Blogmas Day 2: Getting Into The Christmas Spirit

Well, it's day three and I've already skipped a day. I'll be posting twice today because I refuse to mess this up. I didn't post yesterday purely because I was too lazy and yes, I am awfully ashamed with myself. Although I did try to festiveisise my blog yesterday, which isn't perfect, I'm still new to this, but it's red and gold and warm and cosy and Christmassy so my efforts have to count for something!

I've finally actually done a bit of planning for Blogmas and I'm quite excited, I want to be as original as possible, because everybody will be posting the same things about Christmas so it's important to try and do something slightly different at least, but I gotta stick to the classic, obvious posts that will come up over December. Today's Blogmas is how I get myself into the Christmas spirit.
Now that it's December Christmas is being thrown at you left, right and centre, so for all the Grinch's or people struggling to feel festive I can imagine this being a difficult time. Shopping centres, town, pubs, restaurants, and most importantly roads, are being filled with the human population going about their Christmassy business.

On days I'm not feeling as festive as I'd like to feel -considering it is December now, this is what I like to do to snap me back into the world of festive, jingly, Christmas time:

• Go shopping. The shops are magical this time of year, filled with fairy lights and dashes of gold and red everywhere you look, Shakin' Stevens filling your ears and shoppers sneaking a little foot tapping boogie as they wait in the 20 minute queue (Ugh, queues at Christmas time!)
• Get coffee. I love Starbucks. Given I've only been twice in my life. I love the atmosphere coffee shops give, and it's the perfect atmosphere for the festive season. And they sell hot drinks which is one of the best things about the festive period. But now coffee shops are getting better, by selling Christmas flavoured coffees how can you not feel Christmassy in a cafe this time of year?
• Christmas candles. If you have one (or twenty) of these holy grail's in your house flickering away, transforming your house into a magic wonderland of Christmas Baking, Pine, or Cinnamon, maybe placed singly, a different scent in every room, or every scent in one room creating a (probably quite sickly) paradise of smells, then you are set for Christmas festivities.
• Baking. Baking is a big part of Christmas time -not that I can say I've ever really done it.. but we have Christmas shaped cookie cutters. Bake cookies and add a ton cinnamon for the sake of it, cut everything into the shape of snowmen and Christmas trees and chuck bottles of sprinkles and silver balls all over them, make sure it looks like Christmas exploded in your kitchen.
• Christmas music. Christmas music has something in it that just makes you excited, sitting by the fire in a woolly jumper with Wham! or Slade in the background is almost magical, nothing beats those precious moments at Christmas time.
• Read. Books that have that feel good feeling about them are my favourite. And what better to read feel good books in front of the fire at Christmas time? Or a classic that you just re-read at Christmas every year without fail. This year I'm reading Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol which I've never actually read before but I've always wanted to.
• Have movie nights in. Christmas films can be just as good as Christmas music, I love settling down with a fluffy blanket, the fire going, some slippers on, perhaps a mug of hot chocolate, and a good old Christmas film. Again, you can't not feel Christmassy after watching a Christmas film.
• Put your tree up. You're not going to feel Christmassy if your house isn't feeling Christmassy, saying that we don't have our decorations up yet, but putting them up is one of my favourite things about Christmas, and seeing them everyday and turning the tree lights on when it gets dark just reminds you how close it's getting to Christmas and if that doesn't make you feel Christmassy...

That's what I do to keep myself in the Christmas spirit. It's also nice to remind yourself about this list of things during the Christmas period because we all know how stressful it can get, when you're waiting in that 20 minute queue it's nice to remember that it's all part of Christmas, and when you get home you can pop the kettle on, run a bath, put your slippers on, and enjoy the relaxing side of Christmas.

Shaan x