Christmas/Winter Essentials (UK)

Having never experienced a Christmas during winter (that I remember), I have put together a little guide/list of some of my essential items that you need to make your winter Christmas as enjoyable as possible.

Note: If you hate Christmas, you will not enjoy this post (or your life)



A Warm Scarf
This year's winter has been pretty mild so far (touch wood because I don't want to freeze to death- but not really because I also want it to snow..) however the wind has been a little nasty at times. Since Autumn began it brought crisp winds with it and I personally always feel like it hits my throat. I therefore, always carry a scarf with me because I know if my neck is warm then my whole body will be. I absolutely adore scarves and am constantly being dragged away from them (due to my unnecessary ever growing collection) but my hands down favourite scarf of all time is one that my mum knitted for me. Its warm, cosy and red and when I wear it I feel like it's a distant hug from her (thanks mum).

A Christmas Jumper (or three)
Since my Christmases are usually 30-40 degrees, I've never had the pleasure of owning a Christmas jumper. So naturally, I bought one this year and I came to the conclusion that unless (like me) you have to somehow transport all your belongings to the other side of the world within the next year with only a 20kg weight limit, you should definitely have as many Christmas jumpers as your wardrobe will allow you to. There are so many cute and funny and festive jumpers out there that it was a REAL struggle to restrain myself from going Christmas jumper crazy!

A Cosy Dressing Gown
Another clothing item that I have been unfairly deprived of in Australia is a dressing gown. I've never really felt like I was missing out on them before (I mean we have robes in Australia and their kind of the same - or so I thought) UNTIL I tried on the softest, cosiest and most beautiful snuggly thing of my entire life (only a slight exaggeration) and now I don't know if I can ever turn back. I might have to take it home with me to Australia and crank up the air conditioner so it's actually cold enough to wear. Whilst in England however, it has been amazing. The weather still hasn't been very cold but on the cooler nights it has been my best friend and if your Christmas is in winter and you don't have one then you don't know what you're missing!

A Decent Stock of Alcohol
Christmas is among a few times in the year where its semi socially acceptable to get absolutely shit faced. If great aunt Barbara can drink until she drops her fake teeth in someones wine, then you can get merry as well. Ok so maybe you don't want to get "shit faced" in front of your relatives and embarrass yourself by accidentally unleashing 21 years of well hidden secrets but stocking up on booze does have it's benefits. It's not only jolly (af) and fun, but there are such an amazing variety of drinks out there that it would be a damn shame to miss out this year. My personal favourites include: Prosecco, Pimms and Mulled Wine. Surprisingly, I've never tried Egg Nogg but since it's alcoholic and festive, I'm going to recommend it to you anyway!

Tissues (Preferably the festive boxes)
Winter is the coldest time of year (I did in fact attend University) and with it, it tends to bring colds and flus. I personally have the worst immune system and almost always catch anything and everything off of everyone. If someone has the sniffles, I'll wake up the next morning with a full blown sinus infection. If someone coughs near me, I'll be rubbing Vicks on my chest before bed that night. I try to keep an endless supply of tissues near me during most months of the year anyway, but they come in handy during Winter in particular. So although colds make you feel run down and a little sad, you can always cheer yourself up by opting for festive tissue boxes so that even your cold feels Christmassy (I haven't tested Christmas as a cold cure but it could be a Christmas Miracle).

Christmas Music & Films (at the ready)
Although we Australians enjoy our festivities in 30 plus degree heat every year, we still (for some crazy reason) love the traditional Christmas songs that talk about snow and frost and fireplaces being delightful. We still sing along to Jingle Bells even if we aren't "dashing through the snow" and we still have merry and bright Christmases even if they aren't white. We (and by we I do not include myself) get sick of the repetitive carols every December (or November 1st for some unlucky retail workers) and we still watch Love Actually, Elf, Santa Clause, The Grinch and countless other Christmas classics on TV every year. My mum even forces us to watch "The Snowman" so she can sing along to the opera singing. I do love a good carol and a good festive movie (if you can't tell) and they really do get you in the spirit and make you feel Christmassy (is that a word? Apparently.).

An Endless Supply of Tinsel & Decorations
Whoever said "less is more" or that there's such a thing as too much tinsel was a damn liar. Don't be a scrooge, decorate your house. I don't care if you're going away for Christmas to some far distant, exotic Island (yes I'm talking about you mum and dad), not decorating your house for Christmas is only going to get you one thing: bad karma. You don't have to "go hard or go home" (though that's usually my motto) you can stick a few fairy lights on your front gate, you can chuck some tinsel over your photo frames and replace that ugly vase (soz mum) with a singing snow man. All jokes aside, I feel like decorating your house at Christmas is important because it gets you in the festive spirit and it makes you feel happy and there's just something about Christmas lights that feel magical. There's something about coming home to a twinkling Christmas tree and when the presents are all laid out beneath it (no matter how old you are) you can't help but feel a little twinge of excitement. Christmas candles, festive sayings and quotes, red and green and gold and white colour schemes and lots and lots of tinsel.

An Embarrassingly Huge Wrapping Paper Collection
No one wants to receive shitty looking presents at Christmas. No matter how hard I try every year though, my wrapping skills never seem to be as flawless as my mums or Santa's wrapping (both of which were strangely similar). Those perfectly placed bows and curled ribbons, neatly curled handwriting with beautiful messages on festive labels, reds and whites and golds that make the bottom of the tree look magical (yet very coordinated). Then there was my dad who every year without fail would go out on Christmas Eve, pick out some things for mum and then head over to the charity wrappers to expertly wrap them for him. Thank God for my lazy, amateur little brother who's wrapping skills made mine look like the skies had opened and dropped them from heaven. Moral of the story: whilst putting thought and sincerity into your gifts, they also have to look damnnnnnn fine to upstage any colleges, friends and/or loved ones, so make sure your gift wrapping cupboard is fully stocked with all the latest fancy wrap, bows, ribbons, stickers, stamps, glitter, labels and anything else artsy and crafty.
Please note: all godly wrapped presents, no matter how beautiful, will be shredded to pieces within seconds of Christmas day.

An Advent Calendar (no matter your age)
People use countdowns for almost everything exciting happening in the future and what is more exciting than Christmas????? More so than that, what's more exciting than not only getting to countdown a day, but getting to eat chocolate at the same time. Personally, I feel like if I don't get an advent calendar when I'm 80, I'll be pissed (unless I'm diabetic then I guess I'll have to suffer). I don't think you can reach an age where advent calendars aren't the best thing ever advented (invented- bad pun couldn't resist). They get you super excited for Christmas, allow you to keep track of how many days are left AND prepare your body for the absolute onslaught of chocolate coming on December 25th.

Christmas Candles
Having your house looking Christmassy is one thing, but having it smell like Christmas is an entirely different ballgame. Not everyone is a huge candle fan, but Yankee Candle (along with numerous other candle companies) have a huge range of Christmas candles that vary from Christmas cookies to candy canes and new fallen snow and pine trees and cinnamon and they're all amazing. Once again I feel like the hot Aussie Christmas didn't exactly warrant open flames (no matter how amazing they smelt) around the house that added even more droplets of sweat on your body, but winter Christmases definitely call for that warm, cosy and festive feeling. So do yourself a favour, go to Yankee Candle and if you don't want to buy any, then just have a good old sniff.

Christmas Themed Beauty Products
This one is probably only going to apply to the diehard Christmas fans (like myself) and I'm sure some Christmas-haters out there are going to laugh at me for this but I not only love to make my house Christmassy, I also like to look as festive as possible. I'm talking red lipstick, wreath or santa earrings, big gold and red bows in my hair, tinsel anywhere and everywhere, festive nails. One year I painted my nails red and green (alternative nails not all on one nail) and this year I have bought these amazing "Christmas Jumper" style stick on nails that I am too excited about wearing. They even do Christmas scented perfumes so you can smell like Christmas (that may be a tad too far but is there really such a thing? It's not like Christmas can file a restraining order against you).


So get in the Christmas spirit, get prepared and cosy up for winter, or wherever in the world you are, make sure you're feeling festive! Get those Christmas bikinis on, stick some tinsel over a kangaroo and have a very merry Christmas.