Merry Christmas 2019

Here we at Christmas Eve and finally I’m into the swing of things.

It started off quite late with the tree going up on the 7th instead of the 1st of December due to a number of reasons: centred around being too busy, tired and under the weather.  Then there were guests twice already this month, great to see family, however, it all adds up on top of the normal routine.  But that’s all in the past and here we are now with decorations, seasonal fayre and occasional carols.

Traditions Old

We have continued the tradition of a Christmas movie each week, which I am likely to post about particularly if its the first time we’ve seen it or it an annual choice.  Past years have seen us view a hit and miss selection of comedy, touching, twee or saccharine productions that were either not me to the extent that I fell asleep to avoid or conversely kept me glued to the screen.  So far only a couple have  fallen into ‘let’s avoid forever’ category; fingers crossed the rest will keep my eyes open at the very least.

December’s newsletter presumed that my Christmas reading would be an organic process. Yet I haven’t seen many Christmassy books that I want to add to December’s TBR pile.  Today I finished the audiobook of A Christmas Carol, this classic tale is always worth revisiting. It was rejected by  Eldest and Youngest who lasted 30 minutes (the first session)  and then slinked off never to return when it was played again.  Audible’s full production was a light listen I tried to counter with Scrooged, again that was a fail on my part.  Admittedly I haven’t seen it at least ten years but didn’t expect it to have dated as poorly as it has.  I was shocked at how much I questioned/ was disappointed in what was said and portrayed instead of laughing along as in previous years.

So to wrap up, can’t wait to wind down as work has been busy right up until Christmas Eve and looking forward to putting my feet up after a nice meal and chilling out for the duration. This is likely to be my last post for 2019 but who knows what the last few days of this year will bring.

Traditions New

Twitter informed me today of an unknown (to me) Icelandic tradition:  Jólabókaflóð, in short  Christmas Eve is spent drinking hot chocolate and reading books received that day from loved ones.  It’s a tradition I can get behind and so I am looking purposefully around the house for books; failing that, Christmas Day books will be received early. My dread of shopping on Christmas Eve will not be overcome even by the prospect of book shopping.

 I see hazelnut hot chocolate and stollen in my near future…

Naturally, I will still be reading as I have two eagerly awaited library reservations, one is due tomorrow (Girl, Woman, Other) and the 30th (The Testaments).  Other than that, probably not as much as I was expecting or planning to. Incidentally, I have ramped up boxsets so …even less time to read. 

All I can confidently remember of 2019 is that it has whizzed by, thus am thankful for photos as those will help me recall those memorable moments (I shouldn’t forget) and to blog post for what I was rambling on about.

Merry Christmas All and best wishes for 2020.