Ho Ho Ho, I'm feeling festive!

9^th December 2011

To promise not to do a thing is the surest way in the world to make a body want to go and do that very thing.  Mark Twain.

Countdown to Christmas tip – Get your priorities straight. Christmas comes but once a year, and so do some of the season's quintessential treats. Ask yourself which foods you won't likely see again until next year — then savour them in moderation. Remember you have your weekly ProPoints allowance to dip into for occasions just like this.  Enjoy.

Yay it’s Friday ;) and will soon be Christmas, I’m looking forward to the break now, I know I’ve just had a holiday but it wasn’t a relaxing one in a way, it was full on for 9 days so I came back shattered.  Christmas however will be all about recharging my batteries and spending time with my mom and Alfie - can’t wait.

Yesterday was busy as well as my usual rushing around fitting in five meetings I also had to decorate a Christmas tree (the first one I’ve decorated in ten years!) at the church where I do my Bloxwich meetings, every year the different groups at the church decorate a tree and this year I was invited to.  The theme was Christmas carols and songs, so I chose “When Santa got stuck up the chimney” only I changed the words (think I may have mentioned this already in a previous blog – blame my age!) so it went like this;

“When Santa got stuck up the chimney,

he began to shout
If only I’d gone to Weight Watchers
I wouldn’t be so stout!

And I also did a ‘Santa nice list’ with all my existing Bloxwich members and their weight losses to date, fantastic when I actually sat and typed them all up to see the fabulous success so far to date, makes me very proud.

I decorated the tree in gold because that’s what we’re all aiming for – gold membership and I filled the tree with positive affirmations because it’s important to love yourself for who you are, if you don’t you’ll never want to take care of yourself enough to lose weight!

So don’t forget to go look when you come to get weighed next week. Xx

I have to admit it was fun, Christmas is fun and a wonderful time of year if you don’t stress about it.  What turns it sour is the money side of it, people spend far too much money and get themselves in debt.  Such a shame because the idea of Christmas is fabulous, I was just about to type what Christmas means then I realised it’s different for everyone so I googled it and of course there is the religious aspect which we know so will overlook because lets be honest so do most people these days!

So some google feedback I found which impressed me because they were written by young folk and lets be honest that’s what

1)    Being with your family and appreciating the good health and love you have. Liam (11) NY

2)    Christmas is the time where everyone gets together and remembers the birth of Jesus Christ, the Savoir of the world. He is the Reason for the Season! John (14) Iowa

3)    "Christmas means having a nice dinner and loving everyone at the table! It isn't about the presents! It is about the love and the happiness.".....Madi (12) Texas

4)    "Christmas means time with your family and friends and to give to people that can't!!!"...Zoe (13) GA

5)    "I'm an ordinary teenager and just being real. Christmas is shopping and buying new clothes and shoes. "....Whittier (17) California

6)    "Christmas is more than getting presents it's spending time with your family and being out of school yea!!!"....Baby (14) Texas

7)    "To me Christmas means a time that everybody comes together in your family. And you get presents. And you put lights up."......Rane (10) Indiana

8)    "My favourite thing about Christmas is the food and my family. My other favorite thing is toys and a lot more.".....Jarica (10) Indiana

9)    "I love Christmas because you get presents".....Deja (9) Indiana

 Then there were the adults;

1)    It’s all about the kids, the magic of Christmas, seeing their faces light up, having them looking forward to it and the run up to Christmas.

2)    Christmas, for us, is simply about being together as a family and celebrating the fact we've made it through another year; throughout the good, the bad and the ugly.

3)    Christmas means being with my loved ones shutting the world out for two days, lighting the wood burner and walks all wrapped up and rubbish board games and awful tv lol seeing peoples faces when I give my gifts.

4)    Some of my favorite things are: Spending time with my family and closest friends.  Buying gifts for others, unique gifts for each person on my list.   Donating to The Salvation Army, whatever I can afford to spare, every time I see a red bucket. They do good work for a whole lot of people who otherwise wouldn't have such a good holiday.  Making snow angels.  Drinking hot cocoa.

There were of course many more and we all have our own meaning of Christmas, for me it means relaxing and spending time with my mom, watching her potter about on a freezing cold beach whilst I sit indoors (it’s too cold!) and insisting she puts on gloves and scarf (mmm who’s the parent!).  I believe Christmas is a magical time when people start being nice to each other and also when people become generous, but I think it’s important to only be as generous as you can afford, it shouldn’t be a time to get in debt.  I love to see the decorations everywhere because it brightens up an otherwise dreary month.  And of course then theirs Santa – I do believe!  And there’s nothing better than seeing a child that still does too.

Yep, the real feel of Christmas is truly special and makes you feel warm inside so if you’re stressing about getting it all done, STOP and remind yourself that’s not what’s important and no one will care if you forget something.

Ho, Ho, Ho, eat, drink and be merry (in moderation of course!)

Yay I feel all festive this morning now ;-)