I managed to find a waistcoat in Burton today for my Christmas party.  With some accessories added, my outfit for the Christmas do is complete! (yay!!)  I also bought lots of lights for Christmas from Woolworths (or Big W as it was called..) Me and Andrew have agreed that each year we are going to have to build on our christmas collections a little so this year there may not be a vast array of streamers, lights and baubles but over the next few years we will add to our collection. One thing I wont be doing this year is "classy.." To me, christmas is all about tacky coloured lights and baubles and tinsel thrown over the house... Last year while with my ex, I felt bullied into buying a "classy and fashionable black christmas tree.." It was very expensive and had extremely expensive colour coordinated decorations and white twinkly lights to go with it. Although it was indeed a gorgeous looking tree, (Ill add a photo just to show you) it was not "me" at all... I intend on getting back to my old self this year and putting out all of the decorations that not only have that "christmassy" feel to them but that also have memories with them. I think I have mentioned before but Christmas to me is about family who are with us and family who can no longer be with us.  It is nice to open a box full of decorations and feel the tears prick your eyes when you remember back to when you received them from a loved one, or when you decorated the tree with your mum and dad when just a toddler. My personal favourite decoration is a green glittery lantern that has been "my" decoration for as long as I can remember. I love it because it is the first decoration that I remember and I know that my Nana Ivy who is no longer with us, gave it to my mum.  To be honest, It is about as knackered as it can get now. However, those kind of things I would not swap for the most expensive fake tree in the world stuffed full of expensive decorations that mean nothing... In fact, If I remember rightly, (and im sure Kazduck will back me up) after I saw sense last year.. (it took a week or so) I started pulling all of my coloured tacky lights out and my "not colour coded decorations" and started popping them throughout the house!!

The The tree I loved is the real one above... the one below was a bit nice but a bit fake for me, in more ways that one... 

 Ive included some photos of the last couple of years christmas's in my flat that I lived in... Im sure you could probably tell the difference yourself between my "tacky" and "not tacky" tree... You can also see that I had started rebelling in the "panaramic" photo of the "non tacky" tree and that coloured lights were added to the white in the window... To be honest, Im sure that most people would probably prefer the "non tacky" version.. But each to their own at Christmas... Whats the point in decking the halls if you aint going to do it with what you want to do it with!?

   Lastly, I love real trees.. You really cannot beat the smell of them at christmas... Im going to be making sure this year that it is a real one that I have!  As for the black one... it cost me £120.00 and was good for a years use... Im giving it to Bev to sell on ebay and we are going to split the decorations between the three of us... if she gets a tenner for it then its better than binning it hey?

 I remember my mother saying to me last year that this time next year I would be wanting my tack back... Another sign that noone knows me better than my mummy... It also goes to show just how far I went to try and make someone love me, who didnt have the power to love anyone other than himself. But thats another story folks.....
xxxxx