My Christmas

I have had a great Christmas this year. I spent the Christmas morning at home with my parents, then went to my Gran's in the evening, where there was more food than we could ever eat. On boxing day, we went to my Grandma's house for yet more food, and I spent yesterday at home with my parents again.

My parents bought me an Animal hoodie and some cool T-shirts, a benefit make-up set and some other bits and pieces. I also got a fancy hair curling kit from my Gran.

My favourite presents were my limited edition Ed Sheeran records. They are made out of coloured vinyl and feature tracks that are not on his albums, as well as extended versions of some of the ones that are. The music on them is mostly acoustic, which really suits the sound of a record player, as they sound different to CDs. The more I listen to records, the more I understand why people prefer them. They are much more complicated to use though!

What did you get for Christmas?

Christmas Eve Fun

I can't believe it is Christmas Eve! It has all gone so quickly! Both the last month and the year as a whole have gone really fast.

Christmas eve is a day of last minute preparation before the big day, as well as the start of the festive fun (if you are organised enough!). This is my checklist for Christmas Eve.

Have you...
1. Remembered to buy presents for your parents, and not just your friends?
2. Had a secret squidge of your presents under the tree to see if you can guess what they are?
3. Had a peak at the Christmas drinks to see what alcohol you might get given over the next week?
4. Decided what you are wearing on Christmas day and Boxing day, then changed your mind 5 times?
5. Wrapped up the cats Christmas presents, even though he has no interest in opening them?
6. Done any last minute shopping, and laughed if your parents still have 10 people left to buy for?
7. Remembered NOT to tell younger relatives that Santa isn't real?
8. Eaten large quantities of cake, biscuits and chocolate?
9. Upset the cat by playing Christmas songs really loudly?
10. Drunk more mulled wine than you probably should?

Have a great Christmas everybody and I will tell you how my Christmas went in a couple of days time!

Crazy Relatives At Christmas

At Christmas, you see more of your family, and as mine is quite large, it is a busy time for me. Today, I went out for lunch with some people from my mum's side of the family: my Gran, Grandad and two Great Aunts and Uncles. Now, as much as I love them, my mums family can be a little crazy. My Gran and Great Aunties are especially bad. Today, we had recounts of ghost stories, creepy old houses and killer cats.

One of my Aunties says she has seen and heard quite a lot of ghosts over the years. She certainly has enough stories to creep me out! I personally think ghosts probably do exist, but I am not 100% convinced yet. I have certainly heard a lot of evidence to suggest that today, as although some of the stories were a little questionable, many were pretty convincing.

Do you believe in ghosts?

The Apprentice Winner

This week saw Alana crowned as the winner of this year's Apprentice competition. I loved the look of her cakes and thought her business was pretty good. However, when I saw the clips of her performance over the series, I was quite shocked by a few of the things she had said. On one of the first episodes, she explained that:

"All I have ever wanted is as much money and power as possible"

This, in my eyes, is not a healthy goal in life. And possibly the worst thing is she said this like it was a positive thing. By saying this on TV, she is suggesting that being power hungry and materialistic is a good thing. Also, she is displaying no interest in the other things in life, the ones that might actually make her happy - family, friends, relaxation, fun. Nope, it is just all about the cash.

And she is not the only one. The previous years winner said from a young age, all he wanted was to be a millionaire. Many of the other candidates probably have similar priorities in life.

So does this mean you have to be power hungry to be successful in business? Or is it only the power hungry ones that are mad enough to go on the show. Either way, it is scary that these people think that is a good way to live their lives.

Christmas Tree Chaos

I write this while sitting next to our heavily decorated Christmas tree. It is completely covered in a wide range of non-matching decorations some old- some new. 3 colours of tinsel, a collection of different baubles and many other random ornaments all fight for space on our 6ft of tree. And we are not even finished yet!

The thing is, I don't believe in perfectly co-ordinated trees. They belong in department stores, not family homes. Ours might be a little "busy", as my dad described it, but I would not want it any other way. Even if we do now have more strange characters than baubles! And by the time me and my mum have finished it, it will be even more chaotic.

Also, we do have the slight problem that my cat likes to play with the decorations. He often takes them off the tree and sometimes we find them under the sofa after Christmas! He is so much trouble, but very cute.

What is your Christmas tree like? Is it as chaos as ours?

Christmas Favourites

Although I have never been Christmas' biggest fan, I do enjoy it, especially when it gets nearer the time. It does take me a while to get into it sometimes though, which is where Christmas music and films come it. Here are some of my Christmas favourites, guaranteed to get you in a Christmas mood.

Best Christmas Song - A tie between Merry Christmas Everyone by Shakin Stevens and Merry Christmas Everyone by Slade

Best Adult Christmas Film - Love Actually
The scenes with the Prime Minister and his assistant are brilliant!

Best Kids Christmas Film - The Polar Express
Ever since I first watched this at school when I was 8, I can't get enough of it!

What are your favourites?

Eating Your Way Round The World

Today, me and my Dad went on a Christmas shopping extravaganza. While we were out, we had lunch at the Global Buffet. It was brilliant! It is an all you can eat restaurant, and we definitely ate our money's worth! The buffet features food from all over the world, from pizza and pasta to curries and Thai food. My personal favourite was the Chinese. It also includes a wide range of puddings and sweets.

As me and my dad love our food, we think this place is great! You can go up as many times as you want, so I usually have a plate of food from each country. It is fairly cheap at midweek lunchtime, but more expensive in the evenings and at weekends, so if you want good value pick your time carefully. I definitely recommend it to anyone who likes to eat a lot!

Have you ever tried the world buffet?

Gingerbread Disasters

Yesterday, me and my Dad had a go at making a gingerbread house. We knew it was going to be a challenge, but it was MUCH harder than we thought. We spent the morning baking the pieces and all seemed fine. When we started constructing, the pieces did bend a little, but we had all the walls  standing up. However, when we tried to add the roof pieces, disaster struck. The roof pieces sagged inwards, they started to slide off and the walls collapsed underneath the weight. One broke in two places, so our second attempt at construction failed too.

So gingerbread houses are very hard to make. However, we did cut a few normal biscuits from the leftover dough and these turned out great! I think in future perhaps we should stick to making biscuits instead of entire houses. Have you ever tried to make a gingerbread house?

Dan and Phil Go Outside!

Yes, the internet obsessives really have ventured into the real world!

As you already know, I am a lover of Dan and Phil. Their videos on the internet are brilliant, but they usually avoid leaving their flat. They prefer their laptops to people! However, this year, they did a world theatre tour, showcasing all thing Dan and Phil. For this, they had to go outside. Shock horror!

To document this one time they ventured out into the world, they have created a book, called "Dan and Phil Go Outside." It is full of photos from behind the scenes of their tour (TATINOF). These tell the story of their trip, along with captions and commentary written by Dan and Phil themselves.

It is really good, as you get a real insight into their lives during the months they were on tour. In places it is quite funny, although not as funny or interesting as their first book. Also, as the book is
mainly pictures, it is a quick easy read.

I definitely recommend it to any fan of Dan and Phil.

Christmas Lights Madness

Now we are well into December, many people have put Christmas lights up outside their houses. Personally, I have never done this, as my parents think it is a waste of electricity and won't let me. Nobody inside the house can see them anyway! Still, I like looking at other people's displays as they are nice and festive. However, some people take it a bit too far. When your house looks like this, you know you have a problem:

 

I mean seriously, anyone spending that much time and money on Christmas lights must be a little crazy. It is possible to love Christmas and still be able to see what your house looks like. Do you have Christmas lights on your house? Have you ever seen a display to top this one?

The English Teacher and The Beanstalk!

Today was my last day at school before the Christmas holidays!

To celebrate the end of term, we had a Christmas lunch, complete with music, crackers and a traditional roast dinner. While we were all in the hall together, we did the mannequin challenge! We started off by all dancing to "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday", then all froze when we got to the chorus.

In the afternoon, the teachers performed a pantomime for us. It was hilarious! It was made up of 3 stories: Jack and the Bean Stalk, Cinderella and Hansel and Gretal. The first one was the funniest. They made our glamorous, high heel loving English teacher play Jack. She had to wear dungarees and wellies, do a west country accent and act really stupid! One of the sixth formers came on as the beanstalk, dressed only in pants and leaves and danced to "I'm bringing sexy back."

As I am in Year 11, it was my last Christmas at the school. Although it was definitely a great one to remember as my last, I am still a little sad. Still, we definitely finished in style? What do your school do at Christmas?

PS: Sorry I had not posted in a while, I have been ill and very busy with Christmas prep. Now I am off school, I should be able to post more often, so watch this space!