A Sprinkle of Christmas Joy*

Christmas has always been my favourite time of year, I can't quite explain why but it just feels different y'ano? I almost certainly got it from my dad, growing up he was as giddy as any kid around Christmas, we'd have Christmas songs playing in the background and we'd have an unbelievable amount of food around, Quality Streets and Roses are still some of my favourites!

I wanted to write about the little things that make Christmas special to me and those weird little things that make my heart warm with Christmas cheer!

I know this probably is a weird one to start with but having those dark mornings just remind me of waking up on Christmas morning with that excited feeling and trying not to run down stairs immediately to open presents. Those dark morning where you have no idea what time it is when you wake up and climbing into those snuggly PJ's before heading downstairs to make a cup of tea whilst secretly eyeing up the present pile. It also reminds me of standing at the bottom of the stairs and calling up to my brother telling him to come down because Santa had come! The reality of dark mornings is pretty bleak in the adult working world but when you're off work around Christmas, I quite like them!

I guess this is quite cliche, but fairy lights always remind me of Christmas, but not the typical having them around the home and looking pretty. It reminds me of sitting under the Christmas tree with my brother playing Pokemon on our Game Boy's and seeing the different coloured light reflect off the screen! All whilst munching on some snacks that, at my dad's, lived under the Christmas tree...

Which leads me onto food! Food is probably one of the best things about Christmas, stuffing your face and relaxing is probably my favourite pastime, but there will always be certain foods that remind me of home. One of those strange things is honey and dry roasted peanuts, I've never had them outside of Christmas time! We liked to do things a little different in our house at Christmas, we always had a duck instead of a turkey for Christmas dinner, so it's certainly something that reminds me of home. Then of course there is the copious amounts of chocolate, Terry's Chocolate Orange, mint MatchMakers and After Eights are always just for the Christmas season!

I always feel incredibly lucky around Christmas time. I have a husband, a house, a family that care about me, warmth, comfort and the luxury of gifts. Some people arn't so lucky, there are others that don't even have the guarantee of health care. Oxfam Charity Gifts are gifts you can buy that really make a difference to the happiness and welfare of other people's lives, the care that a little one and it's mother needs during desperate times. For me, Christmas time really does make me think about things more, I even wrote a blog post last year urging people to think about sparing something, anything, if they can to really make a positive impact on someone's life and I think that the gifts that Oxfam have put together are perfect.

If you do anything to help charity at Christmas time, please tell me about it in the comments below! Or if you'd just like to tell me about your favourite childhood festive memories, please let me know, I love reading your comments.

Christmas word count total: 20
*This post was in collaboration with Oxfam. All thoughts, opinions and lame joke, are, as always, my own.