A Winter 2015 Bucket List Update

Last Updated on 13 December 2023 by Colette

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The temperature has definitely dropped.  My feet have been freezing all day and there’s the threat of a snowflake or two on my weather app later this week. 

Much of our Winter Bucket List focused on Christmas so it’s definitely time to have a catch up and update that one. 

1. Snow related fun – obviously we haven’t seen any snow yet but there’s a definite possibility on the horizon.  (Or at least a couple of flakes showing up on my weather app for Thursday morning – which might not quite be the sledging snow I’m looking for!) 

2. See Father Christmas – You can read all about our trip to Stockeld Park back in December.  It was an all round win! 

3. Write letters to Father Christmas – Chloe was totally enthused by the whole writing letters to “Farmer Christmas” thing and tried really hard.  I would say about half of her letter was independent and half was her asking me to write sentences out for her to copy.  Not bad going!  Ben’s letter was decidedly more challenging.  With hindsight I think I’d piled the pressure on a bit telling him that he would need to write a proper letter and not just a list, which seemed to give him a bit of writer’s block.  Anyway, he got the job done in the end! 

4. Deck the halls with boughs of holly – We decorated the house a little earlier than usual this Christmas having found ourselves at a loose end when rain cancelled our plans.  It was an absolutely crackers afternoon but the kids loved it.  Amy in particular took great pleasure in standing in the same spot piling as many baubles she could onto about four branches within her reach. 

5. Buy new Christmas decorations – This one was a bit of a mixed bag if I’m honest.  We did buy some new decorations, but not as many as we had planned.  It would seem if you don’t buy your decorations in November (or even October) then you’re not buying any at all!  We managed to get a big box of mixed coloured baubles and some new lights but anything exciting had already sold.  I did get a super cute new fairy though (I was very sad to put her away). 

 

I put up our first Christmas decoration today – having bought her from @HousingUnits yesterday I couldn’t resist hanging her on the shelf! She’s top pretty!

A photo posted by Colette B (@goingonanadventureblog) on Dec 4, 2015 at 1:45pm PST

6.  Watch Ben and Chloe’s school nativity – Ben and Chloe’s school do three separate performances of their nativity and we managed to get tickets for the Monday afternoon meaning that, in theory, Dave would only need to take half a day’s leave and we could both go and watch.  As it turned out he ended up with a meeting booked in that he couldn’t avoid and so he had to miss it.  Usually if Dave isn’t able to come to school plays etc then Uncle Will comes along but he was also super busy with uni so this time it was just me!  By pure fluke I managed to sit myself right where Ben did his dance which was a joy to watch.  Chloe, being in Reception, was part of the choir and thankfully I’d also managed to sit just where she could see me.  Being able to watch their nativity and attend the Christmas singing assembly the following week is so precious to me.  As a full time teacher I knew I’d rarely get these opportunities and it makes me so grateful for my flexible working arrangements. 

7. Read Christmas stories – We I bought a few new Christmas books for our collection this year.  The favourite being Jesus’ Christmas Party which they all found most entertaining. I love having seasonal books like that which we put away for the rest of the year, it makes the more exciting I think when the time comes round to reading them again. 

8. Enjoy warming up with a hot chocolate after a cold adventure – We absolutely nailed this one during our Christmas Adventure at Stockeld Park.  It was flipping freezing (as you’d expect in December) and hot chocolate was absolutely our saviour – it also led to me taking one of my favourite photos of the season: 

 

Sometimes all you need is a massive hot chocolate…

A photo posted by Colette B (@goingonanadventureblog) on Dec 8, 2015 at 12:34am PST

9. Ice skating – now a Butler / Burgess family tradition – This has been a bit of a fail as there was no Selfridges rink at the Trafford Centre this year which we were really disappointed about.  We did talk about heading into town for the Spiningfields rink but never seemed to find the time.  

10.  A night time adventure to see the Christmas lights and markets in Manchester – Another fail, this time mainly foiled by the weather.  December saw so much rain that we just couldn’t find a dry evening when we were free.

11. Write Christmas cards – I managed to send a few Christmas cards myself this year and Ben and Chloe also did them for their friends at school.  My most favourite card though was the one Ben received from his “girlfriend” who had written “To Ben, I love you so much my little ginger” – cutest thing ever. 

12. A festive day out in Liverpool – We had a lovely Sunday visiting Tate Liverpool and What’s Cooking? on the Albert Dock.  I won’t deny I’ve thought about the Ben & Jerry’s sundaes more than once since then! 

13. Enjoy a Christmas back in York – I’ve made no secret of how excited I was to be going back to my parents in York for Christmas this year.  Christmas just doesn’t feel like Christmas for me if I’m not at Mum and Dad’s!  I loved being able to do all my standard Christmas Eve jobs, popping down to Haxby to pick up the mince pies from Thomas’s and the turkey from the butchers.  The coal fire, the enormous Christmas tree and time with my family. Perfect. 

14. Christmas films – I can’t say I really watched any Christmas films; I didn’t even manage to watch The Holiday this year.  I don’t even really think Ben and Chloe watched any specifically seasonal films.  This is probably a fail. 

15. Meet my three style challenges as set by Anna – I’m still working on this one!! 

So this is where we’re at for our Winter Bucket List, not bad going for less than half way through the season!