protecting christmas morning + a NEXT giveaway

I will right away grab your rss feed as I can not find your e-mail subscription link or newsletter service. Do you have any? Kindly allow me know so that I could subscribe. Thanks.

am eagerly going through your blog archive as i am a little late to the me_and_orla party and immensely enjoying binging (in the most complimentary positive and dreamy use of the word possible!) on all the posts. so far, this is one of my favouritest. so magical, honest and human all at once. your writing is enchanting.

I wholeheartedly agree about the need and then the desire to preserve Christmas for the most immediate family. When my husband and I came around to our first winter holidays together, we put our foot down and claimed Christmas morning for ourselves forever and always. Both sets of our parents live nearby, and we’ve already felt the pull to break away from our new (and almost only) Christmas tradition, but I’m so glad we set the standard early.

Glad to hear you’ve been able to protect those precious moments and that pre-Christmas was so delightful for Orla!

Same here, Sara: the early hours of Dec25, I want them only for the four of us, shamelessly. So far, I have managed to protect these few sacred moments from the whirlwind of other people’s wishes. Once these hours are passed, I am more than happy to share, mingle, sing and scream with others. Probably because this is the way Christmas has always been in my own family – and it worked wonders in making this time of the year a quiet one dedicated to reflection and meditation too. Enjoy the festive season with your family and thank you for being here!

We will be doing exactly the same Sara – Christmas morning with our little family. The snowy footprints just weren’t appreciated fully last year 😉 But at nearly 3, both Orla and Flo can really enjoy Christmas and I also feel very protective of that! Croissants, coffee and a pesky cat will all feature in ours and four hours will no doubt become two by the time we get up and organised – but it’s special all the same. A very Merry Yorkshire Christmas xxx

fantastic 🙂

Great post. Difficult with little ones because you’re torn between wanting just to enjoy it with them yourself and letting them enjoy it with extended family. Hope you have a lovely day anyway.

What a lovely giveaway. Cant wait for Christmas. Not sure who is more excited the kids or me.

Oh I’m jealous! I can’t wait to even have Christmas morning to ourselves but having family scattered around the country means it’s impossible! Hopefully with the arrival of baby number two, we can have our own little quiet next year!
Although I do look forward to some hubbub and chaos with family!
Even if I’m just watching it! Xxx

This has been my Christmas wish for the past three years and All be it the reason for it happening this year is that I have fallen out with half my family. I am more than happy to accept that. I am looking forward to a wonderful Christmas with my almost 3 year old filled with the wonder and excitement you are talking about. I hope you all have the best Christmas morning together with the magic of Christmas filling the air. Merry Christmas!

Your post totally resonates with me. It’s such a beautiful post and you’ve put into perfect words what I am feeling. We always spend Christmas at our families but this year, being our little ones first year really knowing about Father Christmas, I wanted him to wake up in his own house to find Father Christmas had been, and to see the joy and wonderment of that just as a family of three. I’ve got my wish, and then we’re going of to the family later. I think it’s really important and you’ve both made me feel better about it, and understand it more! Thank you. Merry Christmas!

lovely giveaway thanks

Thank you for a lovely prize 🙂

Lovely competition fingers crossed x

Awesome Giveaway

Fab giveaway and I love all your fab picks! x

Someone is going to be so lucky to win.

Brilliant article. Merry Christmas – lets all hope that it’s a magical one for all x

This is beautiful, I still believe in the magic of Christmas, just as much as I did as a child, but it’s for different reasons now. It’s my favourite time of year – lovely article x

gorgeous giveaway )

Great article, Merry Christmas

Great site guys. Keep up the good work

Beautiful post, it brought a tear to my eye! It’s my boy’s first Christmas, he will be 10 months old. I hope I can make it as magical for him as you do for your family in years to come x Have a wonderful Christmas x

Love your photographs. I think they really capture the true spirit of Xmas morning…do you use a special filter to get that matte misty effect – it’s very evocative of days gone by? x

Merry Christmas everyone

great post.really magical

count me in!

Merry Christmas! Lovely post xx

Lovely post. Thanks for the fab giveaway!

we’ve been very firm this year and are visiting family before xmas to ensure that xmas day is exactly how we want it without having to give up plans to suit others

thanks for the giveaway!! 🙂

I would love to win this 🙂

I love the idea of Santa footprints in the hearth & the part eaten carrot & mince pie. That’s sure to keep the magic alive.

Great post. I have to take a deep breath each Christmas morning as my MIL insists on arriving at ten am to give the kids presents. I feel pressured to ensure we are all dressed and hair brushed. She won’t eat or drink in our house as it’s not clean enough (!) for her. So she dispenses way too many gifts, gives her son the requisite 18 bottles of deodorant and ten pairs of socks ( seriously) and leaves. Then I can relax…

fab giveaway and great post x

What a Fantastic giveaway!

Such a lovely giveaway – thank you and Merry Christmas 🙂

Thanks for a lovely giveaway xx

Oh these photos are lovely – can’t wait to see the photo of your wedding after! x

really lovely post :o)

Thank you and have a lovely Christmas x

amazing prize, lovely!

Poetic in words and images

Beautiful post.

Gosh what a beautifully written post! Last year I was lucky enough to be able to have Christmas morning in my own house and it was amazing! While I love traveling and visiting family, it’s not my favorite thing not sleeping in my own bed and waking up to see the presents I bought for my husband and my dog under my tree. It’s nice to have that special time together. And while I may be too old to believe in Santa…there’s definitely still magic in the air on Christmas Eve. I love it!

You will be amazed to hear I know exactly what you mean.

I find Christmas can be quite hard to balance. I am so torn between having a big family Christmas like always and spending a quiet day just us. I think my OH wants a quiet day. We have decided to have a family Christmas just us until 5 pm and then we will do the family thing 🙂

I hope you get your peaceful slow lived Christmas morning. Your needs and wants are just as valid as everybody else’s: 🙂

What a lovely post, I hope the three of you have the most magical Christmas x

Merry Christmas

I echo your post! Thanks for that

Ah, thanks lovely Rosie! Wedding photos will require an actual wedding venue and dress, but yes… James will make it look good regardless, right? haha! x

Thank you Kate. Hope you have a wonderful day too xxx

Ah, I’ve never heard of this before but it sounds so wonderful! What enchantment to come home to – I’m desperately trying to figure out how your parents did it too!! Have a wonderful Christmas Kathi x

Such a nice prize – happy christmas xxx

Yes, each time has its own magic! We have a lovely Christmas eve planned with R’s family, and a great Christmas afternoon with mine. Feel so lucky to be able to do all three 🙂 x

thank you Tess. Merry Christmas! x

Yes! Thanks Sarah – I know consumerism and Coca Cola are factors, but I refuse to believe that’s the motivation for most! x

happy christmas xxx

Happy Christmas, fantastic prize and great post xx

Merry Christmas xx

what a lovely prize

lovely prize thank you

Lovely post

lovely prize

would really love to win this!

Wonderful! Many thanks for sharing

Love those star lights! Beautiful post.

Lovely post, enjoyed reading

Thank you for this LOVELY giveaway! Merry Christmas xx

great prize, so love to win, thanks

Lovely post & prize

Love it, Merry Christmas 🙂

How truly gorgeous!!!!!

happy Christmas

This is a super prize! We all love Christmas morning how perfect!

A lovely post and a great giveaway.

I love your post, have a amazing xmas.x

I often feel that Christmas Eve (particularly the evening) is what Christmas is all about to me. I have a feeling that when we manage to have children, that Christmas morning will be very different though! It’s difficult when it’s so bound up in tradition and nostalgia to separate our own needs and desires from everyone else’s. Compromise is the way, as you say; it’s just tricky to strike a balance!

I love how you’ve described “millions of adults coming together to make magic, not for control or
power or money, but for the simple joy that it brings to their kids.” Santa was such a magical part of being a child for me and I think reducing it all to consumerism really does it an injustice.

I hope you enjoy your precious Christmas morning, I am sure it will be magical xxx

In Austria the christmas tree sort of represents baby Jesus (hard to explain), and part of the magic is that it’s just suddenly there when you get home from church on Christmas eve, fully decorated and with presents underneath. I still have no idea how my parents did it, they were always with us all the time… Wishing you and your family the quiet and magical christmas you’re hoping for!

Lovely post and giveaway! Thank you and Merry Christmas!

Just LOVE this post! <3 Gorgeous photos too, your wedding photos will be a vision! x

Enjoy those magical few hours as just three and carry them with you throughout the day xx

It is hard to say ‘actually, we just want to be by ourselves’. I find it particularly tricky because it’s just me and Ally. Few people seem to understand that seeing people is stressful and sometimes although I want to see people over the festive season, on the day itself I am more than happy to be alone without adult company. I think especially for children, it is nice for them to be able to stay at home and leisurely play with their new gifts. Rather than to hastily open them and then be torn away for them.

We’re only leaving the house so someone else can cook for us ?

I’m not surprised Melia Melia are doing your wedding – their photos are absolutely stunning, so dreamy! Christmas Eve and Christmas morning were always our moments as a family, whether it was four kids snuggled together in the same room, or begging to open one present early the night before, or mum sitting down to read us “The Night Before Christmas” (she still does this now even though we’re all adults…). Mealtimes were for extended family, but the evening and the morning were always just for us! So I do understand you wanting to hold even a couple of hours of just-the-family time back for yourself. xxx