Planning the Perfect Family Christmas
Written by Debbie Talbot
I am a 40 something busy mum of 3 who works part time and studies part time. I can tend to be disorganised and have been determined to plan the perfect family Christmas this year. There is a 6 year age gap between my children, my daughter is 14 and my twins 7, so getting it perfect to suit all can be a challenge.
Shopping for Christmas Presents
First of all, I wanted to ensure that I had the presents covered. I have a small budget this year due to financial constraints, which is probably the same for the majority of the country this year, and I wanted to ensure that it goes as far as possible. I do recommend setting aside an amount each month within your family budget to cover Christmas presents. My own mum has been known to buy that year’s Christmas presents in the January sales. I think that this is such a good idea as there are so many bargains to be had. With other family members and friends I allocate £30 per present. One lovely money saving idea for a group of friends would perhaps be to do Secret Santa, so each person within the friendship group buys for one person within the friendship group. I have a fantastic gift for my hard to buy for dad this year, the BadAss Socks Action Film Gift Set from ChattyFeet, which would be perfect for any fan of action movies. The names of each pair of socks really made me smile, featuring The Sockfather, Mambo, Toeminator and Karate Feet. With and retail price of £30, the quality and quirkiness of this socks gift set is excellent.
Preparing the Christmas Stockings
One of my favourite tasks in the run up to Christmas is putting together Christmas stockings for the various members of the family. Here are some ideas of items to include in this year’s Christmas stocking. For any Harry Potter fans, Bertie Botts sweets could be an idea. Be prepared though, the flavours may not be quite what you expect. I have my eye on Donut Shoppe Mix 28g tin for my own Christmas stocking. The tin has a really appealing donut sprinkles design, my teenage daughter would love reusing the tin after Christmas. Another stocking filler treat I have my eye on are the Bubbly range Jelly Beans. These come in a stunning looking plastic champagne shaped bottle and cost around £3, so are very inexpensive. Another idea for any Harry Potter fan’s stocking is a Harry Potter chocolate wand. I also plan on visiting some of the pound stores for stationery items to complete the Christmas stockings and of course I will ensure my pre-Christmas food shop includes satsumas as I grew up receiving them in my Christmas stocking and wish to carry on that tradition with my children.
Planning Ahead for Next Year
I was delighted to come across the 2020 Perfect Parent Planner. This should help me be even more organised for next year’s festivities (fingers crossed) and at £24.95 it is such a bargain for what you get, I have never seen such a well thought out planner. Some of the sections include weekly diary pages, pages where you can set goals, childcare and support, a monthly family planner, financial overview and finance tracker, party planner, holiday planner and Christmas Planner. The Christmas planner section allows you to keep track of what you have purchased gift wise, for whom and the cost. I think that Christmas will be even more organised next year due to this planner and I will put the 2021 planner on my Christmas wish list next year too.
Wrapping Gifts
Every year at my parents’ home my dad folds up the Christmas wrapping paper after we have unwrapped our gifts. This year his gift will be wrapped using Fabrap, reusable fabric gift wrap. The design we received was blue with a shiny pattern. It will be perfect for my dad’s Christmas present. Prices start at just £7. Using the gift wrap is so simple. You just tie a knot to wrap the gift. I think that the prices are worth paying due to the benefits to the environment and lack of waste. The gift wrap can be neatly stored away ready for next year.
Festive food and drink
One of my favourite things about Christmas is enjoying food and drink with loved ones. Here are some of the items I have set aside for our family Christmas:
- Belvoir Drinks – We have been enjoying trying the various flavours such as Spiced Ginger Punch, Festive Fruit Punch and Winter Cordial. They taste delicious and the bottles look amazing. Belvoir Drinks are actually a firm fixture in our household all year round.
- Kettle Crisps – Kettle Crisps never last long in our house. I love the variety of flavours on offer. My personal favourites are sea salt and balsamic vinegar and mature cheddar and red onion.
- Metcalfe’s Skinny Popcorn – 4 flavours are available – sea salt, sweet ‘n salt, cinema sweet and salted caramel. I like all of them, but I have to admit that salted caramel is my personal favourite.
- Ogg Mince Pies – These egg and dairy free luxury handmade mince pies taste absolutely divine.
- Lost Sheep Coffee – Flavours we tried were Funky Camper, Smooth Journey and Living the Dream. We enjoyed all of them. What I love most about Lost Sheep Coffee is that the pods are environmentally compostable. Here you have great tasting coffee from a company that does its bit for the environment.
- Fruit Bowl – I far prefer these to letting my children have sweets. They look really appealing and their range of products is excellent. Being a lover of unicorns, my favourite is the unicorn fruit flakes. These products even help towards your five a day. My twins absolutely love the Strawberry School Bars.
- Chic P Houmous – This tastes amazing and I love the fact that it’s made from surplus vegetables.
Being organised will ensure that drinks and snacks are on hand for any planned or unplanned visitors at Christmas time. I am looking forward to settling down on Christmas Eve with a movie and some of the above items.
Looking Confident when Socialising
I dyed my hair blonde last year and my hair does not seem to have recovered since. It has had an effect on my self-confidence. Even my hairdresser asked what had happened to my hair as it used to be so thick. I was therefore delighted to be able to try out some Nanogen products.
I received Nanogen Keratin Hair Fibres, Unisex Hair Hydrator and Hair Fibre Locking Spray. I tried them out this weekend and my hair looked and felt amazing. It was such a relief after having had lifeless looking thin hair for so many months, possibly even as long as a year. I love the fact that you can match the fibres to your hair colour while adding volume and thickness to your hair. I can now go out socially during the festive period and feel more confident.
I hope that my article helps you in the run up to Christmas. We would love to hear how you get on.