My cosy evening

Last Friday I decided to indulge in a bit of self-care. I'd been struggling through a work project and felt wrung out like a wet cloth by the time Thursday rolled around.

So Friday, and the start of the weekend, felt like a good time to wind down and hopefully be in a better frame of mind when Monday rolled around.

Step 1 - Christmas lights walk

Step one featured a walk around part of my town looking at Christmas lights on people's houses.

I love Christmas lights. I love the gold ones that give a warm glow and are often strung across the roofline of a house or draped elegently on a tree in the front garden. I love the multicoloured ones that tend to flash on and off in a particular pattern. I even love the tacky ones that people put in their front garden in the shape of snowmen or reindeer, or light-up Santa.

In my town there are a few houses that are known for going all out with their displays. The first one is on the main road and raises money for the Herts and Essex Air Ambulance so I went there first. I've put some money in the donation box a few weeks ago but if I get any more loose change before they come down then I'll pop another donation in. These ones are all multicoloured and cover the entire facade of the house and garage and part of the garden too. And because it's on the main road it's a little Christmassy reminder every time I drive down to get my husband from the station, or go on a walk.

The second house is on a side road. This one has a ton of white lights in the shapes of reindeer and penguins, with a few strings of lights dotted around. They're placed in the front garden to create a kind of winter wonderland effect. Sadly a few days before it had been quite windy so some of the reindeer and penguins looked a bit drunk, or were flat out on the ground. But it's still a lovely display.

The last one is probably my favourite. This is down another residential side road and you don't need to go down unless you live there as it doesn't lead to any shops, so I think it tends to be forgotten about unless you know it's there.

This one has a large front garden with the house set back quite far from the road. Every single tree is covered in different coloured lights, and they all flash and dance in different patterns. Even the shrubs and hedge are draped in lights. It's so beautiful that I always have to stand there for a few minutes to really take it in, and then I worry that it looks like I'm staking the place out and reluctantly move on. This display raises money for the local church.

I was wrapped up in my hoodie and coat but it's still winter and despite me walking I was getting a little chilly so it was time for the next step.

Step 2 - Pyjama time!

Changing into my pyjamas at the end of the day is such a relaxing moment for me. It signals the end of the work day (especially since I'm still working from home) and the start of my evening.

I had put the heating on before going out and left my jammies on the radiator so when I got home they were lovely and toasty. I also got some soft fuzzy socks that one of my sisters gave me for my birthday, so keep my feet nice and warm too.

I ended up putting on a jumper too for that added cosiness. I was tempted to have a bubble bath but in the end I realised I'd probably only be in it for 15 minutes before I felt too warm and that would be a bit of a waste, so I held off and moved on to step 3.

Step 3 - Tea and biscuits

I did seriously consider hot chocolate but ultimately decided it wasn't quite cold enough for that. I like a nice hot chocolate on a properly frosty day, but the relatively mild temperatures we've had for the past week made it seem a bit "meh".

Instead I opted for a nice hot cup of Tetley tea in my favourite Winnie the Pooh mug (which we carefully brought back from Disneyland Paris a few years ago, I spent the entire train journey back terrified it was going to end up in pieces), and a couple of chocolate chip shortbreads.

The packet I bought was just £1, but they're really nice biscuits. Good taste, crumbly texture, and the amount of chocolate per biscuit is pretty generous.

You might have a cosy space in your house where you like to relax and unwind, or like me you might just flop down on the sofa. The main thing is really the hot drink and the biscuits. And once I was refreshed I was ready to finish the last step.

Step 4 - Decorate the Christmas tree

Yes, I had bought my Christmas tree the day before and it was standing in it's pot waiting for me to make it look suitably Christmassy. My husband isn't really a Christmas person so I didn't need to wait for him to come home from work and join in.

I don't have a huge number of baubles, something which I was slowly changing before the pandemic but obviously I haven't been anywhere to add to my collection. Currently I go with either blue and gold, or red and gold. Last year was red so I went blue this year, and we have the standard Christmas lights. 

One year I will get around to buying multicoloured fairy lights but I feel like I would then need a much bigger collection of different coloured baubles. And every year Christmas comes around and by the time I've bought presents and food I'm less keen to spend more money on decorations. I need to make myself a small "decorations" fund so I can buy bits guilt-free! Or I need to keep a better eye out in charity shops. I got my gold baubles as a set from a Cancer Research UK shop in Cambridge around 4 years ago. Since then I haven't really looked for Christmas bits in charity shops, clearly I should remedy this.

All done!

Once I had finished the tree I went back to the sofa before going out to get my husband from the train station.

I felt very relaxed and ready for the weekend by the time I was done. So much so that I think I might repeat once or twice more before all the house lights come down after New Year.