So every year we have two Christmas trees (because why have one when you can have two!!)
I have already posted about our regular, lounge Christmas tree but, we also have a very special Christmas tree in our bedroom…
**Drum roll***
It’s a Harry Potter themed tree!
(What a suprise đ¤Ł)
Originally I used bits of memorabilia to decorate my tree with a Sorting Hat topper, but as more and more Harry Potter stuff has become available (thanks Warner Bros and Primark!!) I have built up quite an extensive collection of baubles.
Most of them are from Primark sets but a couple are from the Studio Tour in Watford, as are the ribbons.
Without further ado, lets take a look at the different stages I went through to create my awesome Harry Potter themed tree.
First up…
Lights
They have had a little upgrade this year… but what could be more magical than star shaped fairy lights in the four house colours (nothing, exactly!)
After that…
Tinsel
I go for red and gold as although all Hogwarts Houses are represented on the tree anything like tinsel or bows are very much in a Gryffindor colour scheme.
Next…
Baubles
As I said, alot of the sets come with a bauble for each house, so all are represented… but more heavily represented are mine (Gryffindor) and my husbands (Hufflepuff) favourite houses.
I bought two new sets of baubles this year (from Primark)… the top one is from a set of four and each bauble is clear with cute, thin tinsel inside to correspond with its Hogwarts House… the tinsel also has lots of tiny little stars in it. The house emblem and name is also written on the front in the same colour font.
These are my favourites so far. They are so pretty.
I also picked up another set with four baubles. Each one says something from the series, eg: ‘Platform 9 3/4, Lumos, Forbidden Forest & Golden Snitch’
Then..
Ribbons
Gryffindor themed of course!
And Finally…
The topper
I bought this in the sale last Christmas time. I think I got it just after Christmas so it was a bargain.
This is the first year I will have used it. It looks great.
Here is the final tree! – Looking super magical if I do say so myself đ
So one of me and my husbands favourite traditions is to go to our local Panto every Christmas.
It is their rock n roll Panto and every year is a different traditional story that the Panto is based around.
This year the story was based around Goldilocks and the three bears. It had a fun circus element to it.
We grabbed some festive treats and sat down to enjoy it.
It was even more special this year because it is the first time we have been to the Panto in person, since COVID. For 2020 & 2021 we watched it on a live stream.
We had a great time and it was as brilliant as always, one of the best ones in fact. It was great to see some of the familiar faces of the cast too.
As a self confessed book lover I thought I would share my Christmas tbr (to be read) list…. I thought it might offer a little inspiration if you are looking for something good to read this festive season.
Let’s have a look…
(Synopsis are from Amazon)
‘Carmen has always worked in her local department store. So, when the gorgeous old building closes its doors for good, she is more than a little lost.
When her sister, Sofia, mentions an opportunity in Edinburgh – a cute little bookshop, the spare room in her house – Carmen is reluctant, she was never very good at accepting help. But, short on options, she soon finds herself pulling into the snowy city just a month before Christmas.
What Sofia didn’t say is that the shop is on its last legs and that if Carmen can’t help turn things around before Christmas, the owner will be forced to sell. Privately, Sofia is sure it will take more than a miracle to save the store, but maybe this Christmas, Carmen might surprise them all… ‘
‘Sheâs snowed in with the family. The only problem? Theyâre not her family.
A family gathering This Christmas the Miller siblings have one goal â to avoid their familyâs well-meaning questions. Ross, Alice and Clemmie have secrets that they donât intend to share, and they are relying on each other to deflect attention.
An uninvited guest Lucy Clarke is facing a Christmas alone, and the prospect of losing her job â unless she can win a major piece of business from Ross Miller. Sheâll deliver her proposal to his family home in the Scottish Highlands and then leave. After all, she wouldnât want to intrude on the Millerâs perfect family Christmas.
A Christmas to remember When Lucy appears on the Millerâs snow-covered doorstep, she is mistaken for Rossâs girlfriend. But by the time the confusion is cleared up, a storm has hit and Lucy is stuck. As everyone settles in for a snowed-in Christmas, tensions bubble to the surface and suddenly Lucy finds herself facing a big family fallout with a family that isnât hers⌠‘
‘Elderly widow Sabine knows this will be her last Christmas in her beloved home, Mitras Castle. Determined to make it just like the ones she remembers from her childhood, she employs Dido Jones of Heavenly Houseparties to help with the big day.
Dido is enchanted by the castle as soon as she steps through the imposing front door. And as Christmas day approaches, her feeling of connection to the old house runs deeper than she first thought.
But when the snow begins to fall and Sabine’s family arrive at the house – including Dido’s teenage crush Xan – tensions rise around the castle’s future and long-buried mysteries begin to unravel…
As past secrets come to light, can this still be a magical Christmas to remember?’
‘Maggie hasn’t told this story in years. More than two decades ago, she fell in love. She was sixteen and far from home, waiting to give her baby up for adoption. Bryce showed Maggie how to take photographs and he didn’t judge her for the way her belly swelled under her jumper. They had the perfect first kiss. Theirs was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of love.
Now, as Maggie sits by the Christmas tree in her gallery telling her story, surrounded by the photographs that made her famous – the photographs Bryce never saw – her new gallery assistant asks her a question. If she had one wish, what would she wish for this Christmas?
Maggie always thought she knew the answer to that question. But before she can say ‘I’d go back to that winter with Bryce’, she stops herself. It is all she has ever wanted but suddenly here, on this dark night under the twinkling stars, there is something else she wants. She wants to find her baby.’
‘It was supposed to be Christy Sullivanâs perfect Christmas escape â a dream trip to Lapland with her family and best friend, Alix. But facing a make-or-break marriage crisis, Christy desperately needs time alone with her husband, Seb. Her solution? Alix, along with Sebâs oldest friend, Zac, can take Christyâs daughter on the planned Lapland trip, and they will all reunite there for Christmas Day. After all, what are friends for?
Thereâs nothing Alix wonât do for Christy, but Christyâs plan to save Christmas is testing their friendship. Especially as Alix and Zac have a difficult history of their own.
As long-held secrets unravel, and unexpected romance shines under the Northern Lights, can Christy and Alix find the courage to fight for the relationships they really want? And could this Christmas escape save the precious gift of each otherâs friendship? ‘
‘The first fall of snow can be fatal⌠A year has passed since DI James Walker cracked his biggest case yet, and heâs hoping for peace and quiet this festive season.
But across the fells, a local farmer returns home on Christmas Eve to find footsteps in the fresh snow that lead down to his unused basement â and no footsteps leading away. Days later, his body is found, alongside those of his wife and daughter.
Without a neighbour for miles, there are no witnesses and little evidence. And the crime scene has strange echoes of another terrible murder committed at the farmhouse, twenty years earlierâŚ
James knows that to catch this killer, he needs to solve a case that has long since gone cold⌒
‘When Paige turns up unannounced at Wynthorpe Hall, she discovers the place she knew when she was growing up has changed beyond all recognition. Sheâs only planning to stay for a short time, but is quickly pulled into local life.
One night while driving home after delivering library books and shopping to residents she stumbles across an isolated cottage and meets Albert, its elderly and rather grumpy owner. She quickly realises thereâs more to Albert than meets the eye and the same can be said for the other man she canât seem to help running into, handsome but brooding Brodie.
All three of them have a secret and a desire to hide away from the world, but with Christmas on the horizon, is that really the best way to celebrate the season?’
So yesterday me, my husband and my twin sister went to the cinema to see ‘Violent Night’.
It’s a new Christmas film featuring David Harbour (Hopper in ST) as Santa Claus.
Now don’t let the title put you off (because it almost did put me off) I am not a violence fan but it is more action film style violence than anything too uncomfortable. It’s also hilarious.
I really enjoyed the film. I was genuinely suprised at how much I enjoyed it as action is one of my least favourite Genresbut, as I said, it’s so funny with great characters, a good story and enough festive feels to get you into the spirit.
David Harbour is brilliant as Santa, he brings the perfect amounts of festivity, hilarity, menace and sweetness to the role.
I would definitely recommend going to see it as an alternative Christmas film to the conventional rom com ones.
The decorations are up! A little later than I would have liked but they are up now.
I especially love getting out our tree decorations, it’s so cool to see them again and all of the ones you’ve picked and the memories from over the years.
I thought I would share with you some of our special/significant decorations that go on our tree.
This is our souvenir decoration from our 2018 Holiday of a lifetime to Orlando, Florida. DisneyWorld was incredible.
From the same holiday, this is our Universal Studios souvenir decoration.
These decorations have been handmade by my Nephews and Niece so these are really special.
This one is a little homage to my childhood, of NEVER being able to find my name on any decoration/magnet/keyring – it was always ‘Rosie’ never ‘Roseanne’.
This pretty ‘Mr & Mrs’ decoration was given to us as a wedding gift, the year that we gor married (2016) so this is a nice momento of that significant year. Plus, the box was cute and had ‘Bestfriends for life, husband and wife’ written on it.
I bought this cute, personalised decoration at Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, London, in 2019. I got this as a suprise gift for my husband. It also reminds me of the day out. Me and my Uni friends were celebrating having met 10 years previously.
It was a strange time but also pretty standout in terms of years of our life, so I got these personalised ‘COVID’ decos because you’ve gotta make the best of a bad thing.
We are on Day Three already! Here are my favourite Christmss films to get you started for December.
It’s the weekend too so what better way to spend a cold (well here in the UK anyway) evening than watching a Christmss film.
So, here are some of my favourites…
Deck the Halls
A traditional, old school, slightly (& by slightly I mean very) tacky Christmas film, I love it.
Elf
I am elf, he is me. My spirit animal in all its festive glory – what’s not to love! It will make the child in you very happy.
The Grinch Who Stole Christmas
One of the best Christmas characters ever – the film is hilarious and Jim Carrey plays the Grinch so well. Classic.
Nativity
I just find this hilarious because I am a TA in a primary school and its just pure, British Christmas chaos. Great songs too.
The Snowman
The top classic Christmas film of all time. Is it even Christmas if you don’t watch this film!?!
Last Christmas
A much newer addition but it’s a brilliant story and I LOVE that it’s all based around my favourite Christmas song ‘Last Christmas By Wham!’. It’s a very clever story and Emilia Clarke is brilliant.
Love Actually
This is such an easy to watch Christmas film, with lots going on (I still haven’t forgiven you Alan Rickman!!) Lots of great characters too.
Blogmas Day Two is here, December is under way! So let’s talk Advent Calendars.
Mines varies from year to year and I am a bit partial to a regular chocolate calendar – that scrunchy metal sound as you pop through the foil to get to the chocolatey goodness is just nostalgic happiness.
As a younger child I did also have a Material Santa Advent Calendar with pockets that my Mum would fill and those kinds are super cute too and perfect for picking exactly what you want in it.
Last year I picked up my own Material Advent Calendar… and its not just any Calendar, no! It’s a Harry Potter one – Amazing.
Epic!
I love the little Hogwarts Letter Pouches with Hedwig at the top, it’s like he is delivering me a little festive treat everyday!
My husband very kindly bought me some Dairy Milk (the elite chocolate) Heroes (the elite tubs of chocolate) to go inside it, so it was nice to come home to see it filled with treats.
And now we have 25 days of waking up and eating chocolate firsr things- what a dream!
Roseanne Byford 