Usually the day after Remembrance Sunday I start our Christmas preparations. These preparations normally kick off with the making of the Christmas Chutney. Not this year. I love our family traditions. I'm a big believer in developing traditions and creating memories. But I'm also cautious of doing things 'for the sake of it' and am keen to prioritise ...
Simple Christmas
Simple Gingerbread House Biscuits Recipe
Let's get this out of the way first. We didn't win the Sykes Cottages Gingerbread house competition :( This fantastic entry by The Brick Castle did instead! I don't mind of course...it was great fun! Just dreading telling the kids...but it will be a great opportunity to sprout off (I'm seeing how many random Christmassy words I can get in my posts before ...
Christmas Cards & Charitable Donations
It's been a few years since I last sent Christmas cards. That is apart from to my immediate family. Then they tend to be homemade, not shop-bought. The Wright's love their handmade greetings! (Click here for my simple salt dough recipe and make your own tree-decoration cards) ...
Time To Get Christmassy – Thorntons Chocolate Giveaway
There aren't any Christmas decorations up yet at Chez Wright. The tree won't be arriving until this weekend. We're a little later this year with the festivities. That's not to say I'm not organised. It's beginning to look a little like Christmas. I have a Christmas CD on (to get me in the mood for today's post), the gifts are wrapped and believe it or not ...
Simple Christmas Gifts – Contain It
Definition of: Contain1. have or hold (someone or something within)2. control or restrain (oneself or a feeling)SourceLet's deal with the first definition - holding something.The Wrights give Christmas boxes, each year, to close family.It's a really simple idea.Each person is allocated a box - typically a decorated recycled shoe box like this one:(I ...
Is It Too Early To Talk Christmas?
Is it too early to talk Christmas? (It is November after all) For me, it is a little too early. I have a schedule of how things run this time of year. You may remember it from last year? Christmas planning, at Chez Wright, typically begins once we have attended the village's Remembrance Day parade. This is also around the time the Christmas chutney gets ...
It Wouldn’t Be Christmas Without A Few Repeats!
Every year the TV companies get slammed for repeating the golden oldies of Christmases past. But as Chris Evans pointed out last week, it wouldn't be Christmas without repeats. It makes him feel all is well with the world. And I agree. Who can forget the famous Only Fools And Horses Batman and Robin scene? It even featured at the 2012 closing ceremony - ...
The Art Of Improvisation
I am the self-proclaimed queen of improvisation. Which, this week, has been a good thing. As I was knitting scarf number 3 last night, with a deadline of today, I discovered I had a ball of faulty yarn. My double-knit thick yarn suddenly became quite thin! With no opportunity to purchase new wool or any time to start the gift again, it was time to ...
Taking Stock & Setting A Schedule
Leading a simple life doesn't mean your to-do list is empty. In some ways I have more to do. But the aim is, for me anyway, to have prioritized what is important and only to have such things on that list. For school holidays I now set a schedule. This has worked incredibly well. There's been less time wasted. Waste isn't good in my book. Be that food, ...
Simple Christmas Traditions – Taking The Tree Down And Leaving Christmasland
It's all well and truly over, a month of living in Christmasland now it's back to reality. My favourite saying at the moment to the Kids is 'New year, new rules'. First-born is loudly complaining that the 'new rules are boring'. One of the hardest things of leaving Christmasland behind is getting back into some sort of routine. That's what's currently ...