Floor, tape and Marvel movies: My Christmas wrapping routine!

Every year without fail I tell myself the same thing: This year I’ll be ahead of the game, by the beginning of December all the presents will be wrapped, stacked neatly under the tree and I’ll even have time to sip a hot chocolate and watch Christmas movies! hahaha.

Here we are middle of December and somehow not much is wrapped, in fact nothing is! The rolls of paper are still rolled, the ribbons untouched and the scissors are already missing! I even got my eldest to buy some new one's yesterday and those are lost too. The pile of gifts is more of a mountain and as much as I say I hate doing the wrapping, I am sort of looking forward to it. There’s something about wrapping presents that is part of the magic of Christmas.

I’ve tried over the years to have a proper place to wrap presents like at the dining room table or even sitting on the sofa but I always end up on the floor. It’s just easier. I spread everything out, claim a corner of the living room as my own and just deal with the fact that I will have a numb bum and legs for the next couple of hours.

The floor is where it happens, there's a mix of scattered paper scraps, sticky tape stuck to everything it shouldn’t be and a pile of all the price tags if I remember to pull them off. There’s something nice about sitting there, it’s part of the wrapping routine even with the the mess, losing the end of the tape and the way the paper always seems to roll back on itself . Hmmf.

I begin every wrapping, scissors in my hand, ready to slice through paper like a pro but 10 minutes later the scissors are gone! I know I had them, I can see myself holding them but somehow they disappear! Then comes the tape. It sticks to everything except the gift it’s supposed to stick to. I spend half my wrapping time untangling the tape from itself, trying not to scream and the other half of my time trying to find the end of it! I even have one of those tape holders which should make my life easier but it doesn't!

After years of mix ups and lost gift tags I finally found a system that works for me: one wrapping paper design for my eldest and a completely different one for my youngest. There's no guessing and no panicked moments on Christmas morning. The paper itself is the tag!

No wrapping session is complete without some background entertainment. For the last 5 years or so I have watched Avengers: Infinity War while I wrap one of my girls presents and my dad's birthday and Christmas presents. My reason being that it is a decent length film and gives me plenty of time and then when I have my 2nd day of wrapping my other girls presents and everyone else's I watch Avengers: End Game! In total the movies are about 5 and a half hours long so that's plenty of time to wrap everything! The films make the process feel less like work and more like a tradition. I don’t wrap faster, but I wrap happier!

The presents are never wrapped perfectly and it takes time to tidy up but it's all part of the wrapping routine. Even if I tell myself next year everything will be wrapped by the beginning of December I know deep down it won’t happen but that’s OK.

When do you wrap the Christmas presents and where?

Share our Lives: How I stay Connected to my girls now they're older!

It's that time of the month again, time to join in with the Share Our Lives bloggers and the prompt is: Staying connected with kids/spouse/significant other! I chose to go with how I stay connected to my girls now that they're older.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a mam of two adult daughters it’s that staying connected is about the small everyday things, they really count! The quiet conversations, the shared TV shows and the texts about silly things. Connection doesn’t stop when they stop needing you to tie their shoes or walk them to school, it just changes.

So how do I stay connected to them through all these changes? I’m sharing what works for me and my girls!

Make time, even when life is busy!

Life never seems to slow down. Between work, house stuff and trying to remember what day it is there's always something else that needs doing but I’ve learned that if I don’t make time it won’t magically appear. I always make a point of having a chat with my girls when they get in from work or college or make them come into the kitchen for a chat while I am cooking tea. When they are in for the day, off college or work I always make a point making time to do something with them, I mostly always change my plans so I can spend some quality time with my favourite people.

Respect their independence!

This one’s a bit harder. When they were little they needed me for everything but as they've grown up they need me in different ways, more as a supporter than a director. I’ve learned not to barge into their world but to wait to be invited. Sometimes they want to spend time in their rooms and not downstairs with me and it's OK. I give them room to breathe and let them know I'm there without hovering. It shows I trust them which helps keep the lines of communication open.

Be silly together!

One of the best ways I connect with my girls is through laughter. I’ve been known to send ridiculous memes, attempt TikTok dances (badly) and belt out cheesy pop songs in the kitchen. It breaks the tension, lifts the mood and reminds them that mam is still fun even if she’s wearing slippers and complaining about her back. It could be a TV show, inside joke or complete nonsense, that silliness can build strong bonds.

Listen without fixing unless they ask you to!

This one took me a while to get right. I’m a fixer by nature and want to solve all of their problems. When they come to me upset my brain immediately goes: right here’s what we’re going to do but often they don’t want fixing they want me to listen. A safe place to vent, cry or just talk things out. It takes a lot of practice to listen without jumping in. They know that I am there for them and if they need me they only have to ask.

Share your life too!

Connection is a two way street. I’ve found that when I open up about my own day, my feelings and even my mess ups it encourages them to do the same. I don’t mean oversharing every little stress but letting them see that I’m human too. If I’ve had a bad day I’ll say it. If I’ve learned something the hard way, I’ll share it. It makes our relationship more real not just parent and child but women supporting each other.

Send little check ins!

Texts might seem basic but they’re magic! A quick what are you up to, a funny meme or a how did that thing go today? It shows you’re paying attention. It's not being nosy, it's just letting them know that I care. I send texts, voice notes, snapchat or even cute little handwritten notes.

Keep your traditions alive or make new ones!

Some of our strongest connections come from the traditions we’ve built. Friday night pizza, Saturday evening in front of the TV, crisp sandwiches for lunch on a lazy day or watching a cheesy Christmas film in July. Even as they grow these little rituals them smile and something to look forward to. As the girls have got older the old traditions didn't work anymore so we created new ones that fit our lives now. The point isn’t what you do, it’s that you do it together.

Don’t expect perfection from you or them!

Some days are hard, I'm not going to lie and say we live the perfect life. They can be moody and so can I, we can be tired or they can be busy doing their own thing. There are times I say the wrong thing or miss a cue that one of them is struggling. I’ve learned to say, I got that wrong and sorry.

Staying connected to my daughters as they get older isn’t always easy but it’s one of the greatest privileges of my life. We’re not always in perfect harmony but we’re in it together which matters more than anything.

I am linking up with:

Adrienne from Mom Life with Adrienne.

Dara from Not In Jersey.

Jen from Show me & Sweet tea.

Joanne from Slices of Life.

Sarah from Toronto Sam.

Our weekly meal plan! 8th - 14th December! #MealPlanningMonday

Happy Monday! I hope you are all having a good start to the week. Last weeks meal plan went well, I swapped a couple of meals around, of course I did. I think it's a given my meal plan rarely goes 100% to plan. We ended up getting pasties from Greggs on Monday instead of using the one's out of the freezer on Thursday and had fish and chips on Friday from the chip shop. I did get my freezer defrosted and it didn't take as long as I thought so that's a good thing.

I feel like this week is going to be a busy one. We are doing the big food shop for all the freezer stuff and I am going to get all the presents wrapped. Wish me luck, I hate wrapping but hopefully by the end of this week a big chunk of my Christmas to-do list will be done! I'm also going to drop some presents off to family and I must give the kids a nagging to make sure they have bought everything that they need to. Every year there’s always one who suddenly remembers they forgot something three days before Christmas and guess who ends up sorting it! So the nagging shall begin to make my future life easier.

On the menu this week we have:

Monday - A surprise!

Today is going to be a total surprise as I will pick something up while I am out. It could be anything but I do know that's it going to be something that needs minimal preparing and cooking.

Tuesday - Gousto meal - Pork, Apple & Sage Potato Topped Pie!

Pork and apple in a hearty potato topped pie. Infused with aromatic sage and served with green vegetables and of course gravy! This one is new to us but we love anything with sage at this time of year and I’ve never met a potato topped anything I didn’t like.

Wednesday - Gousto - Thai-Style Yellow Chicken Curry With Rice!

Juicy chicken in a fragrant blend of ginger, garlic, turmeric and curry powder with a creamy coconut stock. Finished with a squeeze of lime and served over fluffy rice.

Thursday - Gousto meal - Bacon & Garlic Mushrooms With Creamy Mash!

Sauteed mushrooms with crispy bacon, butter and plenty of garlic. Served on a bed of creamy mashed potato with tenderstem broccoli. This is comfort food at its finest!

Friday - Pizza!

A fail safe Friday plan. Everyone will be happy including me because there’s basically no washing up.

Saturday - Picky bits!

The best kind of Saturday tea. I’m stocking up on all the little party bits: Oriental platters, Indian platters with prawn toast, onion bhajis, samosas, spring rolls, all the beige food groups. I’ll probably add some cheese and crackers too because it is December and December is eat whatever makes you smile season!

Sunday - Mince and tatties!

Savoury minced beef (ground beef) cooked in a rich gravy with onions and carrots, served alongside creamy mashed potatoes

What are you eating this week?

A photo every day for a year! 30th Nov - 6th Dec! Week 49 of #Project365

How's December treating you? I hope it has been a good start to the month and you are not getting too bogged down in the Christmas chaos. Things have been good here, well apart from Becky having a cold. She stayed in her room mostly, is over the worst and none of us have caught it so far. I've been doing little bits, getting ready for Christmas and feel on top of things at the moment.

We've had another quiet weekend so far. We haven't been up to much, just enjoying the quiet time we have before things get busy next week.

Now for a photo every day!

334/365 - 30th November

I spent Sunday afternoon catching up with the wrestling. There was a live event on Saturday night and as much as I love it I cannot be staying up until the early hours only to wake up looking like I've been the one fighting in the ring so I watched it the next day with no fear of falling asleep mid-slam.

335/365 - 1st December

On Monday Stu and I did a bit more Christmas shopping. We stopped off for some lunch because shopping on an empty stomach is not the way to do things. We treated ourselves to hot chocolates, I went for the Irish Cream flavour which was lovely and extremely festive. If December had a taste that would probably be it!

336/365 - 2nd December

My youngest was sporting the holey look! She's not being scruffy, the clothes were bought like this with the holes in. I’m far too old to understand half the fashion trends these days but she looked great and far cooler than I ever did at her age.

337/365 - 3rd December

Creamy chicken thigh, leek & carrot pie! My family do love this recipe from Gousto and I do too as it's one of those recipes that looks like I've put loads of effort in but it’s secretly really easy.

338/365 - 4th December

Some of the Christmas wrapping paper, I have no excuses now not to wrap all of the presents. The paper is there, the tags, tape, scissors and ribbon, the only thing missing is my motivation. I'm sure I've mentioned it many times but I hate wrapping presents.

339/365 - 5th December

I watched the World Cup Draw. What a circus, there was a lot of talking, singing and a good 20 minutes of bragging about what a wonderful man "the orange one" is and how he’s changed the world. He even got a medal and a certificate. It reminded me of kids in Primary school when awards were made up to boost their confidence. hahaha Then came The Village People singing the Orange one's favourite song. Madness! Anyway, England is the same group as Croatia, Ghana and Panama which seems OK.

340/365 - 6th December

A standard photo for a Saturday when I don't have much to do. It was another gloomy day but as I am typing this the sun is trying to come out despite it also looking like it might rain.

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