It’s 7.30am and I’m on a train up north to spend Christmas with my family. I feel like I’ve written that sentence so many times…

I discovered that tickets to Manchester – my usual destination – were really expensive and there were no connecting trains to Bolton, so I managed to bag one to Wigan instead for £8.50. The only trouble is, it was at 6.15am. It’s worked out well so far – there’s a storm set to hit the north later on this morning, by which time I should be happily relaxing in my jammies at my Mum’s house. The carriage is pretty much empty, so I’ve taken advantage of that and sat at a table with a power socket to charge my phone. There’s the usual whinging toddler (“But whyyyyy? Nooooooo, I don’t want that! Muuuuuum I waaaaant thaaaaat”) so I’ve put my headphones in and am listening to The Backstreet Boys. They’re not normally my travel music of choice, preferring 80’s rock anthems usually, but it feels like a Backstreet Boy kind of day.

I was going through my Facebook feed this morning and my memories from previous years appeared. It’s amazing how I’ve done exactly the same things on this day every year – travelled up north, met up with old friends, got caught in a storm of some sort, gone to my mum’s, posted pics of her dogs wearing silly hats…

Here’s a few of my favourites…

Poor dog…

Nothing changes… She still does that now!

I actually don’t remember this…

My friend’s car broke down in Salford…

Nothing changes here either…

Incidentally, the elderly lady wasn’t injured in any way – she found it hilarious, as did the person who had bought the sausage roll – so I wasn’t laughing out of spite, but I did feel guilty for finding it so funny.

And so begins a few days of relaxing, eating lots of cheese, being made to watch everyone kill each other on Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Eastenders and fifteen year-old reruns of The Bill (and most probably the repeats later on – some of the most depressing and boring programmes ever to grace our tv screens), trying to sit on the couch comfortably while I’ve got a massive springer spaniel asleep on me and spending Christmas Day with my VERY heavily pregnant youngest sister and my brother-in-law, middle sister, her pug and my mum. My mum is making her homemade vegetable pie, which is still THE BEST I’ve ever had – I can’t beat my mum’s cooking. It’s going to be the last one with just us – Baby Squidge arrives in a few weeks and I’m getting married in 2017 so The Bloke and I are spending Christmas together in Birmingham as man and wife next year.

How lucky I am!

What about you guys? What’s your plan for the big day?

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