The most precious part of Christmas, for me, is love. The love I feel for my family and friends is one of life’s joys all year round, but I get particularly mushy around this time of year. It’s a side effect of the holidays, which allow time for reflection before the new year emerges from beneath a pile of prosecco bottles.
It’s safe to say I get quite emotional at Christmas. Even the smallest things can set me off – the John Lewis advert, Love Actually’s opening scene at Heathrow airport (or any scene for that matter), or even the simple and kind act of someone waving me out of busy supermarket car park packed with crazed grocery shoppers. Anyone else? I’m sure many of you are nodding your heads in agreement!
I realise I’m lucky to be excited by Christmas. I know some people aren’t as fortunate, so please forgive me if this post comes over as selfish. I haven’t forgotten about those with less to smile about at this time of year, but I am thankful that my Christmases have been filled with fun and laughter and I’m excited about my first Christmas as a family of four.
If you’re a follower of The Daydreamer, you’ll know this is our first Christmas with two babies, that last Christmas we had 11-month-old Nathan and this year, six-week-old Kittie has joined us. Three years ago I wondered if we’d ever have children to share the magic of Christmas with. I knew that if we didn’t have them we’d be happy with our life as a couple, but I also knew that – as someone who wanted a family to nurture and nourish, to grow old feeling proud of – that kids would be a dream come true, and that Christmas would become even more special because of them.
For these reasons, though I get super excited about my existing Christmas traditions (of choosing a real tree and decorating it, of Bailey’s hot chocolates, of the office party with all that cheesey music, of sipping champagne as I prepare the vegetables on Christmas Eve before settling on the sofa to watch Home Alone), it’s actually the quality time spent with friends and family that means the most to me.
This year I can see our future as a family of four, creating our own traditions. So when Asda asked me to blog about their Christmas pyjamas in the recently refurbished Dundee Milton store (they’ve spent £1.5 million on the makeover, which includes a revamped George department with an extended range) I knew it would be the beginning of a new tradition for the Millers – spending Christmas Eve together in matching festive pyjamas, eating mince pies and setting out milk for Father Christmas and carrots for Rudolph. And me trying desperately hard not to cry – again – over how wonderful life is.
This is a paid post with ASDA. Pyjamas, gifted – they make great Christmas gifts for the family.
Images: Kris Miller.
Side note: look closely and you’ll see I’m pretty much bribing Nathan in these photos with a little chocolate ball from his Lindt advent calendar. Given he’s only just started liking chocolate in the last month, I’d say that was a lucky break – right in time for these pics!
Merry Christmas my lovelies.