Best Books of 2009

I am really sorry for not being around much this week, but we have been spending lots of quality time with family and friends and will still be busy up until Saturday. I am exhausted and I have definitely eaten my fair share of chocolates and nibbles. I am sure I have gained nearly half a stone, so I will be doing lots of exercise in January.

As 2009, quickly slips away, I wanted to share with you my favourite books of the year. This has been my first year of blogging and it has really opened my eyes to the fantastic books that are available. Thanks to all the wonderful book blogging people, I have developed a love of YA novels, especially dystopian ones and Victorian novels. Both of these genres would never have interested me without the fantastic reviews of books in these genres.

I also read more non fiction books than I ever would. My favourite non fiction book of 2009 has to be A Lion Called Christian by Bourke and Rendall.

This book is really one of the best reads of this year. It tells the story of a lion bought in Harrods and brought up living over a shop, before he was reintroduced to the wild by the McKennas. I gushed when I read it and I still gush over this book when I think about it.

I have separated the rest of my best reads into two sections - Fiction and YA. The books are in no particular order, as I cannot place certain books over others. I have placed links to the reviews of them, so that you can see why I loved them so much.

Here are my favourite fiction books for 2009.

The Sugar Queen - Sarah Addison Allen

The Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier

The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Armin

84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

They were all my favourite fiction reads for 2009 and quite surprisingly to me, four of them were quite old books.

Here are my favourite YA books for 2009.

Life As We Knew It by Susan Pfeiffer

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

So there you have all my favourite reads for 2009. I would have liked to write a little about each, but I am struggling for time today. I am truly amazed by the amount of fantastic books available today,especially the change in the YA books available. I wonder what genre I will be wowed by next year.

I wish all of you a wonderful New Year and I hope it brings you all the wonderful things you deserve. See you in 2010.

NOTE: It is now New Years Day, and I have just realised a big mistake I made on this page. Must have been the alcohol yesterday. It isn't worth changing now, as so many have read it, but just to set the record straight, 84 Charing Cross Road was non fiction too! Sorry for my silly mistake, definitely a rushed post yesterday.

More Challenges for 2010

It has taken me two weeks to decide which other challenges I would join for next year, but finally I have come to decision. I have tried to go for lots of shorter challenges rather than concentrating on longer ones, that way I get a real variety of books to read.
The first one I have chosen is Our Mutual Read, A Victorian Challenge. As I am really getting into Victorian Gothic novels and that whole era, I thought this was an ideal challenge for me. This one is organised by Amanda and can be found here. This runs from January 1st to December 31st 2010 and is set at three different levels. I am going to do Level 2 which involves reading 8 books, of which at least 4 should be written during 1837 - 1901. The other 4 books may be Neo-Victorian or non-fiction.

The second challenge I intend to participate in is Take a Chance Challenge which is being hosted by Jenners at Find Your Next Book Here blog.

There are lots of different reading activities you need to complete and I am aiming at the Gambling It All Level which requires me to complete all 12 of the challenges If you click here, you will see the list of challenges I hope to complete and earn points with.

The third challenge I am hoping to complete in one that is dear to my heart and one I really enjoyed completing last year. With so many libraries closing down, it is really important to support you local library, so I am happy to get some of my books from there. This challenge is hosted by J.Kaye who runs some fantastic challenges which can be found here.

As I have been bought so many books this year and my book shelf is bursting at it seams, I will only be committing to the Mini challenge where I have to read 25 books, but if I complete that easily I may upgrade it to 50.

I couldn't resist this one as it is hosted by the lovely book bloggers Nymeth and Chris. This is the Graphic Novels Challenge where I have committed to reading up to 10 graphic novels throughout next year, which is the Intermediate challenge. I may need some help with this one, as I am new to graphic novels, so any suggestions would be lovely.

This challenge is hosted by Beth Fish Reads and is an interesting one which I think I will be able to complete. You will find all the rules and details of the challenge here. I am committing to reading six books with different words in the title. I thought this might be a fun one to enter and it starts in January and runs all the way through to December.

My last challenge(at the moment) for next year is a Typically British Challenge hosted by Book Chick City.

Being a Brit, it would be wrong of me not to support the British writers, so I am going for the highest level in this one. I am going to do the Cream Crackered level and read 8 books by British authors.

So there you have it, another six challenges entered and December hasn't even left the building! I am not going to list the books that I plan to read for these, because quite frankly, I haven't had time to decide what they will be. I cannot guarantee that I won't enter any more because I have no will power at all, books are a bit like chocolate and red wine to me. I have entered 10 challenges altogether, but they are quite short ones, so I should complete them by the end of the year. If you hear of any other good challenges that I might like, then do leave me a message and I will check them out.

I hope to get back on here before the end of the year and write a list of my favourite reads, as well as a quick review post of the last three books that I have read this year, that way I can start the new year afresh. We are just so busy with visitors at the moment, that my time is really limited, so forgive me if I don't make it back.

TTFN.

Christmas Loot.

Hi everyone,


I hope you have all add a fantastic Christmas. We have had a slightly poorly one, as both my husband and myself went down with colds, however we tried not to let it spoil our enjoyment.

We spent Christmas Eve at my parent's new home with my brother and his wife and children. We had a lovely Christmas Day and Boxing Day at home, just us and the kids. We had decided to have a quiet Christmas after the year we have had and it seemed the best thing to do. We now have people visiting us every day until New Years Day, so I will be really busy up until then.

I was desperate to show you my Christmas loot, as I received 20 books for Christmas, each individually wrapped. Hubby had bought me 37 presents to open, that sounds mad, but a lot of them were little presents. He did really well and picked some fabulous bits for me.


Here are the lovely books I got for Christmas.

1) The Declaration by Gemma Malley. I purchased the second book in this series before I went on holiday and didn't realise there was a book before it. Don't you hate it when books don't tell you that they are part of a series?

2) The Lost Book of Salem by Katherine Howe. This book deals with the Salem witch trials.

3) A Great And Terrible Beauty by Libby Bray - another book where I picked up the second book in the series without realising there was a first.

4) Lament by Maggie Steifvater - I loved Shiver, so I was desperate to read Steifvater's other books. This one is about faeries.

5)Ballad by Maggie Steifvater - the sequel to Lament.

6) The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber.


7)The Seance by John Harwood. I have just started to read this Victorian mystery and I have to say I love it.

8) Daddy Long Legs and Dear Enemy by Jean Webster - this book was the hit of the holidays. I have wanted this one since I was a child. I have read it a few times through the years, but I have never had my own copy.


9) Boneshaker by Cherie Priest - my first Steampunk book.


10) Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston


11) The Earth Hums in B Flat by Mari Strachen.


12) The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barberry


13) The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. I have been wanting to read this one since the RIP challenge, as everyone kept telling me how good it is.


14) The Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi. All first five books in one bound copy. Yay! I love Holly Black and really enjoyed Tithe and Valiant this year.


15) Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink


16) The Book of Tomorrow by Cecilia Aherne


17) Ruined by Paula Morris


18) The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters


19) The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt.


20) The Writers' and Artists' Year Book 2010.


The thin book on the top is a crochet book with lots of easy steps as I am still learning how to do it.

Hubby also found me lots of cupcakes goodies as he know my love of all things cupcake!

Our dog had a ball on Christmas Day as he had spent all week taking the presents from under the tree and attempting to open them. Finally, he could open them on Christmas Day and he ripped the paper off without anyone helping him.

One of the biggest hits in our house on Christmas Day was the air hockey table that Santa brought for the girls. I can't get them off it, though we have had to move it into the conservatory now as it is so noisy and I couldn't hear the telly.

So that is our Christmas wrapped up. We have a really busy week with lots of visitors, so I may not get on here everyday. I hope to post all the challenges I plan to join next year as well as my best books of the year this week. I will try and get round to everyone as much as possible this week, but normal blogging services will resume next week.

Happy New Year to you all.

Happy Christmas!"

Just a quick post, to wish everyone in the blogging world a very Happy Christmas. I am going to take a few days off to enjoy the festive season and will be back later in the week to let you know what goodies Santa brought me.

So everyone have a fabulous Christmas and I look forward to catching up with you soon. I hope you all have a lovely time with the people you love.

Happy Christmas.

The True Deceiver by Tove Jansson

Pages 201

Published by Sort of Books in 2009

First paragraph

It was an ordinary dark winter morning, and snow was still falling. No window in the village showed a light. Katri screened the lamp so she wouldn't wake her brother while she made coffed and put the Thermos beside his bed. The room was very cold. The big dog lay the door and looked at her with his nose between his paws, waiting for her to take him out.

I have mentioned before a love of Tove Jansson whilst growing up. I was introduced quite early on the Moomins and loved them. However, it wasn't until reading Nymeth's review of The Summer Book, that I realised Jansson had written adult books too. Only a few of them have been translated into English, but after reading this one, I intend to get hold of all of them.

The story is set during the deep winter snows of Sweden, in a hamlet, where a strange, cold young woman, mechanically works on an elderly artist in order to persuade her that she needs someone to live with her. After faking a break-in at the house, Katris and her brother Mats, who the townfolk considered to be rather simple, move in with the old lady to help her run the house.

As the story progresses, you become unsure as to who is deceiving whom. The old lady, Anna lies to Katri just as much as Katri lies to her. By the end, Katri cannot cope with the lies anymore and begins to tell the truth. As you read the book, you watch the two women, battling each other with a mixture of truths and lies as they try to take the higher ground. By the time spring arrives, thawing the winter snows and inner bitterness, both characters have changed. As to whether they have changed for the better, I find I am still undecided.

This is a book full of subtlety, from the subtle changes to the weather as the winter season builds up to a crescendo, then slowly dies out, to the subtle changes in the personality of the characters as their living arrangements change.

I loved this book, especially as I began to read this during our first snow fall before Christmas. I was all wrapped up with my blanket, hot water bottle and Lemsip (for my cold) and became totally immersed in the white world created by Jansson, whilst watching our own skyline become a winter wonderland.

There were a few spelling mistakes within the book and I felt that the translation should have been checked a bit more thoroughly, as certain words were not grammatically correct. Now I am no grammar queen, but when it is entirely obvious to me that the word is not written correctly, then there are obviously problems, as usually I don't notice things like that.

The book is introduced by Ali Smith and I found the forward to be very interesting. Smith mentioned that the book had been considered autobiographical in parts,which Jansson never denied. The character of Anna spends a lot of time in the book struggling to cope with the trappings of fame. She cannot cope with the fan mail that she receives as well as the demands for her character to be used in advertising. You begin to wonder then if Jansson struggled with these things too.

Katri is an interesting character; she is hated by the townsfolk, yet they all go to her to sort out any mathematical problems or legal issues they may have. They are almost frightened by her honesty and her brashness. The children of the town call her a witch as she strides past them with her rather menacing dog. Katri ignores the way the townsfolk treat her; she is very calculated and keeps her mind on her grand plans.

On the whole, I really enjoyed this book. Jansson's descriptive prose swept me away and I managed to read the book in one sitting. I would definitely recommend it and I will be on the look out for other books written by Tove Jansson.

The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway

Pages - 223

Published by Atlantic Books in 2008

First paragraph.

It screamed downward, splitting air and sky without effort. A target expanded in size, brought into focus by time and velocity. There was a moment before impact that was the last instant of things as they were. Then the visible world exploded.

This book is a partially fictional account of the Siege of Sarajevo. The truthful part of the story is that on 27th May 1992, during the siege, several mortar shells struck a group of people waiting to buy bread. Twenty-two people were killed and at least seventy were wounded. For the next twenty two days Vedran Smailovic, a local cellist, played music at the site in honour of the dead. The actions of this one person inspired the novel and Galloway wrote fictional accounts of three different people's lives living in Sarajevo during this time. Each person's story was based on accounts from that period.

Galloway' s three characters each face different battles. Firstly there is Kenan, who spends every fourth day laden with water bottles travelling across town, trying to avoid being shot at, in order to bring back enough water for his family and elderly neighbour. Each time he goes, he feels physically ill as he is unsure whether he will ever make it back to his family. Secondly there is Dragan, an old baker who no longer trusts anyone he knows and completely blanks out the people around him as he tries to get a meal each day, until someone he used to know gets shot. Finally there is Arrow, a young woman, enlisted by the city to shoot at the snipers and given the job of protecting the cellist whilst he plays every day.

This was a really beautifully written book, but very sad to read. Knowing that the events in this book were based on actual accounts frightened me a little. This innocent town has once been full of life,where people shopped and worked and lived, just like our own towns. Then when the siege began, they lost their water supply, their electricity and food could no longer get into the town. People's lives came to a complete standstill; they were never sure whether a mortar might destroy their homes or whether they might get shot walking across the street. They lived in complete fear on a permanent basis. It really does not bear thinking about, but it is possible it could happen to anyone, anywhere.

The book was written in the present tense, which I didn't feel added to the quality of the story The book is not fast paced, so I could not see a need for it.

The characters are well written, you cannot help but submerge yourself in their fear. They were no different to any of us, they just wanted the opportunity to live. My favourite character had to be Kenan, as he struggled to hide his fear from his family, yet went out regularly to bring back water for them. He was so scared, yet so strong to continue to carry out this activity.

The only part that bothered me within the book, was how death became a normality. The people of the town had learnt to accept it and dealt with it quickly. I found that so hard to understand, yet it must become reality in countries where death occurs on a regular basis. Personally, I would find it hard to deal with and I could never imagine death becoming a normality.

Here is a passage from the book that really shows the attitude to death within the town.

Since the war began Dragan has seen three people killed by snipers. What surprised him the most was how quickly it all happens. One moment the people are walking or running through the street, and then they drop abruptly as though they were marionettes and their puppeteer has fainted. As they fall there's a sharp crack of gunfire, and everyone in the area seeks cover. After a few minutes, though , things seem to go back to what they now call normal. The bodies are recovered, if possible, and the wounded are taken away. No one has any way of knowing if the sniper who fired is still there or if he has moved, but everyone behaves as though the has gone until the next time he fires, and then the cycle repeats itself. If doesn't appear to Dragan to make much difference whether the shot hits or misses. It may have in the beginning, months and months ago, but not now.

By the end of the book, you see a dramatic change within each character as they begin to stop fearing the snipers. There change of heart is brought on by the actions of the cellist, where they realise they need to stand up to the people who are hurting them and be ready to take their town back when the siege ends. The cellist symbolizes hope and change to the people of the town and you begin to feel their hope for peace.

I really enjoyed this book, however I feel that enjoy isn't the right word. This book moved me, it affected my emotions and pulled at my heart strings. It made me thankful for living the life I have. My only wish after reading this book, was that perhaps I should have read it during a different month, rather than during the run up to Christmas, as it made me feel quite sad, but then I thought that it was a good thing as during this time of giving, we should all spare a thought for those who are presently not living in an area where peace reigns and to think of all our boys out there fighting for us. My thoughts are with all the soldiers and their families this Christmas. I hope we get to bring you all home soon.

Journal Your Christmas Part 2

As promised, here is the second part of my Christmas Journal which I am currently making on a daily basis. Here is Day 8 through to Day 14.

Day 8 - for this one I didn't use a prompt. I wanted to make a layout about the Christmas books that I have been reading, so I took a picture and made a list.

Day 9 - this layout is about a tradition we have in our family, where the girls each pick a new decoration for the Christmas tree each year. The girls both picked different snowflakes this year to go on the tree. I apologise for the quality of the photo, but if I try taking a picture without the flash, it is all shaky.

Day 10 - is a quick layout and is one about wrapping paper. The idea is to make the page look like a present using a sample of the wrapping paper you will be using this year. I also added a pocket as I like to keep pieces of wrapping from all the presents given. Can you see one of my endless lists pictured above my scrapbook. For the last two weeks, these lists have had 20 or so jobs on that need doing before Christmas. I swear I get OCD at Christmas!

Day 11 - I wanted to show a layout of the girls decorating the Christmas tree. My daughter in the right hand picture has the the Christmas tree skirt on, that should be around the bottom of the tree.

Day 12 - this layout is another one about a Christmas from my past. I wanted to show a picture of Christmas at my parent's old house, as they moved this year after 33 years in this house. So it will be an unusual Christmas for all of us, not going back home to mum and dad's house in Essex. We have already been told that the new residents have ripped out this brick fireplace which my parents had built when I was about ten. So sad!

Day 13 - this is about Christmas songs and I wanted to highlight some of the songs the girls have sung with the Choir over the last few days. I went with the school choir to visit an old people's nursing home and joined in with the Christmas singing. The girls also did a carol concert with the local adult choir and brass band. It was a lovely evening and made me feel very festive.

Day 14 - this one is about the type of gifts we buy at Christmas. I love nothing better than seeing all the gifts wrapped up under the tree and hate it when they are all open; I think the tree looks bare without gifts under it. This year we plan to take all day opening our gifts, so that it isn't all done in half an hour.

So that is the second part of my album. I will bring you the third part next week, after Christmas.

Secret Santa

I was so excited this morning to receive my Secret Santa present which came all the way from Australia. My present came from Mee at http://www.meexia.com/bookie/. I cannot believe I have never read Mee's blog before, especially as so many of you visit her blog. I shall definitely make it a regular visit.

Mee was kind enough to send me a rainbow curtain to make with my girlies, which they cannot wait to get their hands on. Mee also sent me a box to make, probably after realising my crafting obsession. I also got some lovely bookmarks, with the aboriginal one being my favourite and some coasters. Thank you so much Mee for being my Secret Santa.

Just thought I would let you know that the whole family woke up this morning to a white world. The snow fell heavily during the night and we now have about 10cm of snow, which is lovely as the children broke up from school yesterday. I am really hoping that we get a white Christmas, as I have never actually seen one. I will try and get some pictures up for tomorrow, so you can see. Unfortunately for me, I have woken up with a stinking rotten cold, so I won't be venturing out in it. I will have to stay in under a blanket, turn the fire on and sit with a glass of mulled wine(purely medicinal purposes) and one of my mum's mince pies with a good Christmas book. What a hard life it is!

Christmas Eve! A Week Today!

I cannot believe that this time next week we will be waking up to Christmas Eve. I love Christmas but I do find it rather hectic. However, this year as you know, I have been really organised and everything is now under control almost a week before it happens. The best thing I did was to take a week away from blogging to concentrate on Christmas.

So, as the children break up from school today, I am ready for the festivities to begin. The presents are bought and wrapped; the turkey is on order; the fridges and freezers are ready for the heavy burden of all the festive food; Sky + is groaning under the strain of all the Christmas films and programmes waiting to be watched. I am officially ready.

We have lot of visitors popping in over Christmas which I am really excited about. Our house will be a hive of activity and I cannot wait. It is the best time of year, to catch up with old friends and loved ones. Now if I could just conjure up a little bit of snow to complete the Christmas scene.

So now that I am calming down and enjoying the festive season, I am curious as to how everyone else is coping with the run up to Christmas and what are your plans for Christmas.

Have you bought all the presents? What have you got left to do?

Breakfast At Tiffany's by Truman Capote

Pages - 100

First published by Penguin books in 1961

First line

I am always drawn to places where I have lived, the houses and their neighbourhoods. For instance, there is a brownstone in the East Seventies where, during the early years of the war, I had my first New York apartment.

I just loved this book and from the first paragraph I was smitten. I have watched the film so many times, that I wondered if the book would be a little boring to me as I knew the story so well, but I was completely wrong.

For anyone who doesn't know, this is the story of Holly Golightly and the effect she has on the people in her life. Holly is an enigma, no one knows who the real Holly is and everyone she meets is fascinated by her. She comes across as a girl full of fleeting fancies with no real attachment to anyone, her life is full of fun and laughter. Yet underneath, you learn that Holly has a past like everyone else, yet she has been more successful at covering it up. She can change her character and lifestyle with the blink of an eye. As I read the story, I could not help but picture Audrey Hepburn in this role, as to me, Holly and Audrey are as one.

At the end of the book, you cannot help but feel sorry for Holly, as an innocent act on her behalf leads to her downfall. Her life is turned upside down very quickly, however she deals with it with dignity and grace, by packing up and moving on to a new beginning.

Truman's descriptions within the book are vivid and fulfil nearly all your sensory needs. His writing is truly beautiful and I can' t believe I have not read any of his work before. His characters are full of life and seem to jump off the pages of the book. This book is a short book, but a powerful one that stays in your thoughts long after you have finished reading it.

The book is written in first person, yet you never get to know who the narrator is. He remains a shadow in comparison to the colourful Holly. It reminded me of Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, which also had the narrator as an unknown talking about the enigmatic Rebecca. I didn't enjoy this writing style within Rebecca, but I felt that it suited this story so well, because no one could compare and stand out as much as Holly. Holly is a flighty character who tries to shock the people around her with her strong opinions of others; she does all she can to be the centre of attention.

I would highly recommend this book, even if you have watched the film. I hope to read 'A Christmas Memory,' too, before Christmas descends upon us.

Have you read any of Capote's books? Which one would you recommend?

Uninvited by Amanda Marrone

Pages - 204

Published by Simon and Schuster in 2007

First Paragraph

I close my eyes, hoping he won't come tonight. It's later than usual. I hope he's given up, or just gone, and I can finally sleep. Cool air blows through the window, and I marvel at my bravery. Or stupidity. It's opened just a crack, no more than an inch. But until tonight I've kept it closed, so I know he'll be wondering what it means.

I am a big fan of the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer, which I know a lot of other book bloggers either love or hate. It is a bit like the Marmite taste effect - you either love or hate it (for any Americans reading, who have no idea what Marmite is, it is a yeast extract that you spread on toast and is similar to Vegemite). Anyway, I am a big vampire fan, so Uninvited caught my attention straight away. You only have to mention vampires or faeries and I am willing to read it.

Unfortunately this has to be the worst vampire book I have ever read. I really was so disappointed with it and I hated the way the characters were portrayed.

The lead character, Jordan, is a teenager at high school, who spends majority of the book getting wasted on either drugs or alcohol which leads to her having sex with a variety of strange young boys. The character seemed to feel that this was the way that teenagers live. It really was a horrible way to portray teenagers and I would not be happy for my girls to read this book.

Michael is the only vampire in the book, after being bitten he stalks Jordan who was previously his girlfriend. Now in previous vampire books I have read,they have always hunted in packs and stuck together, yet Michael seemed to exist on his own and knew exactly how to live and survive as a vampire without the aid of any other immortals. I found that quite unbelievable, which sounds daft when I think about it,because vampires don't exist anyway, so the whole thing is unbelievable.

This is one book I would certainly not recommend, especially as it is viewed as a Young Adult reading it. If you ever see your teenage children reading it, take it away, as it gives a degrading view of teenage life.

Has anyone else read a book marketed for teenagers and wondered how it was ever considered a Young Adult book?

Christmas Library Sale

This week our little village completely shut down for it's annual Christmas Fayre. The roads were all closed, so the only way to get to the fayre was to walk.

It is a lovely event to attend and we try and go every year.

There was a funfair in the middle of the town, surrounded by little stalls as well as a BBQ stand and candy floss trolley. In the church, the local choir were singing Christmas carols, whilst everyone watching were treated to mulled wine and mince pies.

My favourite part of the whole evening though, has to be the library sale. I went to that first before I even looked at anything else. It was a £1 a bag, which you filled up as much as possible. I ended up having two bags full of books, as the girls chose some each.

Here are the books that I purchased.
1)The Witch Trade by Michael Molloy
2) The Survival Game by Tim Wynne Jones
3) The Innocent Mag by Karen Miller
4) The Awakened Mag by Karen Miller
5) Lost and Found by Valerie Mendes
6) The Other Queen by Philippa Gregory
7) The Gift by Lewis Hyde
8) The Templar Knight by Jan Guillou
9) The Trial by Franz Kafka
10) The Flea Palace by Elif Shafak
11) Arthur and George by Julian Barnes
12) Poppy Shakespeare by Clare Allan
13) In the Wood by Tana French
14) The Dark Flight Down by Marcus Sedgwick
15) An Infamous Army by Georgette Heyer

What a fantastic haul for £2. Don't you just love a library sale!

I have to say though, my hubby was not impressed by my new haul right before Christmas. I have asked for lots of books in my Christmas stocking and my book shelves are heaving under the mountain of books already there. Perhaps I should have asked for more book shelves for Christmas.

Journal Your Christmas - Part One

For some absolutely insane reason, I decided to participate in Shimelle's Journal Your Christmas for the second year running. I have no idea why, because it really stressed me out last year and I never actually finished it.

However, this year I seem to have become a lot more organised and I am actually managing to keep up, as well as go back to last year's journal and finish that one off too.

I am babbling here, because I realise I haven't actually explained what it is. Well, the Christmas Journal is basically scrapping each day up to the 4th January. Taking half an hour out of your day to read a prompt and then create a scrap page to match it. You don't have to follow the prompts if you have special events that you would like to record.

The reason I am actually doing this, is because one day I want to pass them on to my children. I have such vague memories of what Christmas used to be like as a child, that I wish someone had made something like this for me. When my children grow up, they will have some lovely scrapbooks to look back on and it will help them to remember their childhood and the traditions that we upheld.

I thought it might be nice to share with you the pages on a weekly basis, so here are the first seven.
Day 1 - This is basically a declaration, whereby I am promising to commit 15 minutes a day to creating this album. Within the writing I mention what a terrible year we have had and how we have lost cherished members of our family, so it is important for us to make this time of year special for the children and to remember the ones who have passed.

Day 2 - This one is all about snow. Now as you know, we don't get a lot of snow in our part of England, so I am desperate for a white Christmas. There has been a prediction of snow this year, but I am not going to hold my breath for it. This picture was taken in February.

Day 3 - This is about Christmas cards and as I made some of my own this year, I thought I would showcase them on my page.

Day 4 - This is about my perfect Christmas. Now we are having a quiet one this year, with just the four of us and I am really looking forward to taking it easy. There will be no rush and the presents will be opened slowly throughout the day.

Day 5 - The advent calender returns to it's home for Christmas. My mum bought this for the girls a few years ago and I couldn't find it last year. Hubby managed to find it in the tip we call a garage. So it has been filled with chocolate and the girls are loving it.

Day 6 - I actually moved away from the prompt for this one, as I wanted to write a page dedicated to my nan who passed away in February. I have written a letter to my nan and hidden it under the photo. I have to say, I got really upset creating this one, as my nan was always such a big part of our Christmas celebrations. This photo was taken for the girl's first Christmas at home, as their first one was actually spent in hospital, as they were premature.

Day 7 - Another one where I avoided the prompt. I wanted to show the charity van that comes around our street every Christmas. This is now a big part of our Christmas as we always listen out for the music to herald it's arrival. In previous years, Father Christmas has been on the van,but this year they had The Ice Queen instead.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my Christmas journal. I will be back next Saturday with the next installment.