I had every intention of blogging about my Christmas prep several weeks ago.

Because this year, I was ridiculously prepared.

The tree was up and decorated by the first weekend of December. It looked as drunk as ever, with additional decorations from Fortnum & Mason after our recent Christmas trip, and a Jellycat Pear from my mum that looked a bit testicle-esque, which then was referred to as a ‘festicle’ for the rest of the month. I also added a tree topper after watching – a picture of Michelle Pfeiffer as Stephanie Zinone from Grease 2 that I stuck onto a piece of card and perched it precariously at the top. If you know, you know. 

I had also made an advent calendar for The Bloke, with individually wrapped things that I had been buying and collecting for months. Lego polybags, small Lego sets, random bits and pieces, and chocolate, obviously. It took an epic amount of time and planning and I was super excited for him to start opening them. It became the thing that he looked forward to each day, waiting until he arrived home from work to open each item. This is something that I had wanted to do for years and I finally organised one, and it is another 45 Before 45 item that I have been able to tick off my list. 

And all the presents? Bought and wrapped well in advance. I had also been purchasing non-perishable Christmas foods over November every time I did a food shop (which I hid from The Bloke in a cupboard as he’s a snack monster), so by the week before Christmas I had a cupboard full of Christmas treats. The only thing left to do was to get the vegetables and turkey – I did a quick fruit and vegetables shop and The Bloke went to Marks & Spencer and got a pre-rolled Turkey breast for two that we have every year, and we were done.

So I didn’t write about it at the time, but I feel like it still counts. I was prepared. And that’s worth documenting, even if it’s a little later than planned.

Christmas Day was lovely. We got up, opened our presents, I cooked a full three-course Christmas Dinner by 1.30pm, and then I slept until about 6.00pm. We spent the evening watching movies, and then I slept again right through the night. I must have needed it. 

The one thing that I missed dreadfully was my little friend, who passed away earlier in the year. In December 2024, I took him to Pets at Home so he could choose his own Christmas presents, which I then wrapped and gave to his owner for him to open on Christmas Day. We would go out for walks in the cold and say hello to everyone. And this year, he’s not here, and it didn’t feel right.

We were up at 6.30am on Boxing Day for the next Stranger Things episodes so that we wouldn’t have to deal with any spoilers. If you watch the show, I’m expecting that many of you would have been yelling “stop talking and RUN!” at the TV like I was. It has been so good, but we haven’t a clue as to how it is going to end. I’m desperately hoping that the finale on New Year’s Day isn’t going to be a Game of Thrones style mess – we have been invested since Season 1. 

Twixmas, the time between Christmas and New Year, has been spent in that slightly strange, in-between way it always does. The days have blurred into a bit of a foggy haze of movies, not really knowing what day it is, an enormous amount of cheese and a general lack of urgency. My mum came to visit for a few days, which was lovely, and I’ve generally tried to relax as much as possible. I’ll admit though, it’s been harder than I expected. After working flat out for so long it always takes me a while to decompress, even though I have taken big steps over the last few weeks to reduce my workload. My brain doesn’t seem to switch off just because the calendar says it should.

But I’m looking forward to New Year’s Eve tomorrow. We have the usual mini buffet-style food filled with picky bits, alcohol (I rarely drink so I’m looking forward to an ice-cold cider), and a list of the films we want to watch. I’m expecting it to go the way most of our NYE celebrations do – we eat a lot, have a nap, watch Big Ben and the fireworks at the London Eye on the TV, then go to bed.

And I wouldn’t have it any other way.