if it was that year or the year after.

So there is my favourite childhood Christmas memory. I think that this one's my favourite because it involves snow and I don't think that we've actually had any snow at Christmas (or at all) for a few years now. But I would really love to know what your favourite Christmas memory is so please comment them down below.

Love Beth xx

Wednesday 14 December 2016

Blogmas Day 14: Your Favourite Christmas Adverts

As per the Christmas tradition, there are a lot of Christmas adverts that are released at this time of year (obviously - I mean it is Christmas after all). So today I thought that I'd share with you some of my favourite Christmas adverts at the moment.

John Lewis
 
This is probably one of the most anticipated adverts each year. I don't think it had quite the same effect as last years (I'll admit now that I cried a few times at last years) but it is still pretty good. I'm pretty sure that I'm the only person who thinks that at some points in the advert, the dog is animated (mostly the part when he's on the trampoline) but let me know in the comments below what you think. When I found out it was out I was in school and I literally just got YouTube up on my phone and watched it because I was that excited to watch it. I was kind of disappointed by what I saw because I thought it would be similar to last years (really emotional) but it wasn't and just seemed to be a better than average Christmas advert. However, I do really like the advert but part of me wanted it to be another tear jerker like last years.

Sainsbury's
 
The Sainsbury's Christmas advert is probably my favourite Christmas advert this year. When I first heard that James Corden was singing in it I knew that it was going to be good; but I wasn't prepared for how good it was going to be. Everything about it is brilliant. I love the concept about it because it's a well known fact that everyone is always really busy at this time of year and there just aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done. One thing I particularly like about this advert is the song because it explains the story perfectly and is something that if it was just released on its own, I would download it. If you haven't already seen this then I don't know what you've been doing or where you've been for the past few weeks but you really need to get on YouTube and search this advert.

Marks and Spencer
 
I've found this year that the Marks and Spencer advert was better than the John Lewis advert and I've never thought that before so I have no idea where it came from. I really like the idea behind this advert and how it's not just the men who do all the work and that it's both of them as women are involved as well. This advert is great as it gets rid of gender stereotypes and has also modernised Christmas by her having a helicopter instead of some reindeer and a sleigh. I know that some people might not like that aspect of it but I really like it. I also feel like I can relate to the brother and sister in it who are fighting and are the reason why Mrs Claus has to deliver a present; but, and I know this sounds bad, I wouldn't ask for a new pair of shoes for my brother if I had wrecked his old ones. But I find it's a really sweet advert that brings women into the limelight.

So there are my three favourite Christmas adverts this year. If you have any other favourites or disagree with the choices I've made then please let me know in the comments down below. 

Love Beth xx

Tuesday 13 December 2016

Blogmas Day 13: Favourite Christmas Movies

This is going to be a bit of a hard one for me as I'm not one of those people who can just sit around and watch movies all day. Plus I haven't really watched loads of Christmas movies (to be fair, I probably have but just can't remember them) so I won't have that many to put down. But anyway, here are some of my favourite Christmas movies:

Love Actually
 
This is probably my all time favourite Christmas movie. I'm not the biggest movie lover, however the first time I watched this I watched it twice in the same day. I just love how it focuses on the lives of different people and how they each spend their Christmas. It also has an amazing cast and I genuinely don't think I can find any fault with it. I particularly love Hugh Grant's portrayal of a prime minister and just love having visions that this is actually what it's like in 10 Downing Street away from all of the cameras and press. I don't actually know anyone that doesn't like Love Actually, but if that person is you then please let me know in the comments below. I just find it hard to believe that someone couldn't like this because it is rom com and Christmas at its finest.

Nativity
 
This film is absolute genius. There is nothing that you cannot love about it. I'll admit that the first one is loads better than the second and third but it's just pure comedy genius. It was also filmed about an hour away from me and I find it weird how some of the kids from the first film are the same age as me now (16). I'm just disappointed that my mum didn't put me down to have an audition for it! This is a great film that all of the family can sit down to watch at Christmas. To be fair, I just watch it whenever I need something to laugh at because it's a feel-good film that is pure comedy gold. If someone turned around to me tomorrow and told me that they don't like Nativity or haven't seen it then I think I would faint with shock. If you haven't watched it yet then I seriously suggest that you do and if you don't like it then I would like to know why: so please comment down below.

The Nightmare Before Christmas
 
The first time I watched this film was in school when my form tutor wanted to watch it because it's her favourite film. I'm going to admit that up until that point I'd never actually heard of this film but I'm so glad that she showed it to us now because it's one of my favourites. This is the first film that I watch in the lead up to Christmas as I find that it's the first socially acceptable Christmas film that you can watch. I love the idea behind it and I also love that it's one of Disney's darker films. I'll admit that I don't usually like dark films, however this film is different somehow. I really like the songs that are involved in this as well and I just don't think that I can fault any of it. Definitely recommend that you watch it over the festive period.

Home Alone 1&2
 
The first two Home Alone's are possibly one of the greatest Christmas films on earth. For some reason everything that Kevin does I can imagine myself doing and I don't know why. Then again, with everything that he does, I don't actually know how I'd do any of it. He's just an interesting character to watch and I always feel sorry for him and never understand how his parents could just forget him like that. However, I've also watched the third one and I don't get why they bothered to make it if they weren't going to keep any of the same cast as the original kid had grown up at this point. I haven't watched the fourth one but I've been advised not to as I don't like the third. But if you disagree and think I should watch it then please let me know in the comments below.

Those are my five favourite Christmas films. If you have any other recommendations then please let me know in the comments below.  I have watched the Grinch but it's never been the whole way through and it's been years since I've watched it so I can't properly remember it. However, it's at the top of my list of Christmas films I want to watch, as well as Elf as I'm also yet to see that. I would really like to get into more films (especially Christmas ones right now) and am open to any suggestion you have. 

Love Beth xx

Monday 12 December 2016

Blogmas Day 12: Christmas Playlist

One part about Christmas is definitely getting your Christmas playlist ready for Christmas Day. It's just nice to have a little bit of music on in the background while you're all eating your dinner, I find. I created my Christmas playlist quite a while back now and today I'm going to share with you the songs that are on it. But you can also listen to that playlist here.

White Christmas ~ Bing Crosby

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow ~ Frank Sinatra

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas ~ Bing Crosby

Jingle Bell Rock ~ Bobby Helms

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year ~ Andy Williams

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas ~ Bing Crosby

Winter Wonderland ~ Bing Crosby

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas ~ Perry Como

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas ~ Michael Bublé

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas ~ Michael Bublé

Do You Hear What I Hear? ~ Bing Crosby

Someday At Christmas ~ Stevie Wonder

Santa Tell Me ~ Ariana Grande

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas ~ Sam Smith

Mistletoe ~ Justin Bieber

Last Christmas ~ Carly Rae Jepson

Happy Xmas (War Is Over) ~ John Lennon

Winter Things ~ Ariana Grande

Step Into Christmas ~ Elton John

Do They Know It's Christmas? ~ Band Aid

All I Want For Christmas Is You ~ Mariah Carey

Man With The Bag ~ Jessie J

A Holly Jolly Christmas ~ Lady Antebellum

All I Want For Christmas Is You ~ Michael Bublé

Fairytale Of New York ~ The Pogues feat. Kirsty MacColl

Hallelujah ~ The Vamps

Wonderful Christmas Time ~ Paul McCartney

The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire) ~ Justin Bieber

Happy Holidays ~ Meghan Trainor

I'll Be Home ~ Meghan Trainor

One More Sleep ~ Leona Lewis

Christmas Eve ~ Justin Bieber

Christmas Lights ~ Coldplay

Happy Christmas (War Is Over) ~ Maroon 5

December ~ Ariana Grande

White Christmas ~ Katy Perry

Merry Christmas Darling ~ Christina Perri

Hoping For Snow ~ The Vamps

Miracles ~ Coldplay

Winter Wonderland ~ Jason Mraz

Christmas Time ~ Christina Aguilera

My Only Wish (This Year) ~ Britney Spears

Last Christmas ~ Ariana Grande

O Holy Night ~ Leona Lewis

White Christmas ~ Michael Bublé and Shania Twain

Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town ~ Mariah Carey

Have Yourself A Merry Christmas ~ Christina Aguilera

Snow In California ~ Ariana Grande

Blue Christmas ~ Michael Bublé

Carol Of The Bells ~ Destiny's Child

All I Want For Christmas Is You ~ Mariah Carey and Justin Bieber

Holly Jolly Christmas ~ Michael Bublé

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town ~ Michael Bublé

Jingle Bells ~ Michael Bublé feat. The Puppini Sisters

Santa Baby ~ Michael Bublé

Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) ~ Michael Bublé

Silent Night ~ Michael Bublé

Cold December Night ~ Michael Bublé

I'll Be Home For Christmas ~ Michael Bublé

Ave Maria ~ Michael Bublé

Mis Deseos/Feliz Navidad ~ Michael Bublé and Thalia

The Christmas Song ~ Michael Bublé

Winter Wonderland ~ Michael Bublé

Frosty The Snowman ~ Michael Bublé feat. The Puppini Sisters

Silver Bells ~ Michael Bublé feat. Naturally 7

Last Christmas ~ Wham!

8 Days Of Christmas ~ Destiny's Child

I Believe In Father Christmas ~ Greg Lake

I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday ~ Wizzard

Driving Home For Christmas ~ Chris Rea

The Power Of Love ~ Gabriella Aplin

Santa Baby ~ Kylie Minogue

Stop The Cavalry ~ Jona Lewie

Merry Christmas Everyone ~ Shakin' Stevens

Not Tonight Santa ~ Girls Aloud

Stay Another Day ~ East 17

So there is my Christmas playlist. If there are any songs on here that your particularly love or you think that there should be some songs on here that aren't then please comment them down below in the comments. Also, I'm really interested to know what's on your Christmas playlist, so please comment them down below. Or if they're really long then just comment some of your favourite songs from there.

Love Beth xx

Sunday 11 December 2016

Blogmas Day 11: What Is Your Least Favourite Thing About Christmas

As much as I love Christmas, there are some things about christmas that I'm not a massive fan of. I think that my least favourite thing about Christmas is probably quite a common one. My least favourite thing about Chrismas is having to spend, pretty much, every second of every day with family.

Don't get me wrong, I love my family but it gets to the point where too much of them is enough. That's especially my dads side of the family. Whenever I'm with them all they seem to ask me about is how schools going and if I've figured out what I'm going to do with my life yet. I get that they probably just want the best for me but it's just so annoying that that's the only thing they talk to me about. Then they start coming up with a load of random suggestions of stuff that I could do and it's almost as if they're trying to force me to come up with something to do right there and then and I feel so rushed. 

Every time I have to think about seeing them it just makes me so miserable because I know that I'm not going to enjoy it. A lot of the time I feel like I'd rather be in lessons than be with my family because of how miserable it makes me. I also feel like I'm the one that's constantly being left out. Whenever they're planning a meal or booking a table somewhere they just presume that I'm not going to go and don't include me in it and then use that as an excuse when I do turn up. But then they just laugh it off and it just makes me even more miserable. I don't even want to turn up to these things but when I do I want to feel included and I don't so then it just makes me feel even less valued as a part of that family than usual.

My mums side of the family is completely fine. They make me feel as if I have got a family and always try and include me in everything that they're doing. I really get on with all of them as well and feel like I can pretty much be the real me around them. But with my dads side it's a whole other story. It's genuinely got to the point where I'm considering changing my last name to be the same as my mums (my parents are divorced) because I really don't want to be linked to my dads side of the family at all. And I know that's a bit harsh but I don't see why I should have to have the same last name as the people who constantly take me for granted and are part of the reason for making me miserable. The only other thing that makes me miserable is school. Now if that's not saying something about my family then I don't know what is.

So there is my least favourite thing about Christmas. If you feel the same as me then please comment below or let me know what it's like being with your family at Christmas. But if there's another thing that you don't like at Christmas then also leave a comment below. 

But I'm particularly interested to know if anyone else's family makes them feel miserable because I know that it's not right and none of us should be made to feel this way. Or if you want to contact me privately to talk about it then all of my contact details are in the contacts tab at the top of the page.

Love Beth xx

Saturday 10 December 2016

Blogmas Day 10: Things I Love About Christmas

I love a variety of different things about Christmas. I don't think that there's one part of Christmas that I don't like. So today I thought I'd share with you the main things that I love about Christmas and why I love them so much.

Lights
Christmas lights are a big part of Christmas. They just make everything so much brighter and make going somewhere in the dark feel so much more fun and exciting. The netball matches I have at the moment are on quite late and I'm never in the mood for them, especially after having had a whole day of school just a few hours before, but being able to see all of the Christmas lights make getting there so much better and kind of lifts my spirits a bit. I think that's what Christmas lights do to you. They lift your spirits and instantly make you feel so much happier; especially when you see that someone's put a bit of effort into Christmas.

Tree
Today we managed to put up our real Christmas tree. We've had our fake one up for a few weeks now. But I find the real trees so much better because they just smell of Christmas and I just find them so much more fun to put up. The fake ones pretty much come with their own decorations (well ours does anyway) and there's never that many decorations to put on them. But with the real ones there are so many more decorations that you can put on the tree, especially as they are normally so much bigger anyway, and it's more fun in deciding where to put all of the decorations.

Presents
Presents are definitely a key part of Christmas for me. I love receiving presents off people; especially when I can tell that they've put a lot of effort into trying to find the perfect present for me. But I also love giving people presents. I guess this is because I like to watch their face as they open the present and they look genuinely happy with what I've brought them; either that or they're very good at acting. But I find that presents bring people so much joy and happiness at this time of year and if they get something from someone that's taken them a lot of time and effort to get, then it helps that person to feel really appreciated; especially if they've been having a really bad time.

Food
I mean, who doesn't love the food at Christmas? The Christmas dinner is definitely the highlight of my Christmas Day. I literally don't eat that much food on Christmas Day or Christmas morning just to make sure that I've got enough room to have starters, main and puddings for dinner. I think that the Christmas dinner is definitely the thing that I've been most looking forward to this year. I even really love sprouts. I mean, they're not my absolute favourites but they are a part of Christmas and I think that we all need to embrace that. I always look forward to turkey and never get why people have their Christmas dinner without a turkey. But the definite highlight are the pigs in blankets. Just thinking about them now is making my mouth water. I guess it's because I don't eat them at any other time of the year which is why they are the definitive highlight of my Christmas dinner.

So there are my four most favourite things about Christmas. But what are yours? Comment below what your favourite things about Christmas are. I'm also really interested to know how many of you love/hate sprouts and I'm going to run a poll on Twitter. Click here to take part in that poll. Thank you for reading and remember to comment down below what your favourite parts about Christmas are.

Love Beth xx

Friday 9 December 2016

Blogmas Day 9: The Christmas Tag

Today I thought that I'd do the Christmas tag. I saw this online recently and thought that I might as well have a go.

1. What is your favourite Christmas Movie/s?
My favourite Christmas movie is probably either Nativity or Love Actually because they're the two Christmas films that I could quite happily watch over and over again. I watched Nativity when it was first released in cinema and absolutely loved it. It was also filmed quite close to me and was made into a trilogy (Danger in the Manger and Dude! Where's my Donkey?) but the last two aren't quite as good as the first one. I'm pretty sure the first time I watched Love Actually was last year and instantly loved it. I don't think I can actually fault anything with it. Another film I really like is Home Alone 1 and 2 but I do however think that the third is lacking slightly. I've never seen the fourth but I've been told that if I don't like the third one then I won't like the fourth. However I could be wrong so please leave your comments down below if you think it's worth watching or not.


2. Do you open your presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?
Always Christmas morning. I never even realised that anyone opened their presents on Christmas Eve. I mean, in England its tradition that Santa delivers the presents on Christmas Eve and we open them on Christmas Day. But I'm guessing that it's different in some countries but I'm not quite sure. Let me know in the comments below if you open your presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning and then tell me which country you're from because I'm actually quite interested to see which countries open their presents when.


3. Do you have a favourite Christmas memory?
I don't really have a favourite Christmas memory because to be honest all of my Christmas' have been pretty much the same. They all involve me waking up early (which is something I never do), opening presents, having family round, eating lots of food, realising that eating a lot of food was a mistake and spending the rest of the day lying somewhere regretting eating such a huge amount of food.


4. Favourite festive food?
Its got to be turkey. If someone turned around to me and told me that we weren't having turkey for Christmas dinner I would be absolutely devastated. That and pigs in blankets as well. I've been really tempted to become a vegetarian for a while now but it's genuinely these two foods that is putting me off it. I know that even if I became a vegetarian at the start of the year, by Christmas it would be too tempting and I'd end up eating the turkey and pigs in blankets anyway.


5. Favourite Christmas gift?
I don't think I've ever had a favourite Christmas gift; they've all been pretty good to be honest. Some personal favourites of mine were a barbie, a bike, an iPod, a quad bike and a go cart. I think those were the ones that I was genuinely really pleased and happy about getting and were the first things that came to mind when I saw this question.


6. Favourite Christmas scent?
My favourite Christmas scent is currently gingerbread. My mum recently bought a bar of soap for our bathroom and the first time I smelt it, it smelt of gingerbread which instantly reminded me of Christmas. To be honest until this year I've never really associated a certain smell with Christmas and I don't really know why it's happened this year. But gingerbread is definitely my favourite Christmas scent.


7. Do you have any Christmas Eve traditions?
When I was younger we used to go to church every Christmas Eve but we haven't actually been in the past couple of years (to be fair, my family aren't entirely that religious). But because we don't really want to eat that much the night before Christmas (I literally barely eat anything just so that I have enough room for Christmas dinner the next day) we tend to just eat duck crispy pancakes. That may sound weird to some of you however it somehow became a tradition for me and my family and we get one of the kits for it so you have the pancakes, duck, the sauce that goes with it (can't remember what it's called), lettuce and cucumber. But honestly if you've never had a crispy duck pancake then I really recommend that you do because they are one of my favourite things ever. What we also do is, because my younger brother is four, we still put out the drink and food for Santa and the reindeer. When I was younger it was always the traditional mince pie and milk (or occasionally whisky) for Santa and a carrot and some water for the reindeer. But times have clearly changed since I was that age and we now seem to leave out whatever my younger brother feels Santa and the reindeer would like. 


8. What tops your tree?
For some reason we have an angel and a star so it tends to vary each year. However my mum bought a new star for the top of the tree a few years ago and  it seems to have been just that for the past few years. I'm not sure if the angels going to make a come back this year as we haven't got our tree yet (we're getting it tomorrow) but I'm guessing we'll just put the star up again.


9. As a kid what was the one (crazy, wild, extravagant) gift you always asked for but never received?
I don't actually think there was a crazy, wild and extravagant gift that I always asked for but never received. Don't get me wrong, I can remember there being one or two gifts I always asked for but never got; however they weren't crazy, wild or extravagent. In fact, the fact that they're not crazy, wild and extravagant means that I can't actually remember what they were.

10. What's the best part about Christmas for you?
The best part of Christmas for me is all of it. I genuinely can't thing of one sole thing that I love more than anything else about Christmas. I love buying presents, the leadup to Christmas, advent calendars, food, seeing people opening their presents, being with people - just everything about it.

The person I'm going to tag to do this Christmas tag is YOU. If you have a blog then, great, you can do this on there. If not then I'd really love it if you could do this in the comments below. Obviously you don't have to do this if you don't want to or if you only want to do a few of these questions then you can do that as well. 

Love Beth xx

Thursday 8 December 2016

Blogmas Day 8: Why Do You Love Christmas

Chrismas is definitely my favourite time of the year and I absolutely love it. I love it because I love buying presents for people. I just love it when I see something and it makes me think of one of my friends and I know how happy they'll be if I buy it for them. I also love it when I buy something for my friends and I watch them open it and I can see the look on their face of how happy they are with what I've bought them. It's honestly the best feeling ever. If you say that you don't enjoy watching someone open something you've bought them and enjoy that look on their face that lets you know that you've done a good job then I don't even know what to say to you. I get that there's always that worry that you might have bought the wrong gift or that they might be faking their love for the present and actually hate it; but as long as I'm buying people presents that makes them happy then I'm happy too.

Another reason as to why I love Christmas is being around my friends and family. I know that a lot of the time I complain about having to go to this big family gathering at Christmas every year; but I've never known Christmas without it. Yes I get bored while I'm there and I get fed up of them only asking me how schools going and if I actually know what I want to do with my life yet; but at the end of the day they're my family and that's just how they are. I'm not always good in big group situations and if I'm feeling left out of the conversation then I often become quite anxious. However if I'm suddenly included in the conversation then it makes me feel so much better about myself. But friends and family are a big must at Christmas because they, to me, are the definition of Christmas.

I do love getting presents for myself at Christmas; as well as all of the food. But I think that it's more important to not think about yourself at Christmas and to think of others instead. After all, if it wasn't for others then you wouldn't be here. I know that at some point in our lives we have all complained about certain people in our lives; but those people are what make our life. If they weren't meant to be in our life then they wouldn't have anything to do with us. So this Christmas be thankful for those who are a part of your life and make you who you are. The people in our lives are pretty amazing and I'm pretty sure that if we thought they were that bad then they would be out of our lives by now. Those people are what have shaped us into who we are today and there is absolutely no way that we'd be who we are without them.

Love Beth xx

Wednesday 7 December 2016

Blogmas Day 7: Where To Shop Online This Christmas

One of the big parts about Christmas is buying presents. A lot of people like to buy their presents online as it's so much easier than having to go out and search around all the shops just to find one gift for one person. However, if you shop online then you only have to search one or two things and you're basically done. Today I'm hoping that this post will help give you a few ideas of where it's best to shop online this Christmas to find the perfect gift for that special someone.

Amazon
Amazon is my go-to for Christmas presents. And basically any presents (well anything) to be quite honest. This year I've pretty much bought everyone's presents from amazon as it basically has everything you could ever need on there. You can literally type in anything to amazon and the exact thing you're looking for is almost certainly guaranteed to come up. Plus, most products are so much cheaper on amazon than anywhere else which means that you'll have more money to spend on anything you might want or for extra presents for everyone.

Marks and Spencer
M&S is always a pretty good place to go when you're looking for a Christmas present for someone. Personally, it's not the first place I'd go to but they do seem to have a lot of good stuff in at the moment. Plus, you could possibly buy some (or all) of the food you're going to get for Christmas Day. But I also think that M&S is a good place to go if you're looking for a present for your partner. But I have bought a few presents from there before and they've always seemed to have gone down pretty well. Others have also bought me presents from there which have always been greatfully received.

John Lewis
John Lewis - AKA Christmas land. John Lewis is one of the top places you can go to for Christmas presents; or anything really. I recently bought my new phone from there and instead of the one year guarantee that the phone company were offering, John Lewis were offering a two year guarantee. A good thing about John Lewis is their customer service as it's always amazing and they'll pretty much sort something out for you straight away. I've got to admit that I've never actually bought something from them before but I know people who've bought me presents from there and they're always saying how good it is - and the presents are of really good quality too.

So there are my top three places to go to for your online Christmas shopping. I know they're slightly obvious but I really like these places and I just think they're great for getting Christmas presents from. If there's a place online that you particularly like to go to for Christmas shopping then please let me know in the comments below. 

Love Beth xx

Tuesday 6 December 2016

Blogmas Day 6: A Letter To Santa

Dear Santa,

This year what I would really like is for you to make sure that next year isn't as bad as this year has been. The truth is, I've had a pretty bad year and I'm not sure if I can take having another year like this one. Too many people have died and, to be quite honest, I don't know if I can handle another person dying. I guess that 2015 had also been a pretty bad year; but it was no where near as bad as this one. In general, the whole year has gone from bad to worse. It's like, just when you thought that it couldn't get any worse, it does. So please, Santa, make next year better than this one. Even if just one thing that happens makes the whole year better. That's all I ask.

I've also lost too many important people in my life. Various friends have just randomly walked out of my life; even though I really wanted them to stay. And yet I did nothing about it. I just let them walk right out of my life and didn't even try to hold on to them. Only three people bothered to keep in contact with me over the summer holidays. I went from talking to over ten people everyday to just three. One or two others have spoken to me a little bit since then but that was only to have a rant to me about something and they haven't even bothered to try and talk to me since. Then again, I haven't either. So please, Santa, this year can I have all of those people back in my life because I really miss them and need to talk to them again. That's all I ask.

There is one thing I would really like for Christmas this year though. And that's to have my grandad back. Not permanently because I couldn't stand him having to be in all that pain; but just so that I can have one last conversation with him. I know he died in 2015 but this year, for some reason, I miss him so much more than I did last year. I know that sounds bad but it's true. I think about him everyday and if I could just turn back time and do one think differently (at the least) then it might make me feel that little bit better now. The thing is, the last time I saw my grandad was on New Year's Day last year and he died a month later on the 2nd February. I could have gone to see him the day before he died, to say my final goodbye, but I didn't. I guess I just took him for granted and thought that he would be around forever. But now I know that he won't and I'm not sure how I feel about this. So please, Santa, could you bring my grandad back just so that I can talk to him one last time. I know that's a pretty impossible thing to ask for, but I would be forever grateful if you could do that for me.

Those are the three main things I really want for Christmas. I know that they're something that money can't buy; but I honestly wish that you could. I know they're three pretty impossible things to get me (especially the last one)  but I would be incredibly grateful to you if you managed to get me these three things. So please, Santa, could you make next year better than this one, bring most of my friends back and, most importantly, bring my grandad back so that I can have one last conversation with him.

Thank you so much in advance,

Love Beth xx

Monday 5 December 2016

Blogmas Day 5: Favourite Christmas Songs

Christmas songs are probably one of the best things about Christmas. They are the first thing that I go to to try and get myself in the festive spirit. I listen to them on my way to school, when I'm in school, when I'm on my way home from school, when I'm at home - you can basically guarantee that if I'm listening to music, I'm listening to Christmas songs. So, I have made a list of all of my favourite Christmas songs to give you a few recommendations of what songs you should listen to if you don't know where to start.

Anything by Michael Bublé
Michael BublĂ© is honestly the best person to go to if you want to listen to a Christmas song. He literally only releases songs at Christmas I swear. I absolutely love all of his songs; however some of my personal favourites are All I Want for Christmas is You, It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, Holly Jolly Christmas and Baby it's Cold Outside feat. Idina Menzel. My particular favourite is the last one; but they are all brilliant.

Mistletoe ~ Justin Bieber 
This is honestly one of my all time favourites. I absolutely love Justin Bieber anyway, and this Christmas song makes me love him even more.

All I Want for Christmas is You ~ Mariah Carey
This is a Christmas classic. It's pretty much the first Christmas song I listen to each year.

Fairytale of New York ~ The Pogues feat. Kirsty MacColl
This is another one of my all time favourites. This song is pretty much my definition of Christmas.

Wonderful Christmas Time ~ Paul McCartney
This song brings back many memories for me. When I was in primary, they would always take us to see a panto every year at christmas and we'd have to get a coach there. This song would always come on and I can remember us all singing it at the top of our lungs. This song always reminds me of that and I sometimes find it very nostalgic.

I'll Be Home - Meghan Trainor
I've only recently started listening to this song but I really love it. It's one of the songs that I'm constantly looking for and I now class it as one of my favourites.

One More Sleep ~ Leona Lewis
I first heard this song when Leona Lewis performed it on X Factor a few years ago and I instantly fell in love. I loved the stage design, the costumes and most importantly the song. Whenever I hear it, it always takes me to that moment of sitting in front of my TV and watching in absolute awe.

My Only Wish (This Year) ~ Britney Spears
Like I'll Be Home, I've also only started listening to this song this year. I didn't think too much of it at first but after having it constantly playing, I've learned to love it. 

Last Christmas  ~ Ariana Grande
I absolutely love this version of the song. As soon as I heard it I fell in love and it straight away became one of my favourites. I could quite happily have this song on repeat and not get tired of it.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas ~ Christina Aguilera
I've also only started listening to this song this year. I did like it when I first listened to it but now I absolutely love it. I don't know why I didn't instantly fall in love with it because it's now one of my all time favourites.

I Wish it Could Be Christmas Everyday ~ Wizzard
Again, another classic. 

The Power of Love ~ Gabriella Aplin
I am actually in love with this song and I'm not even lying. The originals okay but this version is absolutely beautiful. 

Stop the Cavalry ~ Jona Lewie
This is another classic. Every time this song comes on, I find myself starting to bob up and down in time with the beat but I'm not too sure why.

Merry Christmas Everyone ~ Shakin Stevens
Yet again, this is another classic. For some reason I find this a good song to decorate my Christmas tree to and I'm not too sure why exactly. 

Step into Christmas ~ Elton John
I swear I'm literally putting all of the classics into this favourites. I'm pretty sure that this is another song that we used to listen to in primary on the way to a panto. Whenever this song comes on I always find myself singing along to it.

Not Tonight Santa ~ Girls Aloud
I first heard this song a few years ago when I bought a Christmas CD (wow how times have changed - might as well as just waited a few years and got it for free on Spotify) and this song was on there. Even from the first time I heard it I remember dancing around my room to it. It's a great song to rock out to and I really recommend you listen to it.

Last Christmas ~ Taylor Swift
Like so many other songs on here, I've also only recently been introduced to this song. I've got to admit that I probably wouldn't put this song as one of my absolute favourites; but it did manage to get onto this list.

Last Christmas ~ Wham!
I mean, I've  included this song on this list three times now so it must be an absolute favourite of mine. 

A Spaceman Came Travelling ~ Chris de Burgh
For some reason, this song makes me get slightly emotional and I don't know why. But I really love this song and it reminds me of one of the Mrs Brown's Boys Christmas Specials where I think they all start singing this song. This song is definitely up there as one of my favourites.

Do You Hear What I Hear ~ Whitney Houston
I first heard this song at a Christmas carols service a few years ago and never truly appreciated it until I heard this version of the song. I really love it and within the first second of the song being played, I instantly know that it's this one.

Underneath the Tree ~ Kelly Clarkson
This is another of my all time favourites. This is the song I go to when I want to dance around the kitchen and sing at the top of my lungs.

This Christmas ~ Chris Brown
I've only listened to this song a couple of times and I'd never heard of it before seeing it on a Christmas playlist on YouTube but I actually think that it's a pretty good song. Admittedly, it's not the best but, at the end of the day, I do really like it and I'm not sure if lots of people will have heard it before.

So there are my favourite Christmas songs; but what are yours? If I've left one of your favourites out or you absolutely love one (or more) of the songs that I've mentioned on here and want to rave about it, then please feel free to do that in the comments below. 

Love Beth xx

Sunday 4 December 2016

Blogmas Day 4: Christmas Wish List

Obviously, when it gets to about November, we all start to make a list of what we want for Christmas. Some of us might start it slightly earlier and some might start it slightly later (if you haven't written one by now then you'd better hurry up - otherwise Santa might not get you that present you've been longing for since you can remember). I thought that I'd share with you my Christmas wish list which, if you haven't already written one, might give you some idea of what to put on yours. I thought that it could also help you if you're trying to think of what present to get someone but have no idea what to get them.

Savisto Professional 32 Piece Make Up Brush Set £12.95
 
At the moment I don't have that many make up brushes and I saw these on Amazon and realised how much I need them in my life. The brushes I have at the moment are pretty bad and I didn't want to have to spend (and didn't want others spending) loads of money on just a few brushes. At first I thought that, because of the price, these brushes would be pretty bad as well; but after reading the reviews I've realised that this isn't the case. They look really nice and everyone's been saying how soft they are and that they don't shed either. 

Money
This is pretty standard really. I recently bought an iPhone 6s in rose gold and, as it's really expensive, I'd really like it if people could give me money for Christmas to go towards it. I've put in about half the amount of money that the phone was and I'm going to ask everyone else to give me a little bit of money towards it. Obviously if it ends up with not being the exact amount then I'll just put in more money but I am also selling my old phone to help pay for the new one so hopefully I won't need to put any extra in.

Burgundy Stripe Sleeve Sweater £14.99
 
Burgundy is really in season at the moment and I saw this jumper from New Look and instantly fell in love. I do have quite a few jumpers at the moment but you can never have too many jumpers. I just feel like this jumper would go really well with some black leggings or some denim jeans. Guaranteed if someone gets me this for Christmas I'll wear it all the time.

Millie Marl Coatigan £25
 
Again, like the jumper, I saw this and instantly fell in love. As it's winter, I love to wrap up warm and I thought that this coatigan from Boohoo would be the perfect thing to wrap up warm with. It looks incredibly comfy and I really love the colour as well. I think you could wear this with pretty much anything and by looking at the model wearing it, it goes down to about your mid-thigh. Then again, I'm incredibly small (5ft exactly) so it would probably go down to my knees or maybe even further.

Asics Women Gel Pivot 10 Netball Shoes AW15 COL0146 £52
 
I've been playing netball for the past 9 years and, especially after recent events, I've learnt that it's really important that you wear the correct footwear. These trainers give really good ankle protection (I've worn a pair similar in the past) and means that if you go over on your ankle whilst playing netball, you're more protected and are less likely to have an ankle injury. I'm not sure if you can see but there is an extra hole for the laces to go through, which means that the shoe becomes much tighter around your ankle and your chances of ankle injury are even more reduced. 

So there is my Christmas list. There were one or two other things but I wrote this list at the start of November and I've just looked back at them and unfortunately they're out of stock so I can't show you what they were. I obviously won't be too gutted if I don't get any of these things for Christmas as, espceically now that I'm older, I've realised that everything doesn't revolve around the presents and that it's the thought that counts. I would really love it if you could comment down below some (or all) of the items on your Christmas list. 

Love Beth xx