Can you believe we are in December already? Who would have thought the year would plan out the way it has done. It has been a hard year for a lot of people and although it hasn't been as tough for us as some, we have had to change a lot of our plans this year, mainly with travelling, but we are just happy that we are safe and here, travel can be rearranged.
Over the last year we has seen so many changes to how we live our lives, and I have definitely noticed a lot more people stepping onto the fitness ladder. For me it has meant that I could really slow down and look at my food intake, exercise and just how we were living and we made a few changes to benefit all of us.
Now we are into December, so what do we have planned this month?
Basically our month will be full of Christmas themed Home Ed learning, Baking, watching Christmas movies, eating delicious treats and doing lots and lots of crafts. I don't think we will be heading to Nativity this year as our local church has recently stated they are unsure about it taking place. Maybe it will be online? Fingers Crossed.
Adam has his first parents evening for college, although it will be over the phone we are still looking forward to speaking to his lecturers and finding out how chatty he has been in class. His arm has almost fully healed now and he can do pretty much everything he could do before he broke it, although he has yet to get back on his bike (thankfully). We had some great news that Adam's application for Police Cadets is progressing well and will be having an interview soon.
Elliot has been really getting into his reading lately and has come on so well. When he was in school he really struggled with his reading and it wasn't his strongest point at all, but he has been reading to me instead of the other way round which is lovely to hear. Elliot is super excited for Christmas, the magic is still well and truly alive for him and we intend to make this December extra special with lots of fun filled activities planned (at home of course). Elliot also learned how to play two Christmas songs on piano recently and is looking forward to showing his Nana, when she is allowed to come over. (we will just be doing a video call)
Toby really doesn't like the cold weather very much, as he has problems with his joints and gets a bit stiff and sore during winter. He has been doing his daily exercises to help loosen him up but he has been in a bit of pain lately, which I hate to see. Strangely his tourettes seems to settle down during the winter months and is barely there, no idea why this happens. Toby has been getting into writing stories and has shown a keen interest in me when I am writing my stories and he has been doing fab on the piano. I can't wait to show everyone a video of how far he has come on the piano.
Lockdown rules have changed again, they don't really affect us right now although it is a shame the restaurants are not allowed to open for there busiest times. I can only hope the tourism and hospitality sectors can recover quickly from this. We will be allowed to spend a few days with loved ones over Christmas, however I have to say I think this is just a ridiculous idea and will more than likely cause more harm than good, making the country suffer come January. We won't be going to see family over Christmas this year, because I would rather see them for many years to come. Instead we are going to video call nana and open our gifts from her.
Education this month will see us doing quite a bit around Christmas, we are planning on looking at Christmas around the world, The nativity and a few other things too.
Check out our Home ed post to see what we will be doing. HERE
Self Care - A few weeks ago Craig sat me down and explained that I was getting way too stressed about things that didn't even matter and was causing me to feel unwell. So I took matters into my own hands and I have been having a full weekend of no social media, no blog, no technology at all (except for the tv) and spent my last few weekends playing board games, building Lego, baking, reading, writing more of my children's book (in fact it is in the end phase now) and I even got back into my love for photography which I had fallen out of love with because I was just so busy with online stuff. So the weekends are for me and spending time with the boys and honestly I look forward to it all week. It has been a blessing in disguise. Check out my self care guide for over the festive period HERE
Dogs - This month I am going to whip up some of the dog salve for their paws as the gritters have been out and it can cause burns on the dogs feet if you don't wash them after every walk, plus with the cold weather, the pads can become sore and irritated so this salve is amazing for the recovery on the pooches feet. It also protects them whilst out on a walk and then you just wipe their feet when you get back. Even if you don't use my formula (which you can find HERE) make sure you wash your dog's paws after every walk, grit is everywhere at this time of the year and if the dog licks their feet after a walk they can become poorly.
Baking - December sees us baking quite a lot of delicious treats. This month I have in my food diary to bake gingerbread, Mince pies, a snowman melt cake, a gingerbread cake with delicious salted caramel frosting and so much more. The boys are loving getting involved with lots of baking and cooking. We have been having lots of fun in the kitchen and will continue to do so throughout December. Mince pie recipe HERE We will also be making use of our Hit Chocolate station.
Cards - We are planning on making some Christmas cards to send to a few of the care homes in our local area, I think it is important to show the local community that people do care and they are not alone.
Day trips - Well this one is a difficult one because of the lockdown tier situations, usually in December we would be going to pantos, visiting the North Yorkshire Moors Railway for the Santa train, visiting Christmas markets, going to various Christmassy events. However this year it is most definitely going to be different. We are just planning on having lots of busy days full of crafts, activities, movies and just enjoying the magic of December. For day trips I think we are just going to be sticking with local areas such as parks, woodlands and our daily beach walks with the dogs. We are going to be trying out the Sunderland winter trail and maybe pop through to Newcastle and have a walk around the quayside, but I haven't planned any specific days out because no one knows what we will be able to do. I did just hear Beamish are reopening on the 7th Dec and will have the place decorated for Christmas, so if I can get us booked in I think we will head there for a day. I am so glad we didn't book to have our Christmas dinner out this year. Instead we intend to cook our own.
Christmas Food - As I said above we are staying home and cooking our own Christmas dinner this year, even with the rules bending to allow families to get together I just don't think this is appropriate and it is kinda selfish to put people at risk just so you can open some gifts. It is more important to me that those people we love are around for much longer. Our Christmas lunch is going to be a traditional feast of Turkey, Gammon cooked in cola, and all the veggies. We will be having Yorkshire puddings too, because it is not a Christmas lunch without them. For dessert we are not 100% sure yet, we are still bickering about this.
Things to look forward to this month.
*24th December we are hoping that households across the UK will stand on the doorstep at 6pm and ring a bell for Christmas cheer you can join my specific event page on Facebook for this where I share wonderful ideas on the run up to Christmas. Join the group HERE
*Beamish Museum is reopening on the 8th and will have the place decorated for Christmas if you fancy taking a look, you need to pre-book even if you have an annual pass. More Info HERE
*Beamish Hall Forest of lights (If covid allows) More info HERE
*Various online pantos are taking place.
*Chris Cross is reading his brand new storybook online on Christmas Eve if you fancy a read along. More info HERE
TV announced so far for December 2020
Sky
Cats
Dolittle (we have seen this and it is fab)
Sonic the Hedgehog (We have seen this and it was ok.)
Trolls World Tour (Christmas day)
Emma
Little Women
Harry potter collection will be available from the 19th
The Moomins & winter wonderland
Netflix
The Claus Family
Angelas Christmas wish
Kung Fu Panda 2
Alien Worlds
Just another Christmas
Mighty Express - A mighty Christmas
Shaun the sheep farmer's Llamas
Captain Underpants mega blissmas season 1
BBC 1
Dr Who Christmas Special
The vicar of Dibley Christmas Special (starts on the 7th)
Zog and the flying doctors
Worzel Gummidge
Roalds Beatrix the tale of the curios mouse
For other Festive related Posts Click HERE