Well, hello you fabulous thing!

I know you know this, but has it sunk in that The Holidays (as said in the US) are upon us? Where on earth did 2019 go?! IT’S THE HOLIDAYS PEOPLE!!! This is serious! Have you ordered your cards yet?! I always think the cards people in the US are very ‘posh’, the perfect family photos and everyone looking gorgeous.

I’m from England and we do things differently, we buy generic cards and write a personal message inside, it’s cheaper and you can do it up until Christmas Day, or beyond. I used to carry blank ones in my bag incase I missed someone by mistake and needed to make a hasty gesture of goodwill.

Did you know that in the UK we basically have Christmas – on steroids?

It is crazy, in fact it is completely nuts! Seriously, you need to see it to believe it, and I love every single shiny, glittery, partying moment of it!

Everywhere you turn people are dressed up in seasonally inspired outfits on a mission for fun and going somewhere, possibly with shopping bags full of gifts and office party’s to attend. Twinkling lights shine on every street and almost every house, it is truly magical. The pavements are full of people having Christmas cheer because the pubs are so full there is standing room only. When I worked in London I think I was out pretty much every night in December, luckily I was a lot younger then!

In England, we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, we do however have Harvest Festival earlier in the year, and one doesn’t see very much about Hanukah or Eid in the shops or in the media. So, it’s Christmas, Christmas, Christmas all the way!

The (sometimes) problem is, Christmas isn’t just Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, it runs from Dec 1 to December 31, so when we wish you Merry Christmas, what we are actually saying is ‘We hope your month of December is fantastic’! The buzz in the air around December is infectious, it is hard not to get caught up in it.

Interestingly, we aren’t politically correct when it comes to all things Christmas. We wish you Merry Christmas, no matter your race or religion; you may have come straight from the mosque and if we exchanged pleasantries on the street we would wish you Happy Christmas as we parted our ways and the other person would more than likely say it back! I suppose it’s a bit like when someone has a birthday, it’s probably not your birthday on the same day but you wish them Happy Birthday regardless.

No matter how or when you celebrate, this time of year can me stressful, but don’t worry, I’ve got your back. Check out the first part of my Thrive to Survive the Holidays Guide below.

Holler if you need help, you know where to find me 🙂
Zoë x