HOW I CELEBRATED CHRISTMAS- VOLUME 1

I hope you a had wonderful Christmas, and you got the presents you were hoping for!

Another year of complete chaos has ended! Although we would all like to just get Christmas over and done with and welcome the new year, it’s always great to reflect on all the things, that we've managed to get through, that we never thought we would. All the things, that we have accomplished and never applauded ourselves for. So yes, we should be proud of ourselves, for making it through, right? If you do not feel that way, then I am very proud of you! You are here, in 2022, so lets start working and building on those dreams..

Okay, okay, back to Christmas! I am feeling blessed, that we spent Christmas, in our own home!

Yes, that's right, I briefly mentioned on my "about me page" that we finally moved into our own home, in August 2021. Honestly, it was like a double birthday gift, for me and my son, whose birthday was on the 1st August and mine which was on the 8th August and we got the keys on the 16th August, so as you can imagine, I was feeling pretty overwhelmed! It is not home ownership, but we are proud, because; it's our place of love, of family, of comfort and it's a place, we can call OUR home.

From the moment, we got the keys, my husband and I said, "We're going to have our first Christmas, in our home, like we've always dreamt about, that we've been praying for"

So from there, we definitely enjoyed the Christmas experience, with getting the gifts, we wanted to make it special for our little boy. He was our focus, making sure that he was happy, because he is at the stage now, where he can understand Christmas and now has the strength to open his own presents. Don't you find it cute, when toddlers try to rip open their gifts and just look confused when they cannot? On the other hand, sometimes they are just happy with the wrappings paper alone and you're like, okay what about the gift??. Now having a three year old, nope, the gift inside definitely matters now!

So, to get into the festivities, we had a close friend, who surprised us, with a Christmas tree, which was so sweet and very thoughtful! We could not thank him enough, for getting the little one over excited, before the day arrived ha!. The decorations came from my mum in law, honestly, it is so nice having family and friends, who are loving and supportive and just wanting to make our first Christmas special. More so, for my little boy, my life, my world. So all we had to buy was the Christmas lights, which topped it off. We put the tree up, after the little one finished nursery, we put Christmas music on in the background, we were singing, dancing, laughing and just feeling that joy, that warmth and happiness, that should be felt. We took pictures and videos, to make sure that we treasure every moment. Because, I've realised how important capturing the most precious and valuable gifts of life are.

So fast forward to Christmas day..well..it didn't go according to plan exactly, as we were unwell. Yes, I know right, out of all times! But, but we made the day our own, because we were still together as a family and that's what mattered. I was the first one awake, as always, patiently waiting on whether, I should wake up the boys. Can you blame me, I was so excited guys! Second in command to wake up, was little man, funny enough he didn't realise it was Christmas day..hmmm and lastly daddy woke up.

That's when it all started, saying our good mornings and Merry Christmas. I was literally saying to the little one "Baby it's Christmas! It's Christmas today, yay!' I think I was more excited, but when he realised it was present time, that is when his joy came through. With every opening present, I was taking pictures. I was checking who the gifts were from and read out every little message to him and I got him to say thank you to each person on video. Just capturing those moments we're adorable and so valuable, because it shows him that love comes from the special thoughts and kindness, we receive. I think the whole process took probably around 20 minutes, it could have been longer but who was counting. After little man was done, it was mine and hubby's turn.

Time itself, just made me appreciate, every moment that we spent together. You never realise, how valuable family time is, until reflection hits.

After all the presents were opened, it was playtime. Playtime with each and every toy. It was a laugh and it was such a joyous moment. Feeling the love, despite being unwell, I'm so thankful to God, that we had a home to be in and with together. After the games were done, we relaxed to a few moments and I cooked dinner, even being unwell did not stop me from cooking some traditional Christmas dinner and yes you guessed it, roast chicken, roast potatoes, honey roast parsnips, Mac and cheese and rice. Tasty right? Unfortunately for the hubby, it didn't go down too well, but as for me and the little one, we did manage to get some food down us and I'm thankful for that.

As for the rest of the Christmas day, it was a relaxed night, tucked up on the sofa, watching some more movies, with a nice herbal tea!

So despite everything, Christmas can be beautiful, where love and family are in the same place...