It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like (A Personalised) Christmas

Anyone that knows me knows that I love Christmas. I mean, I don’t even just love Christmas, I'm slightly obsessed by it. I’m chomping at the bit to put our Christmas Tree up but am patiently waiting until Dec 1st, although we have started to listen to Christmas Carols in the car already. The traditions, the nostalgia, the mental family get together's, the giving, the receiving, the pantos, the magic, the beliefs, the hope and the dreams. There is no other time of year that fills my heart with such warmth despite it being so cold. Last year I had just given birth to my baby girl, and my boy was just beginning to appreciate the wonders of Christmas, but my mind was a haze of hormones and sleep deprivation, so despite trying to give him the Christmas I so wanted to - it was a challenge with a newborn thrown into the mix. So this year I have even more anticipation, excitement, and exhilaration for all aspects of the celebrating that my little boy will experience, and I get to enjoy too alongside him.

When I was a little girl that sheer excitement at seeing my personalised stocking full of presents was always a magical moment. My brothers and sisters all had their own too and it would seem my Mum was ahead of her times personalising our stockings. Fast forward a few decades and bespoke presents, stockings, ornaments, clothes and more have become a staple part of our lives. With both babies we were spoilt with personalised blankets, toy boxes, bath-robes and towels - there is something about personalised items that holds a dear place in my heart - perhaps stemming back to our red stockings with white felt letters spelling our names out. And what better time of year to go personalising crazy than Christmas. 

Being so much more organised than last year I have purchased a few personalised items to add to the Christmas traditions that we will begin now with our little family. As my little boy enters the age of memories (I think most of my earliest memories are from roughly around 4) this is the year I want to start certain family traditions - watching a wonderful Christmas movie together on Christmas Eve before leaving the cookies, milk and carrots for Santa and his reindeer  - Santa Clause The Movie always will win best Christmas movie for me for truly bringing the North Pole to life in a believable beautiful way. If I think of Father Christmas it is this movie's depiction always!

This is one of the reasons why I have invested in our very own personalised Santa Plate from Santa Plates UK. Last year we left a glass of milk, a cookie and an apple for the reindeer (we forgot to buy a carrot!) But this year I can’t wait to show the kids their own personalised plate with places for all items to leave for Santa and his reindeer. Whilst buying your plate, you can also purchase an 'elf on the shelf' for a bit of fun and laughter. Although I’m sure I may regret this in a few weeks when I'm trying to think of genius places for the elf to make his home for the night, to be found by eager little kiddies in the morning. 

Another staple Christmas memory in my bank of childhood memories was decorating the tree with my Mummy. I loved being reunited with all the different decorations we had each year and hanging all my favourite trinkets. Even now when I decorate the family tree at my Dad’s that same dreamy emotion sweeps over me as I come face to face with the same decorations from my youth. These ornaments survived all our family Christmases and have been with us through all the ups and downs. I am starting to build our own family collection of decorations now, and this year am especially excited to add to the box personalised baubles from NameSakeGifts for both my kiddies and my Mummy, who is an angel in the sky. I hope to always have that magical moment with my kids as we hang the baubles and they ask me about their Grandma who they never had the chance to meet, and I can tell them all about the most special woman in my life and what Christmas meant to her. My son has always referred to my Mummy as Angel Grandma and I love keeping her spirit alive by talking about her to him from such a young age so he is familiar with her and keeps her in his heart despite never meeting. I never had the chance to meet my Mum’s Mum either and yet I always loved talking to my Mum about her and hearing all the stories about their time together. I always felt like I knew her and knew how special she had been to my Mummy. My Mum epitomised the magic of Christmas to me - she made it enchanting for us all and I want to pass her spirit of Christmas on to my little ones always.

Whilst on the subject of personalised items, Selfridges seem to know just how much we all love a bit of personalisation. The past few years they have allocated a whole floor to fabulous, fun, and delicious personalised goods - everyone went cuckoo for the personalised Nutella jars last year - I spent about half an hour queuing for one. I'm wondering what other iconic brand will be on offer this year. Toblerone? Haribo? Smirnoff? I’d be happy with any of those making their way into my stocking with my name splashed all over them!

Finally, who doesn’t love the escalating excitement of the countdown to Christmas and opening that advent calendar door. I always remember as a child as soon as I hit the number 20 Christmas was well and truly close. I could feel it in the air, I could taste the Christmas dinner, I could begin to get giddy with happiness that Santa Claus was coming. Nothing beats a traditional chocolate advent calendar for me, but I have also invested in a light box from Home Full Of Dreams (which is so fab for all types of occasions FYI!) and I intend on counting down the days until Christmas with this as well.  A visual aid to help lead up to what is indeed the most wonderful time of the year. Having children brings so much happiness into my life, but having children for which I can bring my excitement for Christmas into their lives might possibly make me the happiest Christmas loving loon there is.

And don’t forget if you are stuck for stocking fillers for your little ones, our KeepEmQuiet packs make the most amazing presents, filled to the brim with toys, activities, books, educational bits, crafts and healthy snacks, sure to keep your little ones quiet on the big day whilst you are required to assemble some contraption or other that has instructions that may as well be foreign. 

Finally, don’t forget to stock up on every battery possible. Nothing worse than the disappointing face of a little child that has to wait for her new toy to work because we’ve forgotten to buy the batteries!

Have yourselves a very Merry (personalised) Christmas.

Lots of love, 

Carly xxx