The Magic Of Christmas

FESTIVE CHEER

Christmas is a time full of fun and merriment and with such an opportunity to lounge around eating rich food, it can be also a time of over indulgence.

So it pays to move around a bit at Christmas time so we don't feel bloated and sluggish. Get off the couch and take a short walk, even if it's just to the local park. It'll mean there's more energy to enjoy the evening's entertainments all the more and stuff our faces with more festive treats!

Christmas Gifts

CELEBRATING FAMILY TIME

Christmas always seemed to come around too quickly, at least that's what I thought since my mid-late 20s. The magic had seemingly gone. I'd find the whole gifting thing to be a massive stress and the religious part was totally lost on me. 

Fast forward to 2015. I've been really looking forward to the festive season this time around and in particular, spending some quality time with my family. 

It often takes a tragedy to inspire us to make a change, hence the death of my colleagues have driven me to take these daily steps for my own personal growth. Just as a cold slap in the face can wake us to take in the harsh realities of life, a reminder of death will motivate us to seize what we have and enjoy it will we still can. 

August last year was one of those moments when reality stared me in the face. I didn't fully understand it at the time, but as Christmas loomed, it became clear to me that time for us all, is finite. Thankfully, on this occasion, it's not been a tragedy but a stark reminder of how short our time is on this planet. 

The moment I fully realised that time is so precious, was while watching TV with my sick father. He had cancer. There was a moment in the film where someone said 'Christmas is going to be the last one'. I don't recall the film, but I distinctly remember that moment thinking 'This might be my dad's last Christmas'. This could be the last happy family celebrations we have together. It turned out to be a great few days, like an oasis of respite for fun in a sea of discomfort and pain for my poor chemotherapy-drained dad. 

So now a year has passed, the illness appears to have gone (we hope for good) and tomorrow is Christmas Day. My nan and granddad (pictured above) are sadly no longer with us, but my mum and dad, brother, sister in law and niece & nephew are. So, I will enjoy being with them as well as my lovely girlfriend, Cathy and fully appreciate the good fortunate of having such a lovely family.

May we all be more grateful for our family, no matter how quirky, odd or potentially annoying they can be and instead, by truly thankful for the precious time we still have to enjoy life with them.

Merry Christmas!

Xmas Markets

MARCHES NÖEL SORT TRÉS BON!

Christmas markets are where the spirt of the season's festivities come to life. The UK hasn't really caught up with Europe on their festive offerings. Fortunately, there's so many great markets in France, Germany and other cities/towns in Europe where Christmas is celebrated, it's worth taking a short trip away to enjoy these foreign delights and see first hand how they measure up to xmas markets in the UK.

Arguably, beside's the fantastic and fun Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, the Brits just don't seem to be able to capture the same 'spirit' of Christmas as our European cousins do - and, in my experience, they certainly can't offer such great value or quality. So at this time of year, it's a great adventure for the family to take the Eurostar, ferry or tunnel and head to one of the Northern French towns like Boulogne for some vin chaud and saussison.

While we do have access to the French food and wine in our supermarkets, it's just not the same as buying it directly from the farmers and their families who work the weekend markets in France. Eating some freshly prepared food, snacking on cured meats and sipping vin chaud/champagne, all for just a few Euros, in a beautiful medieval french town square, really makes such a great start to the holiday period.