I did a blog post of this quite late in December last year and I’m trying to do it earlier so I give myself more time to get as many of these ticked off and to enjoy the Christmastime. I like to be organised so a rough outline of the things that matter to me are essentials for busy bustling times like Christmas. Does anyone have a really quiet Christmas? I never have haha. 

1. Decorate a gingerbread house. Last year my brother and I did this and it was standing so we were proud but it did look like Shrek’s swamp house by the time we were done decorating. So I hope with practice it will look great this year! I do cheat and buy a gingerbread house already baked in its components. 
2. Decorate our Christmas tree, Baloo his Mum and I are going to be decorating it this weekend when I’m writing this but I hope to be able to show you all how it looks. 
3. Finish off the handmade stockings for Baloo’s Family. My amazing Mum has been making these with me ‘helping’ and I want to have them done to be able to hang them by Christmas Eve. I picked the fabric out and I hope they look as good as I hoped. 
4. Drink copious amounts of hot chocolate and watch my favourite Christmas films. I also need to pretend I don’t have as many Christmas mugs as I do. Can I resist an initial with a Christmas hat on it mug? Nope, I have no will power. 
5. Take more photos. I have a fancy shmancy DSLR now so I’m hoping to up my festive shot game and take more photos of us all together. Especially as Baloo will be around the corner for Christmas even if we are apart Christmas Day. 
6. Aim to have all presents wrapped by the first week of December. I know it sounds bonkers early but it helps me to have it done so I can relax and enjoy the fun things rather than not. 
7. Remember to publish and create all the content I want to! It can be hard to balance family Christmas with blogging sometimes so I hope I get it all done in the next few weeks. Wish me luck and some extra energy!
8. Watch all my favourite Christmas Films by boxing day and add to my collection if I can. If I love some I’ll let you know which ones.
9. Be Present. It sounds overly indulgent but I want to live in each moment and try to just soak it up. My siblings and I are getting older and it gets harder to spend time together and have time to just be our family with all its additions. Moments make memories and I can’t do that if I’m worried about tomorrow.
10. Wrap ALL the presents early!! I’ve swapped to recyclable paper and I am aiming to be done very soon with it but it’s nice to put Netflix’s fire on and just wrap gifts.

I also want to constantly remind myself it is just one year. It might seem so important to push through and see everyone I want to and be there for as long as possible but my body is always running on empty. I want to be there as much as I can, I need to give myself grace when I can’t be. Balancing the festive time as a chronically ill person can be exhausting in itself. But I would recommend planning, learning people’s expectations and having these conversations sooner rather than later. Prioritise and just go for it! 

What is on your bucket list this Christmas now that it is officially December? My Christmas tree is up and nearly done, I will try to get photos of it all done for you all later on.