Happy New Year, everyone! Is anyone else still having a bit of trouble with adjusting to writing 2023? It doesn’t look like a real number yet. But here we are, we made it to January and a fresh start. I’m so looking forward to seeing what this year has got in store, but before I get too ahead of myself, it’s time for a little reflection on December.
As with the start of every month, I’m taking a look back at the last month to talk about what I was grateful for and all the lovely bits. And December is always one of the nicest months of the year, purely for all the warm fuzzies, so take a look at my list to find out more.
Snow – listen, me and snow have a love-hate relationship. I absolutely LOVE watching it through the window and waking up to a covering over everything, but I HATE having to travel in it. December 2022 saw a big cold snap and where we live has got its own weird little climate, so when it snows, it snows. I loved seeing the big fat flakes falling from the sky and the quietness of the area. I’m also a big fan of crunchy snowy footsteps – anyone else?
Setting my 2023 goals – I’m a goal-oriented person and I like working towards an end point, so I really enjoyed setting my goals for 2023. It’s something I do every year and I share them on here to keep me accountable. This time around, I’ve definitely gone down the ‘enjoy my free time’ route, with a couple of grown up ones thrown in there for good measure. Make sure you stay tuned to find out how I’m getting on with them in June!
Christmas – there was no way that Christmas wouldn’t feature on this list… it’s my favourite time of year! I don’t know why, but this year felt particularly busy in the lead up to Christmas, with lots of events and all of the prep for the day itself. I think what I love most about Christmas at the moment is that we have small kids in our family, so they still believe in the magic, which makes it more magical for me. It’s sweet to hear them talk about Santa and still find the joy in the little things. It was an all-round lovely day!
Betwixtmas – this was a new word that I learned in December, referring to those mish mash days in between Christmas and New Year. And I think most people don’t like them, but I absolutely LOVED Betwixtmas in 2022! It felt so good to live a little slower after the busy Christmas build up. I started a new cross stitch project (yes, that means I have two on the go… oops!), did some writing on here and just generally enjoyed the nothingness. It was honestly such a good week for rest and recuperation.
Alllll the events and trips out – December was absolutely jam-packed with amazing events and trips, which I’m always grateful for. That includes Nightfall 2022, Christmas Orange Pip, the workshops at Kirkleatham Walled Garden, Illuminating Ushaw in Durham, Strickies market, and my work’s Christmas do. And I also finally got to have my Christmas present from 2021 – a trip to London to see The Nightmare Before Christmas performed with a live orchestra and Danny Elfman! This was a great last jaunt to get into the end of the year and it was beyond unbelievable. More jam-packed months in 2023 please!
So that was my last gratitude list of 2022. If you’ve read all of them so far, then thank you so much. I’ll be keeping it up throughout 2023 too, so let’s meet back here at the start of February to talk all about the best bits of January.
What were you grateful for in December?
