Merry Christmas!

 

Hello chic friends, and happy Christmas eve to you!

 

Isn't this such a gorgeous venue for a Christmas party we went to last week? How stunning is the tree 😍 It was REALLY tall. I had Christmas tree envy! 🤣

A beautifully cooked beef Sirloin was on the menu, and everyone brought extras. We took a Greek salad (with fresh oregano from our herb garden), and I baked a lemon yoghurt cake (using fresh lemons from our tree).

Everything was delicious 😊

And afterwards we played The Christmas Present Game which was so fun (also called 'White Elephant' or 'Dirty Santa').

 

We came home with a pretty candle set, a bag of sweets, and a nice bottle of wine. (I am giving the sweets away haha, I don't need the temptation 😮)

It was such a nice evening!

I hope you’ve enjoyed some nice outings too. 

 

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Can you see my little Christmas elf on the sofa? Her ears camouflage her amongst the cushion points 🤣🤣

I thought for the last few days leading up to Christmas I’d share excerpts from ‘A Chic and Simple Christmas’. Just a few inspiration pieces in case you’re feeling a bit stressed and heavy.

 

Today I am here with a reminder to be extra gentle with yourself:

“With December being such a busy time of year, sometimes the best thing you can think of doing is hibernating away, enjoying cozy early nights and snuggling at home with a box set, so why not? Practicing exquisite self-care and recognizing when you are feeling a little burnt out will help you keep up your festive joie de vivre.

Personally, some years I go out more and some years less. I just go with what I feel like doing at the time and follow my desires. This practice never fails me; in fact, the times when I do go off the rails is when I ignore my inner requests for peace and quiet. Honor your own voice just as much as you would honor your loved ones."

 

 

"Moving your body will help you feel well and cope with any seasonal stress too. I’ve never been a fan of exercise but even I can admit when I’m wrong; and I don’t actually count my walks as exercise either, they are my serenity-preservers. I go at a moderate pace and walk anywhere from twenty to sixty minutes, depending on the day. I might walk from home or work and I might walk in exercise gear or my normal outfit (I do change my shoes though).

A walk loosens up my muscles and settles any creakiness and I feel so good when I arrive back, plus I get to listen to something inspiring on my iPod (that’s really the main attraction for me). Currently I have a Christmas song playlist which, when set on random, intersperses with my podcasts which is quite fun. Hello to Fifi’s Holiday Season Radio Show!”

This Christmas feels like one of my ‘less’ years. However you are handling things, I hope you too have been enjoying the leadup to Christmas 😊

 

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And just in time for the big day, I want to share my top tips for a fun and relaxing Christmas Day (from Chapter 5 of 'A Chic and Simple Christmas'):

🎄 Make a plan for the day – what you’ll wear, how you will be around relatives who trigger you, what you will eat and drink and not eat and drink.

🎄 Keep your mystique. Listen more than you talk, ask questions of others and enjoy the chic feeling of not letting it all hang out. Be positive, and resist the urge to complain or gossip. If others do, either smile noncommittally until you can escape, or change the subject if you can.

🎄 Be prepared for food pushers. If you are offered something to eat or drink that you don’t want, say, ‘thank you, that sounds lovely, I’m good now but I might try some later on’ or ‘how delicious, I’ll be sure to try that soon, thank you’.

🎄 Watch out for self-sabotage, old patterns and old habits coming up. It’s only because they are familiar to you, it doesn’t mean you have to follow them. When confronted with snacks and sweets that you don’t really want to indulge in, tell yourself, ‘in the past I ate those, but now I prefer to be chic and enjoy my Christmas dinner’. Then sip elegantly on your sparkling mineral water.

🎄 Be extra gentle with yourself – Christmas Day can be highly charged and it doesn’t have to be. I have a couple of mantras that I repeat to myself (quietly or silently) when I’m anxious. They are ‘all is well’ and ‘I am safe today and always’. They are both very soothing.

🎄 Take a group photo on Christmas day. It’s fun to see these change year by year, and as much as everyone will grumble about having to get into place and that they hate having their photo taken, they will love receiving a copy. Be the person who makes this happen – be the bossy one!

🎄 Keep it simple on Christmas Day – uphold traditions that you enjoy and skip the rest without guilt.

🎄 Don’t stress about family niggles. Let others be who they are, maintain your own boundaries politely, and simply keep away from those who trigger you.

 

 

I hope you have a lovely Christmas Day!

 

xx Fiona

 

 

 

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