When it comes to Christmas, I am like a kid in a sweet shop! Every December I am counting down the days and itching to put the decorations up.  Putting up the decorations this year was extra special as it was snowing outside.  We followed our usual tradition of enjoying a different kind of snowball as well!  Throughout the year I have collected some great new tree decorations including a golden Paddington bear and a glittering cinderella carriage.  We couldn’t leave Rufus out either and decorated his hutch with paper chains, as well as getting him to wear his Santa hat!

Every December I also like to do something special to get in the Christmas spirit.  Previous years have seen us going to Winter Wonderland, but we decided to give that a miss this year, in favour of a festive meal on a Pullman carriage, hauled by a steam engine on the Bluebell railway.

The Golden Arrow dining train as it is known, is a cheaper version of the Orient Express but just as special.  For the evening I wore a royal blue maxi dress from Coast along with my Zara, tile pattern coat, which was a cult buy last year, that I snapped up as a sale bargain this year.  In keeping with the time of year, I wore silver glitter sandals from New Look and finished the look with a silver scalloped clutch from Asos.

There really was a hint of magic in the air when we arrived at Sheffield Park station.  Christmas lights lit the way to the booking hall and there was a marquee, decorated with fake snow, Christmas trees and lit reindeer that led out on to the platform where our train awaited its passengers.

We were given mulled wine, which was very welcome on such a cold December evening and then boarded our carriage, Fingal.  Each carriage had the luggage racks decorated with Christmas foliage and the perfectly set tables were complete with crackers.

We ordered a bottle of Bluebell Prosecco which was delicious and then the attentive staff proceeded to serve a delicious 4 course meal to us.  I started with a smoked fish medley tartlet followed by a traditional Christmas dinner, the most ornate peach bellini cheesecake you have ever seen and finished off with cheese, coffee, mince pies and a Baileys.

During the journey we stopped for carol singers which further added to the festive mood – you could even join in if you felt so inclined!

It was a wonderful evening and certainly put me in the Christmas spirit.

The day before Christmas eve was spent with my brother and his family and in the evening my two best friends, their partners and us went for a meal.  Christmas eve we had my parents and my in-laws over for tea.  I wore my Christmas jumper from Oasis.  We opened each others presents.  Rufus is now inside and while we were busy unwrapping we suddenly heard him trying to join in and unwrapping presents under the Christmas tree!  That evening we went for prosecco at a neighbour’s before going to midnight mass.

This year, we decided to spend Christmas day just the two of us which was lovely.  We started with a smoked salmon and scrambled egg breakfast, washed down with bucks fizz.  We opened each others presents, cooked Christmas dinner and enjoyed Christmas TV.  For the day, I wore a grey jumper from Oasis and a cord pinafore dress from Topshop.  Rufus also enjoyed his own Christmas dinner and present!

Boxing day was spent in Norfolk with my Mum’s brothers and their families which was most enjoyable.  We were truly stuffed after a fantastic lunch there and I was delighted that they set light to the Christmas pudding, as I had never seen it done before.  For this day, I wore a dress from Zara with knee-high black boots from New Look and accessorised with my Stella&Dot clutch.  We saw my husband’s family a few days later.

One of my most treasured presents this year was a Kikki K leather, monogrammed notebook that I had been lusting over for some time.  That will come in very handy for my blog notes.

All too soon, New Years Eve came around.  We went to my husband’s friends house for curry and prosecco.  I wore a glitter, navy knitted dress from Warehouse.  As midnight struck, that marked the end to my drinking alcohol, for I had put myself up for dry January.

2017 certainly had its ups and downs, with one of the main downs being nearly losing our beloved Rufus – luckily though the emergency vet saved him and we might be over £300 lighter but it was worth every penny to see him pull through.  As for the highs, I end the year in a job far more suited to me than anything previously, in internal communications.  Other highlights include visiting the Manolo Blahnik exhibition in Milan, our wedding anniversary in Scotland, visiting Kefalonia, seeing Stereophonics in Margate, a friend’s wedding and a number of friends having babies, a visit to Newcastle, my husband’s surprise 40th bash and many more.  Here’s to a great 2018!