4 Gifts I Hated Receiving at Christmas, But Love Now

There are two types of people. There are the first kind, that leave their Christmas shopping to the last minute. They have no idea whatsoever to get anyone, panic buy, and spend an ungodly amount of money on things that, really, nobody asked for, or wanted. Then there are the second kind, who have their gift shopping all wrapped up and under the tree before their Thanksgiving celebrating neighbors can wipe out the Turkey. I'm most definitely the latter and love to be prepared, although you will always find me panicking a week before the big day, wondering if there's enough to open.

Luckily, or rather unluckily, my parents fall either side of the spectrum. My Mum is, and always has been a planner. She'd have Christmas sorted by June and hidden away in any number of cupboards, but my Father, he's.. less organised, and if I could rely on a parent to buy me something I didn't want to receive, it would almost always be off him. Alas, times have changed, and presents I once dreaded receiving have become new favourites of mine to rip away from it's paper instead. Take, for example..

Why I Only Re-Read Books at Christmas | TDOC

I very rarely re-read books. Whether it's been a few hours, a few days, a few weeks or a few years since I read a book, I can on most occasions recall almost everything that happens in a book, why it happens, what characters said or did, and how much I liked it, so the feeling to actually re-read almost never comes around, the only exception being at Christmas. For the last three years, I've gotten the re-reading itch around the Christmas season, and while the Christmas season is the perfect opportunity to read some seasonal reads, I always turn to the same books for some winter comfort. But why?

I only wish I had an answer to that question. It could be because of any number of things:

1. I'm busy planning Christmas, I don't have time to take chances

In the middle of summer, I'm more open to taking chances on books I'm not sure about, and even during the colder, more Autumnal months, I takes chances on scary books, something I only make a point of doing rarely, but on the run up to Christmas, I just don't have it in me. I don't have time to scour my bookshelf for what could be my next favourite read when I know there are seasonal books that I love that I could read instead. I don't have the patience for a new and exciting adventure then I have adventures I know and love, and if there's ever a better time to remind myself of why I love these books, it's Christmas.

How To Avoid Taking Seasonal Blogging Breaks | TDOC

Around this time of year, bloggers drop of the scene in turn for blogging breaks, which, in the long run, makes a lot of sense. The holiday season is a busy one with buying presents, sorting out the big days meal and making sure that Auntie Susan and Nanna Marie don't kill each other over some brussel sprouts - it can take a lot out of you, so to keep on blogging throughout it all? Well, some people just don't have it in them, but I believe you can continue to blog without actually having to be around to see it happen. There's a few little handy tricks and unknown websites that will help you plan ahead and see you through the long winter nights, and unbeknownst to your followers, your online presence will be around, even if you aren't.

1. Plan Ahead and Prepare Your Posts

Preparation is probably the most important thing you can do if you're going to try and keep your blog active around the holidays when you aren't there to watch out for it. Making sure you have the right number of posts for the amount of time you're hoping to cover is the important thing, and in most cases, I'd recommend having a few more posts than you have days you'll be posting, just in case you want to take another few days off, or something comes up that you weren't expecting. Preparing posts is a great habit to get into to, not even to make blogging easier for you, but in case you struggle with the creativity needed to have a regular post written and posted on the day. Whether or not the posts you write are seasonal, themed or just your regular posts, make sure you have them prepared and set to published on set dates and certain times, or else the next few steps won't help you one little bit.