All that glitters by Ali....

I can't believe the holidays are only a week away....and this week when the first drops of snow fell from the Dublin sky it really felt like Christmas.
Last weekend I spent my Sunday decorating our Christmas Tree the only way you possibly could: Dressed in my Pj's, Cinnamon candles lit, Elf the movie on our television and some much needed chocolate (well it's a tiring job decorating,so I needed an in case of emergency sugar boost)!
Tonight while Boyfriend is out playing his beloved footie i will try to wrap some more of his presents and add to the little bundle already collected under our tree. (Any excuse to use my fab Christian Lacroix gift tags)
It may come as some surprise to you considering I haven't stopped rambling on about all things festive but for some time I fell out of love with this holiday. You see being the youngest and as my sisters own families grew I realised that Christmas wasn't quite the same. Gone were the days when after dinner we would all slip into our pj's and sit watching Christmas Specials and films together, while trying to avoid the coffee and strawberry creams in the box of Cadbury Roses.
Although there were many arguments during our games of Who Wants to be a Millionaire (in the case of one particular Christmas, the memory of my father and grandad's faces as they battled over a game of mini-table snooker I had received as a gift) still makes me laugh!
It was when my sisters had their own children, that Christmas and more importantly Santa came back into our lives...what had become somewhat of a chore for the family was fun again. Now I am so excited...to spend an entire day with my family in my parents home, watching the happiness in my nieces and nephew's faces as they tell me how Santa visited their house and drank from the glass of milk they proudly left for him. My sister and I have both agreed that board games will make a happy return to my parents house...and I am even looking forward to the disagreements that are bound to arise when we play them.
What is exciting too is that myself and Boyfriend have created some traditions ourselves...starting Christmas Eve when we meet my family down our local for a lovely pub lunch and have our official toast of the holiday season followed later when we meet up with friends for our...I'd like to say second toast but that would be lying:) Now Boyfriend is a whole other story, he has never lost his love of Christmas if anything I think it grows every year. For the past four years I have been woken at 8 am by a grown man but acting more like a child with pleads of opening our presents..under the tree with the obligatory glass of bubbly we exchange our presents. I then whip up a fabulously festive breakfast...this year I am still not sure what to put on the menu...perhaps some bagels, cream cheese, chives and smoked salmon with a lovely flute full of bubbles.
I am an advocate for starting as you mean to go on so following our breakfast and when we have changed into our best clothes we spend the rest of our day with our families. I take up my station at my Mum's kitchen bar mixing up some of our legendary WOO WOO cocktails - vodka, cranberry, schnapps, tropical juice and a slice of lime (my other sisters are more helpful in the kitchen preparing starters with Mum)
Then the important activity of eating ...the Turkey dinner...mince pies, pudding with freshly whipped cream and custard...oh my goodness MEMO to self: wear some stretchy pants this year:)

Joined once again by my boyfriend we sit with both our families; laughing, joking and toasting to another memorable Christmas.

These are some of my favourite things...

Finally decorating...