Top Ten Tips for Feeling Festive

This time next month it will be Boxing day, Scary or what! I'm not a person who need to be forced into thinking Christmassy thoughts, pretty much from the 1st of September I'm already planning my Christmas tree theme for the year, but I know some people find it hard to even think about Christmas before November is over. If you are finding it hard to get into the Christmas spirit here are my ten tips for kick-starting all those fuzzy festive feelings.

1. Plan a Christmas meal with Friends.

Every year our girls meet up for a Christmas meal, it is always a highlight for me as I don't get to go to a work Christmas do because it would just be me and Mum, so we do that on Christmas day. It's really lovely to meet up with our girls and have a catch up and a giggle. It's a nice excuse to get dressed up, Oh and there is always wine...lots of wine!

2. Shop for festive food.

In my opinion a Terry's chocolate orange is not just for Christmas, I love comfort food and I love it when all the Christmas flavoured goodies and party foods are available in the supermarkets. Anything orange or mint flavoured, Hot chocolate, Sausages in bacon, lindt chocolate reindeer, chocolate logs, mince pies, Christmas cake, gingerbread men, You name it, it's on my shopping list as soon as it hits the shelves! Mr Kipling sent us some of their festive treats recently and the Winter Whirls are just delightful! If you like cinnamon-y ginger treats you will love them.

3. Head to a department store Christmas decorations department.

I always love my yearly trip to London especially to visit Liberty's, Harrods, Selfridges' and John Lewis' Christmas departments. It is always guaranteed to get me feeling festive. I don't always buy anything, but it is great for getting ideas for decorations.

4. Plan Your Christmas Day Meal

If you are hosting a Christmas day meal (like I am this year) then plan that one, but if you are heading to family for the day, plan a separate festive meal for yourself and your best friend/ boyfriend/ husband. Steve and I always have a special meal on Christmas eve, just the two of us, I go all out, cook his favourite meal, decorate, and we get to open one small present from each other. If your not up for cooking, get a special takeaway or go out to a nice restaurant, make an evening just for you.

5. Shop for and write your Christmas cards.

I hand-make Christmas cards for family and close friends but for people living further away I will buy some. I make sure I get them early and write them right away so they are ready to post come December the 1st, this means I get the best choice of cards in the shops and it leaves me time for other things come December. 

6.Visit a Christmas market.

I Love a good Christmas market and there are loads, all over the country to take your pick from. H and I are heading to Bath this year and I am really excited as I haven't been there for ages. It's a nice reason to visit a town you haven't been to before. Check out christmasmarkets.com for one in your area, or an area you want to visit, why not make a weekend of it?

7. Go Ice skating.

I Love Ice skating, especially at this time of year, it is great fun, even if you are not very good at it. There are loads of indoor and outdoor temporary rinks put up all over the UK, but especially in London. Head over to Time out's site to check out where and when you can get your skates on.

8. Make an advent calendar 

Get your craft on! There are so many great ideas for making your own advent calender floating around sites like Pinterest, get some inspiration and get making.  Surrounding yourself with all things sparkly is a great way to get into the spirit.  If you don't want to make one for yourself or you don't have kids, make one for a friends children like the girls at A Beautiful Mess did.

9. Visit some spectacular Christmas lights.

When I was young my Dad used to drive us up to London to see the Christmas lights, one year we went all the way to Blackpool for the weekend to see the illuminations. I am going to stay in London late this year on my decoration shopping trip just to take a look at the Christmas lights and shop window decorations on Oxford Street. This is one thing sure to get the festive feelings flowing! 

10. Bake some Christmas treats.

there is nothing like the smell of Christmas baking, if you are not great at it, cheat like I do. Most supermarkets now sell ready-made gingerbread dough, just roll out, cut into shapes and bake!

I hope these tips have given you some good ideas to get your festive motivation going.

I would love to hear how you get in the Christmas spirit, let me know in the comments below.

Sammy xxx

Love it. Hot Chocolate

There is something so special about the first time I reach past the tea bags in favour of something a little sweeter for my evening hot beverage. The effort I go to with a hot chocolate is an autumn tradition, I like mine with hot milk (almond milk) so it takes more preparation than just boiling the kettle, I kind of like the extra time it takes, making it feel special. As winter has kicked in and lasts until about April I thought I would branch out and try some new flavours that will keep me going until the spring.

 I am a big fan of salty/sweet flavours, so when I spotted this Marks and Spencer's Salted Caramel sauce it was straight in my shopping basket. Aside from dolloping it all over my ice cream in the summer I thought it would make a great addition to a basic hot chocolate - I normally use Cadbury's drinking chocolate. It tasted amazing, especially with my favourite giant pretzels. 

 My other go-to choice is Options sachets, they have some great flavour choices, my favourite is the Caribbean coconut, but for a change I tried the chocolate mint (H's fav) and jazzed it up with a peppermint candy cane, whipped cream and some sugar snowflakes (I had to eat this with a spoon). So perfect for Christmas!

The best things about Options are that they are low in calories (excluding the whipped cream of course), They come in handy sachets so if you aren't keen on a flavour you haven't wasted a whole jar and they are often on 5 for £1 in supermarkets, so you can experiment to your hearts content. I am looking forward to trying jazzy ginger next. 

Another new addition to the cupboard was another M&S find Hasslacher's Hot Drinking Chocolate which is a solid cocoa block which you melt in a pan before adding milk and water. It was pricey but you do get lots of cups per pack, way more than a jar of powdered chocolate.

I really liked the flavour of this one, it is definitely for those who like their chocolate on the rich, slightly bitter side, I sweetened mine with some brown sugar to my taste and a sprinkle of coco powder. 

One of the Options flavours I knew I could invest in a jar of was White Chocolate, my Steve loves white chocolate so I knew this one would be a hit... (this is the only cup of it I had and it's now run out and I have been ordered to buy more).  I enjoyed (my one cup) with mini marshmallows and a side order of Mr Kipling's Frosted Fancies, a match made in heaven!

This last one is technically not hot 'chocolate' per se, it is hot 'peanut butter' trust me if you like peanut butter you will adore this drink. It is a warm, creamy delight.

Peanut Hottie is my new favourite drink, I want to buy shares in this stuff, breathe in the smell every hour of the day, I would bathe in it if I could.  I enjoyed mine with a Reese's Peanut butter cup, which you'd think would be over kill... not in my book!

What is your favourite winter warming drink of choice? Let me know in the comments below.

Sammy xxx