Category: christmas

Blogmas 2023 Day Seven: My Christmas Reads 📚🎄

Hi guys 👋🏻

It’s time to do one of my favourite blog posts, all about books! Specifically my Christmas books for this festive period.

I have picked out five books that I am hoping to read over Christmas and the new year!

Let’s take a look…

‘That Festive Feeling’ By Heidi Swain

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I look forward to every Christmas and a big part of that is the traditional Heidi Swain Christmas novel that she releases every October/November time.

Her Christmas books are my favourite.

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‘Holly has the place to herself this Christmas. House sitting for friends who live on Nightingale Square. Newly single and unsure about next steps for her career, she plans to hunker down and make some life decisions.’

‘The Adventure of the Christmas pudding’ by Agatha Christie

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This is our Christmas Book Club Book Pick. We wanted something a bit different, a well known, classic author but with a Christmas theme. Agatha Christie is, of course, a classic author, and I’ve never read one of her books, so it will be good to do so.

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‘An English country house at Christmas time, with its cracking log fires and fine food, may seem an incongruous setting for a crime- but a sinister note left in his pillow warns Hercule Poirot to be on his guard.’

‘The Christmas Sisters’ by Sarah Morgan

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Sarah Morgan is another author whose books I enjoy and she always releases a new Christmas book around this time of year.

I have been meaning to read this one for a few years but due to having a lot of Christmas books I haven’t got round to it yet.

‘All that Suzanne McBride wants for Christmas is her three daughters happy and at home. But when sisters Posy, Hannah and Beth feturn to their family home in the Scottish Highlands, Old tensions and buried secrets start bubbling to the surface.‘

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‘One perfect Christmas and other stories’ by Paige Toon

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I have a couple of these books where it is made up of lots of short stories, with a Christmas theme.

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These books are also great if you don’t have much time over the festive period, each little story isn’t loads of pages so it’s great for a quick festive hit.

‘The Christmas Book Club’ by Sarah Morgan

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This is Sarah Morgans latest Christmas book and it sounds like my idea of heaven with the Book Club theme.

This sounds great and super cosy.

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‘A long lasting friendship. Every year, Erica, Claudia, and Anna reunite for their book club holiday. They’re bonded by years of friendship and a deep love of books, but there is still so much they keep from each other.’

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What’s on your 2023 reading list for the festive period?

Any Christmas book recommendations welcome!

Until Next Time,

Roseanne 🙂

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Blogmas 2023 Day Six: Decorating our home 🏡

Hi guys 👋🏻

The decorating was in a few stages this year (mainly because I didn’t bring everything back from storage)

This was stage one of the decorating, which was mainly decorating the living room with lots of lights and positioning the trees (ready to decorate later!)

Here are the general decorations…

It’s starting to feel very festive 😃

What decorations are your favourites?

Mine are fairy lights.

Until Next Time,

Roseanne 🙂

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Blogmas 2023 Day Four: Advent Calendars 📅

Hi guys 👋🏻

Welcome to Day Four of Blogmas!

And today I am going to show you which Advent Calendars I have this year. I’ve got a nice variety with a last minute addition.

Let’s take a look!

Up first, my chocolate advent calendar…

I got out my Harry Potter pocket advent calendar, this one you fill yourself.

I got me and my husband chocolate coins for each day.

It has 24 pockets, so I’ve put extra in for the 25th as I like yo have one for Christmas morning too.

Next up, I have my beautiful Pop up Harry Potter advent calendar. I bought this either last year or two years ago (I can’t remember)

It is so cool – and it’s great that you can refuse it!

I love the little decorations you get each day, to hang on the tree!

My final advent calendar is a F.R.I.E.N.D.S themed one. This was an unexpected one, but I couldn’t resist it. A bonus was that it was in a sale at my local bookshop, so it was a bargain.

This one comes with cool little F.R.I.E.N.D.S themed goodies such as decorations, bookmarks, puzzles (& I’m not sure what else yet!)

It’s fun to have a few different ones to open each morning!

What sort of advent calendar do you have?

Until Next Time,

Roseanne 🙂

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Blogmas 2023 Day Two: Elf 20th anniversay showing

Hi guys! 👋🏻

Welcome to Day Two of Blogmas!

Today I went to see a showing of the Christmas film, Elf.

It’s back in cinemas for the 20th anniversary of its release!

I love Elf, it’s my favourite Christmas film.

It was great to watch it on the big screen, and it was on Imax, so it really was big (& very loud 🤣)

A very festive and fun way to start the day!

What’s your favourite Christmase film?

Untim Next Time,

Roseanne 🙂

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Blogmas 2023 is here!

Hi guys 👋🏻

It’s that time of year again, yep – you guessed it… Blogmas time 🎄

It’s time to get festive and enjoy this wonderful spirit filled season.

And what better way than with 25 festive blog posts, throughout December!?!

What is Blogmas?

For each of the 25 days of advent, from December the First, leading up to Christmas Day, you post a festive themed blog post! This can be anything that you like, as long as the theme is Christmas!

What should I expect?

I do a variety of festive blog posts ranging from foodie recipes, my ‘favourites’, Christmas parties/events that I go to, Christmas traditions, decorations, and much more!

It’s a lot of festive fun and a great way to indulge in the festive season, picking up some ideas, tips, and tricks along the way.

So here we are! Day One of Blogmas.

Let’s do this!

& most importantly – enjoy.

24 days until Christmas!

Until Next Time,

Roseanne 🙂

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A book review: The Christmas Murder Game 📚

Hi guys 👋🏼

So, we have had book club meeting number one of 2023.

(A little later than planned as the madness of Christmas/January meant we all, for the most part needed more time to finish up)

This book was chosen as our December/January read – hence the Christmas theme. Although this was far from my usual cheery, festive fiction jaunt.

The Christmas Murder Game is by Alexandra Benedict.

Here is a brief overview of the plot:


Twelve clues.
Twelve keys.
Twelve days of Christmas.
But who will survive until Twelfth Night?

Lily Armitage never intended to return to Endgame House – the grand family home where her mother died twenty-one Christmases ago. Until she receives a letter from her aunt, asking her to return to take part in an annual tradition: the Christmas Game. The challenge? Solve twelve clues, to find twelve keys. The prize? The deeds to the manor house.

Some opinions on the book:

  • A different, interesting twist to a Christmas book.
  • Easy to read.
  • An interesting plot which made for a really good story.
  • Short chapters.
  • Something different to what I have read before.
  • It would make a really good film.
  • Some points are a little unbelievable.
  • The bonus riddles are so hard to find!!

Out of 5 stats I would give this a ☆☆1/2.

Simply, for a Thriller it wasn’t that thrilling. It was an easy read for sure and it was a good story… we were all in agreement that actually it would make a really good film, but I wasn’t personally gripped by it even though it is very easy to read.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it?

Until Next Time,

Roseanne 🙂

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My Top 5 reads of 2022! 📚

Hi guys! 👋🏼

I thought I would share with you some of my favourite books of 2022. I have read these over the course of last year! These have all been brilliant.

1. Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister

2. The Girls Who Disappeared by Claire Douglas

3. The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller

4. A Christmas Celebration by Heidi Swain

5. The Therapist by B.A Paris

Domestic Fiction and Thrillers are probably my top two favourite genres of books.

Have you read any of these?

Which books have been your favourite of 2022?

Until Next Time,

Roseanne 🙂

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What books did I get for Christmas?

Hi guys 👋🏼

I hope you all had a lovely, book filled, reading relaxation filled Christmas.

I thought I would do a blog post on my new books, that I received for Christmas. There’s quite a variety of genres so I have some cool new additions to my bookcase.

Let’s take a look!

The Perfect Lie by Jo Spain.

‘He jumped to his death in front of witnesses. Now his wife is charged with murder.

Five years ago, Erin Kennedy moved to New York following a family tragedy. She now lives happily with her detective husband in the scenic seaside town of Newport, Long Island. When Erin answers the door to Danny’s police colleagues one morning, it’s the start of an ordinary day. But behind her, Danny walks to the window of their fourth-floor apartment and jumps to his death.

Eighteen months later, Erin is in court, charged with her husband’s murder. Over that year and a half, Erin has learned things about Danny she could never have imagined. She thought he was perfect. She thought their life was perfect.

But it was all built on the perfect lie.‘

Christmas at the Little Waffle Shack by Helen Rolfe

‘Heritage Cove is in full swing for the festive season and as the temperature dips, who will be lucky in love this Christmas?

It’s December in Heritage Cove and along with the village Christmas tree, frosty mornings and the promise of the most wonderful time of the year, the new waffle shack is about to open. And its owner isn’t a stranger to the Cove, because after all this time, Daniel is back to make amends with his brother Harvey – as well as a few other locals he might have offended along the way.

Fairly new to the village, local blacksmith Lucy has kept up the pretence of being with her ex for the sake of his gran but she’s fed up with all the lies. Determined to come clean and live the life she wants to live, she’s devastated to find that her attraction to Daniel is tainted by the fact he’s hiding a few things of his own. And his secrets are ones she isn’t sure she’ll ever be able to get past.

Heritage Cove is full of friendship and community; it’s a welcoming place people visit and never want to leave. But will it work its magic for Daniel and Lucy?‘

Beyond the Wand by Tom Felton.

This is Tom Feltons Autobiography. He played Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter series. I am really looking forward to reading this.

Fantastic Beasts and where to find them by JK Rowling.

This is the Original Screenplay of ‘Fantastic Beasts and where to find them’. This is the script of the film. A great addition to my collection.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling.

‘As the Order of the Phoenix keeps watch over Harry Potter, troubled times have come to Hogwarts in a year filled with secrets, subterfuge and suspicion. The deliciously dark fifth instalment of Jim Kay’s inspired reimagining of J.K. Rowling’s classic series is an epic artistic achievement, featuring over 160 illustrations in an astonishing range of visual styles.‘

A lovely haul.

I also got a voucher that I can use to buy more books! 😁

What books did you get this year, for Christmas?

Until Next Time,

Roseanne 🙂

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Harry Potter Christmas Presents 🎁⚡️

Hi guys 👋🏼

Being the self professed Harry Potter fan that I am, I thought I would share with you guys the Harry Potter inspired gifts that I got for Christmas.

So, lets take a look!

BOOKS!

I got three books this year. I got the illustrated version of the fifth Harry Potter book ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’. I have the others so this is a great (and a very beautiful) addition to the collection.

I also got a copy of ‘Fantastic Beasts and where to find them’ the original screenplay and the Autobiography of Tom Felton who played Draco Malfoy in the series, its called ‘Beyond the wand.’ I’m really looking forward to reading it.

I got a Harry Potter Lego set – this one is from the Chamber of Secrets film. This scene is when they are brewing the polyjuice potion and Hermione turns into a cat. This has some cool features like the changing characters and the limited edition 20th Anniversary gold Harry Potter minifigure.

I also got this ‘DIY Knight Bus Doorstop Kit’ I have no idea how I am going to make this haha but I will give it a go. I have a friend who is really good at knitting things so I may have to ask her for help.

I got this cute soup bowl from my Mum and Dad. It’s a lovely dark, midnight blue colour and is in the shape of a cauldron!

One of my friends got me this Harry Potter puzzle. The design is really nice and it incorporates all of the films, which is really cool.

I also got this really cool sock & mug set 😃

The final thing I got was this cosy Harry Potter throw. I can’t wait to snuggle up with this.

Great gifts, I’m very lucky!

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas.

Until Next Time,

Roseanne 🙂

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Blogmas Day Twenty Five: IT’S CHRISTMASSSSS 🎁

Hi guys 👋🏼

So it’s finally here – Christmas Day!!

I hope you have a lovely day whatever you do.

I saw this idea online, so here is my ‘ideal Christmas day’

My ideal Christmas Day ❤️

6.00am – Open Stocking

8am Onwards – Get ready, prepare the breakfast pastrys

9am – Open Presents together at our home

10am onwards – Go and visit my Mum and Dad

11.30 onwards – Christmas Lunch at my father in laws

1pm – Christmas Dinner

2pm Onwards – Presents and relaxing

3pm – Kings Speech

4/5pm onwards – Games/Snacks/Cheeseboard

6pm – Seeing more of my Family in the evening, more present opening.

7pm – Buffet Tea

8pm – More Games and Christmas TV.

I hope you enjoyed your Christmas Day.

That’s it for Blogmas 2022! Thanks for all the support, likes and shares of my posts.

And to those who find it difficult at this time of year – I am thinking of you too and hoping that 2024 brings you health and happiness.

Until Next Time,

Roseanne 🙂

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