The top 20 things I love about this time of year...

The panic that tends to come at this time of year can sometimes obscure the little moments of pleasure that the season brings - not on Christmas Day itself, but the few days before and after...

Here are my top 20 that I love:

1. Hoping for snow (or at the very least, a really heavy frost!) - opening the curtains in the morning or glancing out of the window and seeing everything coated in white.
2. The smell of the decorations box - OK, I know that’s weird, but the box always has a certain type of smell (loft smell perhaps?!) that instantly takes me back to childhood Christmas’s and gives me a little flutter of excitement.
3. Putting the presents under the tree on Christmas Eve
4. Having a house full of food and family.
5. Trying to get the dog and cat to accept they’re going to get dressed up - albeit very briefly!
6. Cold turkey and chips for Boxing Day lunch!
7. Mulled Wine
8. Watching Christmas movies  - I can never decide which one’s my favourite, but I’d say my top 3 are “It’s a Wonderful Life”, “Elf”, “Muppets Christmas Carol”, and “Arthur Christmas”. Oh, sorry, that’s 4. Oh well!
9. The sparkle of the lights on the Christmas tree
10. Seeing Freddy dog in his winter coat - technically he doesn’t need it, but he looks so handsome in it…
11. Enjoying the small squeaks of excitement that my daughter emits every now and then during the couple of days before Christmas Day.
12. Going off the ‘Wish List’ and surprising someone with a really special present you know they’re going to love even though they didn’t know they wanted it until now!
13. Going for chilly walks with the dog (bonus if it snows of course!)
14. Playing ‘Spot the Lights’ to see who’s the first person to spot a house with their decorations up in the run up to Christmas. (I won this year, the neighbours put them up at the end of November.)
15. Not having to think twice about what to eat - and it being OK to have chocolate or marzipan before lunch (or breakfast).
16. Candles 
17. Playing board games over the holiday
18. Mulled Wine…. Did I say that already?
19. Taking time off work and knowing that people accept you’re away - it’s the time of year when pretty much everyone is taking a holiday.
20. That lovely relaxed feeling after Christmas Day when you can sit back and know that all the hoo-har is over and now it’s time to put your feet up.

What little festive pleasures do you have at this time of year? 

Sarah x

My supremely traditional Christmas, totally under control…

This year I am going to approach Christmas being serene, calm, and so organised I’ll have time to make handmade decorations for the tree.

My traditional Christmas daydream is as follows...

I will organise relaxed yet elegant little soirees where I will invite nearest and dearest to my home (tastefully decorated and impeccably gleaming of course, with a hint of wax polish and cinnamon in the air). I will wear a brand new outfit and serve mulled wine in twinkling crystal glasses (all matching, and enough to go round) and the table will groan with homemade food that would give Jamie or Nigella a run for their money in the style and taste stakes.

The weather will be crisp and fresh - just enough snow to look festive of course, and the kind of snow they have in the movies (ie, the non-melting, non-slippery, never grey - or yellow! - kind). I will line the path leading to my door with those little bags filled with twinkly nightlights.

Christmas shopping will, of course, have been completed many weeks before. I will have spent an amusing couple of hours with a glass of wine sitting in comfort and placing online orders for exquisitely appropriate gifts for each and every loved one. They will be tasteful (of course), unique and in many cases handmade and bespoke. The wrapping will be crisply executed (all presents will be square or rectangular), and the paper will be of beautiful quality (with matching gift tags). There will be enough paper to wrap all gifts (no bare cardboard roll panic for me - no trying to wrap things diagonally in the hope it makes the paper go further - no adding lots of bows to cover the gaps). Talking of gift tags, I will write everyone’s names in a beautiful calligraphic style.

No gifts will feature the description “novelty” - there will be no “bog books*”, no “funny” socks or ties. No ironically bad jumpers featuring reindeers.

All cooking for the Christmas season will be planned with military control thanks to the supermarket delivering everything to my door (everything being in stock of course, no substitutions or items close to their sell by date).

Mind you, having said all that, those Christmas decorations that we put on the tree year after year are a bit of a tradition. And being a bit too broke thanks to Christmas shopping to buy any new clothes - that’s a kind of tradition too. And there’s not much point in twinkly nightlights leading to the front door when they are overshadowed by the neighbours inflatable 6’ snowman.

And it wouldn’t be Christmas if I wasn’t sat hunched over the computer wrestling with the “can I get this cheaper/faster/delivered free/with a discount/with free gift wrapping somewhere else” anxiety and generally prevaricating for so long that inevitably “out of stock” becomes the phrase of the season. And wrapping paper with an identity crisis - coupled with homemade gift tags cut from last years’ Christmas cards - that’s definitely traditional. And having a houseful of guests or planning a party can be pretty stressful - and besides, Pirates of the Caribbean might be on that night - and isn’t it so much nicer to be able to put your PJ’s on hours before bed and nick the chocolates off the tree? And I’m sure Tesco will keep up their end of the traditional bargain and try their hardest to run out of a few essential items (turkey’s, Christmas puddings, bread, milk) so that we can all laugh and embrace the fact that year after year Christmas at PhotoFairytales Towers is always traditional.

And you can’t mess with tradition at Christmas.

Sarah x

* ‘Bog Book’ - a book, usually novelty, that is only ever read on the loo. Often contains “amusing” pictures of old cars, bad haircuts, interesting facts and figures that are instantly uninteresting and forgettable, etc.

Christmas: Last orders and opening times

Here's a round up of all the last order dates for delivery in time for Christmas - please note that I am now unable to accept overseas orders in time for Christmas I'm afraid. The following dates may change over the next few days, so please visit the Christmas Opening Times page on the website for the latest information - just click on the image below:

Opening Times over the Christmas period: I will be closed for a Christmas holiday from midday December 19th and will reopen on January 8th 2017. The website will remain open and you are very welcome to place orders or contact me while I'm closed, but please be aware that I won't be able to process your order or acknowledge your message until my return.

Last Orders by Date:

December 3rd:

Wooden Gifts 

Birth Announcement/Invitations 

Fantasy Portraits with Greeting Cards 

December 7th:

Mixing Bowls 

Fantasy Portraits with Canvas Prints

Gift Plates 

December 10th:

Memory Card Game 

Photo Albums

Board Books

Bunny Rabbit Family Prints

On Our Wedding Day Prints

On This Day Birthday Prints

December 11th:

Love Gift Boxes

Rocket Photo Holder

Christmas Eve Boxes

December 12th:

Family Tree prints, A3 size

Fantasy Portraits with Unframed or Mounted Prints

December 14th:

Canvas Prints

Blue Heritage Plaques

Round Wall Plaques/House Signs  

Hoop Prints

Fork & Trowel Garden Sets

Hammers

Mugs

Personalised Gift Sacks

Family Tree print 8x10" size

Metal Street Signs

Fantasy Portraits artwork only   

All Personalised Prints in A3 size  

December 15th:

Official FC Gifts 

Newspapers

All Personalised Prints in 8x10" size

December 17th:

Santa Letters - UK orders 

Santa Telegrams - UK orders  

Standard Greeting Cards (fast dispatch cards)  

Tooth Fairy Letters 

December 18th:

Gift vouchers 

December 19th: closed from noon

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me!

Sarah x