Christmas at home

For some unknown reason, Christmas this year just didn’t feel like Christmas. I have no idea why, maybe it was the mild weather, or because last year Germany was just ridiculously OTT about Christmas. I thought it was just me being a Grinch but actually most of my family and friends said the same thing. So Christmas crept up on me and I must admit I did spend the 23rd of December frantically shopping for last minute gifts and regretting every second of it. I don’t think I’ve recovered from the experience even now, to be honest.

The Christmas period for my family is a time when we’re all back together. With my older brother being in Ipswich and my sister at uni in Liverpool, it’s rare that all three of us are back at home at the same time. My Grandad also stays with us on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so the house goes from being relatively quiet with just my parents, to a little bit chaotic. Christmas Eve is spent with friends and family at our local pub, with everyone dropping in and out at different times. This tradition has been going for as long as I can remember and I’m sure it will carry on for many years. As for Christmas Day, we alternate hosts each year. This year we were at my Auntie and Uncle’s house, where everything was kept under control by Auntie Helen. I can’t imagine how hard it must be cooking for 17 people but every year we end up with 17 content family members (and bellies). As always it was a great day full of rowdy quizzes and plenty of laughter.

Normally once Christmas Day is over I start to feel guilty about how much work/revision I have to get done and resume my position at the dining room table with my laptop. As I don’t have January exams this year, I decided to give myself a few extra days off to enjoy being at home. My boyfriend drove over to Notts for a couple of days, so yesterday we went ice skating at the Arena in Nottingham, which was hilarious and thankfully no bones were broken. For students it is only £5, including skate hire; a right bargain! The train from Leicester to Nottingham doesn’t take long at all and ice skating is something a bit different if you fancy a day making a bit of a fool of yourself slipping around. Today I went to Planet Bounce with my sister after hearing about it from a friend. This is a trampoline park in Nottingham, where you attend an hour session and basically bounce around. Although extremely tiring, it was great fun and they have different activities such as dodgeball and basketball (whilst bouncing of course). It was great exercise and now I feel less guilty about all of those mince pies.

I’m heading back to Leicester in a couple of days to see in the New Year and use the library. As this will be the last year in Leicester for a lot of my friends, we have decided to spend NYE together in our beloved Leicester. As my housemate is from Kent and often goes out in London, this year will be considerably cheaper for her and we hopefully have a good night in store at Republic. I always feel a bit strange at this time of the year but I’m excited to see what 2016 will have in store for me.

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and would like to wish you all a Happy New Year (albeit a little early).

Daisy x