Advent

This is the advent I made for us this year. I wanted something that would not be about 'stuff', but about us being together. M and I sat down and came up with 24 things to do every day, as a family. They are ridiculously simple things mostly, like hot chocolate and cookies in front of the fire, or taking a winter walk. I mean, I could totally pretend it's for Sachin, but we love cookies and hot chocolate as much as the next 2 year old! So far, so good. Sachin loves running up to the tree everyday and pulling down the number.


It was super easy to make (I'm lazy, what can I say) and mostly entailed typing and printing out the number and activities. We made a tree shape with green and white bakers twine held with pins, and Sachin and I had a glittery afternoon dipping pegs in glue and glitter. You could totally do a 12 days of Christmas too - there's still time!

It's beginning to look a lot like....

My favourite time of the year. Honestly, there just isn't another time or month or season I love as much as Christmas. The lights, the scarves and hats, the nip in the air, the cosy nights in.


Now we're somewhat settled from the move, I've slowly been letting Christmas seep into the house. At the weekend, I put up a little DIY branch/fairy light installation (after pinning a stupid amount of branches on Pinterest and finally lumbering one home from the park). Today I made a rosemary wreath with the abundence we have growing in the garden.

{The branch in all it's glory}

{Rosemary wreath}

Then we decided to venture out and investigate the city's Christmas Markets. Now to be honest, I didn't have high hopes for this. I've never been to a really great Christmas market. Sre they always look pretty and smell nice, but beyond that? Not that it's bothered me after drinking down 6 mulled wines in the interest of 'keeping warm'. But Manchester? They know how to do a Christmas Market. The finest French cheeses, some really good sausage, the best Baklava I've ever had. Not to mention an abundance of alcoholic drinks. Hot burnt sugar rum, anyone?

Yesterday I played the first Christmas tunes. Sachin loves music, and he can actually sing snippets of songs now. I can't wait to teach him a Christmas song and take him to a carol concert. I know he will find it magical. 

And then I saw this. And I can't explain it, but I am actually a little bit in love with it. You know the bit in Bridget Jones, where she goes to her Mums Turkey Curry Buffet, and meets Mr Darcy for the first time wearing his Christmas jumper? No? Hmm, well that's what I thought of immediately. I just need to find a much, much, cheaper version. Or is it, ya know, hideous?

{Cashmere Jumper by Antoni and Alison}

What I most love about this time of year, is how it takes on a new meaning now I have my own family. M and I have started traditions to pass on to Sachin, that hopefully he will continue. Every year S gets that little bit older, he understands a little more. This makes me think too. What do I want him to learn about this, what shall we teach him about why we are doing what we're doing? We're not religious, although my Mum is Catholic and so as a child I spent every Christmas in church. I want him to experience that too when he's older, to know and see why others celebrate.


We're not big on presents, that's not what it's about for me, but we do give gifts on Christmas day (and a tradition from when I was little is to open a sneaky gift early on Christmas Eve too). I wanted to come up with an explanation of why we are giving each other gifts. I thought about Christmas and what it is that I love, and for me it really is a celebration of the year that has passed. A time to slow down and be thankful, grateful, and reflect before the coming New Year.


What does Christmas mean to you? What traditions do you have? Genuinely interested as I think it varies a lot...


We will be reflecting whist huddled up in wooly jumpers, drinking mulled wine and surrounded by twinkling lights and family. Let Christmas begin! 

Moving

Just over a month ago, we moved house. Moved city. Moved our lives from there to here.

Just over a month ago, there was a very long day. We moved in two stages due to the distance, so Friday was a full on day of packing and sorting and cleaning and keeping the toddler out of trouble. We woke up early and tried to prepare ourselves for leaving. It came upon us all of a sudden. You know those days that are always there, hovering in the distance, and then BAM, here there are and away you go?

That's how the whole day was. On a practical level, it felt like a hardcore move. We were very lucky that as it's a move due to job, M's company paid for a removal firm to pack and move our shit. Of which it transpires, the three of us have a LOT of. We thought having people who would pack it all up would make it much easier, which to an extent it did. But we forgot to factor in S. Guys, moving with a toddler? It 'aint easy. He was an angel all day, but still. There is still a small person ready to jump into anything and everything, just wanting to talk to the removal men, trying to help and generally being a little tornado of excitement. Kid loves people. And moving house it seems!

People were coming and going all day long. Stuff was everywhere. An insane amount of chaos before at 6pm, it was just us. Just the three of us in our empty house as the sun was setting outside. We moved into that house just the three of us too - I was 6 months pregnant.

We wandered around and all I could think of was the morning, two years previously when I went into labour. I have the strongest memory of being in the living room, about 3am, a pregnant ball of excitement and contractions, whilst M was in the kitchen making sandwiches and us giggling hysterically. One of my favourite memories. And we filled that house with many like them.

By the end of the day though, we felt done. Ready to leave the house, to say goodbye. Seeing it empty, I felt pretty much the same. No sadness, just happy nostalgia. We had outgrown that house, and despite loving it dearly, it really felt time for the next chapter. We stood outside and took one final photograph. 'This was your first home Sachin'.

We traipsed across London with bags and baby, and got the train to our new city. We were both exhausted, physically and mentally. Sachin was raring to go. He entertained a packed train of commuters for almost 3 hours, and took our minds off everything, except that moment. M and I spent a lot of time just smiling at each other. Reassuring, comforting, excited and tired together.

At about 11pm, we loaded ourselves on to the tram, ready to make our way to the hotel we were staying in (our new house wasn't ready) until the following morning. That's when it hit me. Full in the chest, a sudden wave of emotion, and tears in my eyes. Whenever we'd been here before, it was always fleeting. Running around the city for a few days, hunting houses, barely having enough time to take it all in. Imagining living here, but knowing that once we were exhausted from it all, we'd still be going back to London, going home.

This time, there would be no going back to London. No going back to that home. A new home to make, and new nest to build. Exciting, scary, and completely overwhelming all at once.


{photo credit - http://blog.canterandcave.com/2011/04/shanghai-street-life/totems7/}