365 Days Of Gratitude. In November I was grateful for...

November was a wonderful month, it had my blogs birthday, my birthday which was brilliant and a family trip to the York Christmas Markets. I had a lot to be grateful for! Even with the cold weather we've had I have been so grateful that I have been able to keep warm.

I did notice mid-month that I had messed the numbers up somewhere in the year. I was a day behind. Oops. lol I think I've fixed it but I guess we'll find out at the end of the year. I will either have an extra day or be a day short. lol

I have seen many people on social media list something every day that they are grateful for and thought I would join in. I did this for the whole of the last couple of years and it has really made me realise that even on the bad day's I have something to be grateful for.

Day 303 of #365DaysOfGratitude

Today I am grateful for a lovely night away with family, staying in a hotel.

Day 304 of #365DaysOfGratitude

Today I am grateful to be back home! Hotels are nice but home comforts are better!

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Today I am grateful for a nice tea with Stu. Steak, chips, peas, mushrooms, tomato and onion rings!

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Today I am grateful that the girls made it home safe after their night out in town and were quiet when they came in.

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Today I am grateful that things are getting back to normal after having everyone off work and college last week!

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Today I am grateful for a piece of cake that I hid from my family.

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Today I am grateful that the fireworks have stopped! I hate fireworks and it seemed like tonight there was a lot more than previous years.

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Today I was grateful that it was so warm today. I had washing out on the line and the back door open. What a treat!

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Today I am grateful for Stranger Things! It's such a great show. I am rewatching it with Becky.

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Today I am grateful for a walk out with Ellie. We got a sandwich and a hot chocolate.

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Today I am grateful for an afternoon on my laptop playing The Sims!

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Today I am grateful for Argos starting their Black Friday deals early. Ellie is getting a new mobile phone for Christmas and I'd planned to get her one but the newer model of it was the same price so she'll have a really fancy phone come Christmas day!

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Today I am grateful for Christmas music! I have given in and started listening!

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Today I am grateful that Ellie remembered her appointment with the hearing loss lady at college, I forgot to remind her about it this morning.

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Today I am grateful that the people Ellie had a meeting with were lovely! They were extra smiley and nice which really puts you at ease.

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Today I am grateful that I didn't have to go out in the rain! It has been awful out there, all day!

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Today I am grateful that I was woken up early by a delivery because I had all my jobs done by 10am and I have spent the rest of the day catching up on TV shows and doing my own thing!

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Today I am grateful that Stu came Christmas shopping with me to help carry the bags.

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Today I am grateful that my family have kept me right, I've been convinced it was Wednesday all day!

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Today I am grateful for friends who have sent me early birthday presents! I feel very loved!

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Today I am grateful for a lovely evening out in Hull! Went to the light switch on, out for tea and now catching up on I'm a Celeb.

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Today I am grateful for all the birthday wishes! I've had a fab day and I am ready for bed after being to York today!

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Today I am grateful for a day doing hardly anything! I needed a rest day after a couple of busy days!

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Today I am grateful for help putting all the Christmas decorations up!

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Today I am grateful that Stu has done all of the cooking today. It's nice to have a day off.

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Today I am grateful for a meal out! My first Christmas dinner of the year. I have another one planned for in a few weeks before the real one on Christmas Day!

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Today I am grateful that the boiler man came and did the yearly gas safety check, all was good!

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Today I am grateful I got to watch all the new episodes of Stranger Things in peace!

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Today I am grateful I got to spend some time with my dad. It seems ages since we last sat down and had a catch up. We've both been busy over the last few weeks.

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Today I am grateful I got the freezer defrosted! Now I'm ready to fill it with all the Christmas food!

Day 334 of #365DaysOfGratitude 

Today I am grateful for a lazy Sunday! Been in pj's all day, don't worry I did change them after being in the shower.

What were you grateful for in November?

My Christmas decorations - 2025

I said in my post "Things I am not doing in December" that I wasn't going to over do the Christmas decorations this year. Over the last few years our decorations have got more and more, streamers on the ceiling, every wall filled with some sort of hanging decoration and every surface covered, it looked like Christmas had exploded in our house This year I said no, we were keeping it simple and only decorating the living room and I have stuck to it and I must say it looks pretty darn good!

I did get a few new bits but not loads and they all came from Temu. Temu is dangerous, you go on there just for a look and suddenly your basket has 27 items in it and somehow it's all still under £20. I have found them to be really good for decorations, they are so cheap, cheerful and surprisingly well made! I expected things to fall apart in my hands but everything I bought feels like it’s going to last a good few years and if it doesn’t it was so cheap that it's not a great loss. They have now been mixed in the our old faithful's, decorations that we've had for years which I will never part with.

This year I fancied something different for the tree, something very sweet shop at Christmas so I went with a candy cane and red bauble theme and the whole thing cost me about £15. 

I already had the red tinsel tucked away but considering I once paid £15 for one set of Harry Potter baubles, I’m calling this a win! It all matches without being too grown up and screams Christmas! The tree doesn’t have lights and before anyone gasps, listen to me. Lights look lovely but I cannot deal with them flashing and blinking, they give me migraines and the way they flicker in the corner of my eye gives me a headache so this year it’s no lights. Just tinsel, baubles, sweets and candy cane.

This snowman has been with us forever. I got him when Becky was a baby so he’s about 21 years old now. He’s lived in three houses with us, survived the moves, Christmas clear outs and curious toddlers. I can’t even remember where he originally came from. I think my dad gave him to us but who knows. He just sort of appeared one year and has stuck around like part of the family. I can’t imagine decorating without him.

At the top of this post you’ll have seen the new Merry Christmas sign it was one of my Temu finds. It’s made of felt so it will last years without fraying or turning weird like cheap plastic sometimes does. I’m quite proud of that one and then I got two wooden Christmas tree ornaments. Again about £2 each. When I ordered them I fully expected them to arrive the size of a postage stamp because some things always look bigger online but they turned up a really good size! They’re simple but lovely and exactly what I wanted.

The shelves are a bit of a mish-mash of things, some old and some new. I don’t do that fancy thing where everything matches. My shelves look like Christmas walked past, sneezed and left a sprinkle of memories behind.

The gingerbread man is a good few years old, we did have two but one went missing. I think Ellie took it when she was younger as she loved them so much. I do love a Christmas gonk, they’re like the unofficial mascots of Christmas now. Every year they multiply and before you know it you have a whole gonk family watching you. The glass looking ornament in the middle is one of the last things that my great Aunty Jean gave me, the last time I saw her. She was one of my favourite people ever so it is something that I treasure. I always think of her when I put it up and it brings a nice sort of happiness. The pretty, wooden things at the front are new and I think they are so cute! The other shelf is even more mish-mashed but I love these little things, the gonks and of course the snow globe, that is Becky's. She is The Grinch mad!

This felt Christmas tree has been part of our family since the girls were little. One morning, many Christmases ago the Elf on the Shelf magically made it appear. The girls were tiny and the look on their little faces could have lit the whole house up. We still laugh about it now. The decorations on it attach with Velcro, so every time someone walks past, they end up rearranging them, even now! The “Santa OMG I Know Him” sign is another Temu buy and it’s one of my favourites this year. I did have to explain it to my dad though because he’s never seen Elf. Eesh!

There is the garland right along the fireplace, a couple of Jack Skellington ornaments which I don't know how we ended up with two. I think Becky bought one thinking Ellie would love it without realising that I had already bought one and then there are more gonks, I told you I love gonks. hehehe

So that's the grand tour of my little festive living room this year. It might not be as over the top as past Decembers but it feels cosy and us which is all I ever really want at Christmas anyway.

Have you got any new Christmas decorations this year?

Things I’m not doing in December!

This is the month of twinkly lights, festive chaos and a never ending queue of to-do's. I’ve made a bold decision. I’m saying no to things which will bring me stress, to things I don't really enjoy doing or will cost too much money.

Here are the things that I am not doing this month:

I’m not braving the shops on the weekends!

I love the thrill of a good Christmas bargain but the thought of elbowing my way through crowded aisles while someone’s toddler throws a tantrum over a glittery unicorn, no thank you! December is crazy in town and this year I’m staying at home! I don't see the point of getting stressed when online shopping is available. I still shop locally and support small businesses and will shop during the week but not on a weekend!

I’m not overcommitting to festive events!

December can feel like a never ending string of social gatherings and events to go to but I am not going to go to everything. I did a lot of my festive things last month so I am going to say thank you for asking but no. I’m only going to the things I actually want to go to, the ones that bring that warm, happy glow rather than that why did I agree to this dread!

I’m not wrapping gifts at midnight because I forgot!

Last minute gift wrapping is not happening this year! If the gifts aren’t wrapped by the time they are needed I am not worrying, they can go in a gift bag or just as they are! I have actually been saving gift bags up to reuse. hehehe

I’m not buying fancy food we all pretend to like!

You know those Christmas nibbles that only ever get eaten on Christmas Day because we feel weirdly guilty throwing them out. The weird cheese nobody remembers buying, the posh crisps that taste like disappointment and the tin of biscuits where everyone just wants the chocolate ones. If it’s not going to be eaten, it’s not going in the trolley!

I’m not sending Christmas cards out of obligation.

I love a handwritten note but I send out Christmas cards just because I think I have to. There is the cards to buy and all of the stamps, have you seen the price of stamps! Eesh! My Christmas cheer will be shown digitally this year with funny messages, memes and maybe even a GIF or two!

I’m not baking lots!

Well not more than a couple of times this month. Pinterest makes it look easy: gingerbread, cookies, cranberry bread, chocolate dipped pretzels, cakes that looks like reindeers! Nope, it's not happening! I will be picking a couple of tried and tested recipes and that's all you're getting from me.

I’m not overdoing Christmas decorations!

This year I’ve made a very sensible, very grown up decision! I am not turning my house into a Santa’s Grotto this year! I love Christmas I really do but somewhere along the way decorating for Christmas has got too much! I’m decorating just enough to feel festive but without going over the top!

I’m not stressing about the perfect Christmas!

Instagram will try to tell me that I need Pinterest worthy decorations, a perfectly styled tree, a feast that could win awards and matching outfits for everyone in the family. This year I’m letting go. My tree will not be perfect, dinner might include a shop bought shortcut or three and the only thing we will have matching is our Christmas Eve pj's. Perfection is overrated!

I’m not comparing my December to anyone else’s!

Scrolling through social media is dangerous at this time of year. Someone’s house is sparkling like a winter wonderland and someone else has homemade mince pies arranged like art. This year I’m doing my own thing. My December doesn’t need to look like anyone else’s to be wonderful!

I’m not overthinking New Year’s resolutions!

Then comes the New Year’s resolutions. I’ll think about goals when I feel like it, in my own time and not because a calendar says I must.

What are you not doing in December?

Our weekly meal plan! 1st - 7th December! #MealPlanningMonday

Happy Monday and first of December! I could do with the next couple of weeks to go very slowly as I still have so much to do for Christmas! I am sure it will all get done, I'm not worrying yet.

Last weeks meal plan was a bit hit and miss. Some of the meals were made and eaten, some were not! I ended up not getting the food shopping delivery until Saturday so that put pay to the meat free sloppy joes and the home made fish fingers as I wasn't going out just to buy the ingredients. I did have a lovely meal out during the week! I think my favourite meal ever is turkey with all of the trimmings. I know that’s a bit predictable for this time of year but I can’t help myself. Give me turkey, stuffing, gravy, potatoes and even Brussels sprouts and I'm a happy person!

This week we are back on the Gousto meals as the freezer is just about empty apart from frozen chips, pasties and a whole heap of vegetables. I must get it defrosted this week as my dad is taking me shopping for all the frozen stuff for Christmas next week! Eek! 

On the menu this week we have:

Monday - Gousto meal - Oven Baked Sausage & Cauliflower Mac 'N' Cheese!

This one’s a brand new recipe for us. My lot love anything involving sausages and mac ’n’ cheese so I’m confident they’ll wolf it down. I had a peek at the ingredients and it looks very cheesy, a bit too cheesy for my liking. I’ll probably make myself something else.

Tuesday - Gousto meal - Warming Red Pepper Soup With Cheesy Garlic Ciabatta.

Soup season is here and I’m embracing it. There’s something so cosy about a big bowl of soup on a cold evening.

Wednesday - Gousto - Creamy Chicken Thigh, Leek & Carrot Pie!

This sounds lovely but I think it needs mashed potato on the side. A pie by itself always feels like it’s missing something.

Thursday - Sausage and bean pasties with chips.

These are freezer pasties, nothing fancy but I’ll balance it out with homemade chips so it feels like I at least tried.

Friday - Pizza!

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

Saturday - Gousto meal - Hoisin Pork Burger With Black Sesame Chips!

We've had this before and it is so good plus it's a proper Saturday night tea. Burgers in buns with chips!

Sunday - Sausage, mashed potato and baked beans.

Nice and easy and my family love this meal. I might even make some Yorkshire Puddings to go with it!

What are you eating this week?