Saturday

Sponsored Video // My Memorable Christmas Moments

Once the Christmas advertising campaigns hit the screens, you know the festive season is upon us. This year, Littlewoods have released a beautiful advert with a piano arrangement of OneRepublic's Counting Stars and the hashtag #MakeTheirChristmas, which you can use on Twitter to share your own Christmas stories.
Child dressed as nurse
This hashtag has got me thinking about how people have made my Christmasses in the past, and my memorable Christmas moments. I've chosen a few of my most special Christmas memories to share with you here.
1993 While shopping with my grandparents, I saw a child-sized writing desk with a lift-up top and built-in bench. Sitting at the desk, I pretended I was writing and absolutely fell in love. A few weeks later, we returned to the shop but this time my grandad took a tape measure and started jotting down various measurements. Being 5 years old, this didn't strike me as odd at all. Then, on Christmas Day, after opening all of my presents, my grandma reported that we'd forgotten a gift. Into the living room walked my grandad, pulling a sleigh behind him on top of which was an exact replica of the desk I wanted so badly. He'd spent weeks painstakingly building a perfect copy for my Christmas present and I treasured it for years. In fact, it was still at my mum's house 15 years later!

1999 Every Christmas Eve, my mum's side of the family would get together at the local parish church for the Christingle service. For some reason, in 1999, my childhood best friend Katie came with us. If you think there's nothing more embarrassing for an 11 year old than your grandfather loudly singing Shine, Jesus, Shine in church, let me tell you. There is.. and that is your grandfather loudly singing Shine, Jesus, Shine in church while adding jazzy clapping beats in the pauses. Especially when he is the only one doing so. I was absolutely mortified. Funnily enough, 16 years on, everyone in church adds the claps but I never forgot that moment when my grandad started the trend. Every year after that, my whole family would start giggling when the chorus was coming up. 

2005 Teenage angst is the perfect way to describe my late teens. Between 16 and 18 years old, I was the most emo of emo kids you ever did meet. I'd recently started going to the local rock club and made a new group of friends which included my best friend from school, Marie. Christmas Eve 2005 happened to fall on a Saturday so the rock club was hosting a special Nightmare Before Christmas party. Marie and I went along with our new friends, including a guy I'd been talking to a lot over the past week. That night, we got talking and decided to become an official couple. He was my first serious boyfriend and went on to become my first love. Although we were only together 9 months in the end, we stayed close friends for a very long time and I still remember that Christmas Eve with very fond memories.

Also 2005 The next day, my family went to my stepdad's parents', as was our annual tradition, but, being an angsty teenager, I also wanted to spend the day with my friends and brand new boyfriend. Marie's mum, Grace, invited me to spend the afternoon with them. She even bought me a Christmas present. Those years were very dark for me, but I could never thank Grace enough for how wonderfully supportive she was, especially that Christmas.

2007 I can't remember why exactly but I decided to spend 2007 with my dad's parents. As young children, we'd always spend Christmas Day with them- the grandparents of desk-sleigh glory- and, since they'd recently moved back to my hometown from Kent, I thought it would be nice to spend Christmas with them both. My grandad made a delicious meal with a 3-bird roast and profiterole dessert. It was a lovely day and it was all the more special to me when my grandad died 5 months later. I am grateful beyond words that I was able to spend his last Christmas Day with him. 

2011 Rich and I had already had 3 Christmasses together by 2011 but this is the one I remember most fondly. Circumstances had forced us to move out of our flat and back in with our respective families the year before and, what with my final year of uni and Rich leaving work, 2010 and 2011 had been very difficult years. By December 2011, everything had changed. Rich had a great new job that he loved, I'd been given my first teaching position and, at the beginning of the month, we moved into the lovely house where we still live today. It was a wonderfully happy Christmas! It was also this Christmas that I started my blog and look where that is now!

2015 This year is going to be memorable because, for the first time ever, I'm going away at Christmastime. Not for Christmas, admittedly, but for a Centerparcs break in the run up to it. The four of us- me, Rich, Laura and Matt- have a jam-packed festive schedule that includes feeding reindeer, attending carol services and visiting the Jingle Bell Rock n Roller Disco. I cannot wait and I hope we can make their Christmas in the way so many people have made mine in the past. 

A huge thank you to all of those people who have given me such wonderful memories: to my Grandma and Grandad Duckbath for the desk, 3-bird roast and countless Christmas memories and traditions; to Grandad Madoc for humiliating me in church, to Katie for not laughing at me and to my mum (we won't mention the time Christmas dinner ended up on the kitchen wall) and the rest of her family for making every service afterwards that little bit more entertaining; to Jamie for melting my hardened emo heart; to Marie and Grace for welcoming me into your home as a member of your own family; to Laura and Matt for allowing us to spoil you as if you were our own children; and finally to Rich for making every Christmas, past and present. special. You have all, truly, made my Christmas.




This post was sponsored by Littlewoods but all opinions, anecdotes and embarrassing church moments are my own. 

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4 comments :

  1. Aww this post made me all fuzzy!! I absolutely love the story about your grandan clapping! ha! bless him! xx

    OliviaCheryl.com

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  2. This is so, so lovely! It's awesome that you were able to spend your Grandad's last Christmas with him. Being with special people is definitely what Christmas is all about. I've included this in my '5 Awesomely Christmassy Posts' round up :)

    Liz x

    Distract Me Now Please

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  3. Aww this is beautiful. Lovely Christmas memories :) x

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  4. Ah these were so lovely to read! The desk story though, that melts my heart. I'm really bad with memories, and I don't remember half as much as you do from past Christmases!

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