Sneaking up fast!

Well I can't quite believe it's almost the end of July. I don't know where this year has gone? Luckily despite it flying by I haven't done bad with keeping up with the Christmas planning though.

Thanks to a poker win my Husband had I have bought a few Christmas presents over the past month and have pretty much got India covered now apart from a Kidzoom camera that she has been asking for. I've got some pots to make pots of gold again for people who didn't get them last year as they went down so well. Again we are going with the vouchers for the boys for the local shopping centre, they have done well with the ones we got them last year and have saved them for books or games that have come out during the year and didn't just waste them on stuff straight away.

I have started stocking up on fruit to make my mincemeat, which i'll be doing towards the end of next month. I will have a look through my Christmas dessert recipes and pick out what i'll be trying this year and write a shopping list for that too so I can pick up something each time I shop.

So we have on Sunday, Rudolph Day, which for many is known as Christmas in July, even QVC and one of the movie channels has picked up on this now in the UK and we have a month of (mostly made for TV) Christmas movies. I already have plans with India to watch Christmas in Wonderland when we get up and hopefully be sat down in time to watch another in the evening!

I'll be posting again on Sunday and hopefully a bit more frequently after that as we move into the second half of the year.

May Rudolph Day

Well this poor blog is being neglected, luckily my Christmas planning isn't! My gift list is up to date and I have a lot of ideas for the people on it. I've even bought a few more stocking stuffers for my little one.

The boys are going to be the hardest to buy for as usual and I think we may just be going with vouchers for our local shopping centre again as they went down very well last year. They can be used in all the shops in there and they have spent them well. Even getting stocking stuffers for them is hard now, at 14, 16 and 20 with no hobbies as such i'm thinking very hard!

My Christmas notebook is all up to date and I would highly recommend this site Christmas Planner to help out with printables and ideas for making your own - I wouldn't be without mine! It even has a section where you can browse other peoples notebooks for inspiration.

I've even had the time to make a couple of Christmas cards too though i've cut my list down this year after checking who was sending them back and who wasn't!

Food wise I am already thinking that I may do something different this year instead of rolling out the turkey but i'm not sure how well it will go down with the rest of the family if I don't stick to the traditions! I'll be digging out my recipe books to look for starters and desserts to try out over the next few months.

I hope you all enjoy your Rudolph day (only 6 to go before the real one!).

Easter Fun

In case you hadn't noticed the abundance of chocolate eggs and Easter bunnies around the shops by now I just thought i'd let you know Easter is just days away!

I found these pretty little eggs in our local Poundland. I'm going to use them in an egg hunt for India on Sunday morning.

She always gets loads of chocolate from familyt and friends so I try to get her something she can keep. This year I found a lovely little bucket which i've filled with little eggs and small toys. She loves things she can carry - bags, baskets and hopefully buckets!

In the meantime we have these books to keep us occupied over the next couple of days!

Rudolph Day

Well i've been a little lax in my postings the past couple of months and am vowing to do better! My Christmas thinking has been non existent.

I save stamps with Morrisons every year for my Christmas food shopping and have only got £2 right now - I cannot get into the routine of asking for them at the till and staff appear to have stopped checking if you need them. I'm determined to get back into this habit as these stamps come in very handy and have in the past paid for our food over the Christmas holiday.

My folder has been buried away in the wardrobe and I've dug it out and placed it in the way in the living room so I can't avoid it. I've updated my Christmas card list and address list, they are printed off and read to put in. I also printed a new gift list for 2010 and have put on the bits and pieces I got in the sales, which doesn't amount to much.

So today I am going to be making some Mince Pie Buns to use up my leftover mincemeat and i'll be drinking my Christmas tea to get me into the spirit of things. I really need to start picking up some more gifts and try and fill out the list a bit more.

Thought i'd add this picture from Christmas last year for inspiration!

Next thing I need to do is check on my supplies for my card making, I don't think i'll have as many to make this year after redoing my list and I did pick up some embellishments in the sales, I think an ebay shop may be in order!

Lots to think about and hopefully by the next Rudy Day i'll be adding to my gift list!

Hope you all have a good Rudolph Day.

First Rudolph Day of 2010

Happy Rudolph Day to all.

I have to say I am not organised at all for Rudolph Day. I was planning on printing of various lists to update my folder including a final gift list for last year and an updated Christmas card list. Unfortunately life has taken over and i've not managed to even get the folder out of it's hiding place in the wardrobe!

We did however have a lovely family party yesterday to celebrate India's fourth birthday, which is tomorrow. So planning and preparing for that took up a lot of my time this weekend. So I think I will have a belated Rudolph Day this week and hopefully I can sit down and sort through some paperwork on Wednesday.

In the sales just after Christmas I managed to pick up a few small bits and pieces for Christmas 2010 so I need to make sure I make a note of them so I don't forget what I have. I kept out my Christmas Mickey Mouse mug just for Rudy Day and have some lovely hot chocolate to try too.

I'll try and update again later in the week.

Snowed In

Well the snow never ends here, I can't remember the last time we had this much snow! Here are a few photos out and about this morning.

Back to Reality

Well today is back to 'normal' for us - work and school. Over the holidays I have not been on the internet often hence not posting on here but I hope everyone had a wonderful time and would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year.

Our Christmas went quite smoothly and all the planning and preperation helped a great deal. We also officially had a white Christmas here too, which is a first in a long while. Once i've got back into the swing of things i'll post some more on how our Christmas went.