Blogmas Day 3 || English Christmas Traditions

So as you may already know there are quite a few Christmas Traditions we have here in England/the UK, so I decided to share some of them.

disclaimer // the photos I have used are not mine I found them on google images
disclaimer #2 // I am not saying these 'traditions' originated from England, they are just widely used and done at Christmas time

1. Christmas Crackers

Now I didn't realise this was pretty much exclusively from the UK until one of the YouTubers I watched (I can't remember who it is now) for Vlogmas a couple years ago mentioned Christmas crackers and people from other countries had no idea what they were.

Christmas crackers are the most exciting yet disappointing things to do around Christmas.  Everyone pretty much has them on Christmas day, I would say people normally do them just before the Christmas dinner/lunch.

Basically all you do is get someone to pull one end and the you pull the other until it breaks and make a BANG and whoever has the larger side 'wins' and sees what their 'gift' is inside.  This is the disappointing part as they are usually useless tacky items; there is also a really bad joke and a coloured paper hat inside.

2. Mince Pies

Now most people who don't know what mince pies are, usually think there is actual mince meat inside but it is actually a sweet pie filled with a dried fruit mixture. I don't mind mince pies that much but I do think I try to make myself like them to be honest!

3. Christmas Presents

I know a lot of European countries open their Christmas presents on Christmas Eve or open at least one on Christmas Eve.  When I found that out I was so surprised because we all have to wait till actual Christmas Day to open our Christmas presents.

4.  Carols and Christingles

I'm not sure if other countries do this as well, or if it originated in England/Britain, but I know this is an English/British Tradition.  In December especially the closer to Christmas you get, there are carol and christingle services.  In my primary school in the last two years we got to do a christingle service.

A christingle is basically an orange with four tooth picks stuck in that have dried fruit on them (we would use jelly sweets), with a candle on top and a red ribbon around the orange.  Within the christingle service carols are sang and the story of Jesus' birth is told.

5.  Christmas Dinner

For our traditional Christmas Dinner the meat is usually Turkey. We then just have a load of veg; brussel sprouts are a tradition even though a lot of people don't like them at all, parsnips, roast potatoes, carrots, turnips etc.  Then you have the extras such as stuffing, gravy, Yorkshire puddings, pigs in blankets and cranberry sauce.

We have a traditional pudding as well which is the traditional Christmas Pudding (inventive name!!) which is full of dried fruit and you cover it in brandy and set it a light before you eat it.  My brother and I don't like it, so for our pudding our Nan always buys us individual chocolate puddings with warm chocolate sauce in the middle (much better if you asked me!)

I hope you enjoyed the third Blogmas post, I am really enjoying posting Christmas-y posts everyday!  What are your countries Christmas traditions?

Georgie
xx

Blogmas Day 2 || Christmas Playlist 2015

One of the most Christmas-y things for me is listening to Christmas songs, so for this Blogmas post I will share you my favourite Christmas Playlist for this year.   Obviously, because it is me, it has a complete mixture of types of Christmas songs from the classic Christmas songs to more recent ones and punk rock-y genres.  All of the songs are linked to the music on YouTube as well.

*they are not in any particular order*

1. Merry Christmas Kiss My Ass // All Time Low

2. Step Into Christmas // Elton John

3. Santa Tell Me // Ariana Grande

4. Last Christmas // Wham!

5. Merry Christmas Everyone {Snow is Falling} // Shakin' Stevens

5. I Wish it Could be Christmas Everyday // Wizard

6. Fairytale of New York // The Progues

7. Christmas Wrapping // The Waitresses

8.  Do They Know it's Christmas Time? // Band Aid
{also loved last years one}

9.  Merry Christmas Everybody // Slade

10. Love on Christmas Eve // Tich

11. One More Sleep // Leona Lewis

12. It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas // Michael Buble
13. Mistletoe and Wine // Cliff Richard
14. Santa Baby // Eartha Kitt
15. I Believe in Father Christmas // Greg Lake
16. The Christmas Song // Nat King Cole
17.  Cold December Night // Michael Buble
18.  Yule Shoot Your Eyes Out // Fall Out Boy
19. I Won't be Home for Christmas // Blink-182
20. Stop the Calvary // Jona Lewie
21. Shake Up Christmas - Train
22. All I Want for Christmas is You // Mariah Carey

What are your favourite Christmas songs to listen to? My favourites from this playlist are probably Merry Christmas Kiss my Ass, Step Into Christmas, Christmas Wrapping, Mistletoe and Wine and Stop the Calvary!

Hope you all are having a good day, and I will see you tomorrow for Blogmas Day 3 :)

Georgie
xx

Blogmas Day 1 || First Day of Advent

So it is the 1st December!

This year I decided to attempt Blogmas, last year I made my own December Challenge because I didn't think I could write a post every single day, however this year I will give it a go.  Due to being in Sixth Form for the majority of it, it may be hard but I will try my best :)

I have loads planned to do in the run up to Christmas, like most years, so it should be fun.  My Blogmas will consist of Days In the Life of Me's when I do something Christmas-y, my Christmas Favourites, Christmas Recipes and pretty much anything to do with Christmas!  My blog is going to turn into Santa's grotto for the next 24/5 days!

Some people also post on actual Christmas Day, now I haven't decided whether I am going to or not because I like to have the day with my family.  But I will definitely be posting up till and on the 24th as long as everything goes to plan!

Anyway, lets talk Advent Calenders!

Usually, for the past 5(ish) years, my brother and I - and sometimes my Mum - would get the Throntons Advent Calendar with the extra chocolate at the side and a chocolate name plank at the bottom.  They used to change the theme on the actual advent calendar every year, obviously keeping to Christmas, but for the past couple of years they have kept to The Snowman Movie theme so we wanted a change.

This year for my advent calendar Mum treated me to a....wait for it....Yankee Candle Advent Calendar! When I asked for one we were going to go halves on the money side but one day she came home with it and told me she'd pay all of it! I couldn't be more excited for this as I love candles and I didn't really want a chocolate one this year *gasps!* but my brother got the Lindt one which looks amazing!

Day One -Icicles Yankee Tea Light

What advent calendars do you have, or do you not have one? Let me know in the comments!

I seriously cannot believe that it is already this time of year again and I cannot wait to read everyone's Blogmas posts and watch YouTubers Vlogmas videos!

Happy Blogmas Everyone!!

Georgie
xx

November Favourites || Part 2.0

So here's Part 2.0 to my November Favourites!  I can't believe there was so many things I have been loving this month I had to do a Part 1 and 2!!  Anyway, here are the rest of my monthly favourites;

Movies

Saving Mr Banks
This movie shares the background story to P.L Travers, the author of Mary Poppins.  It shows flashbacks to her child hood of her relationship with her father.  It tells the story how Mary Poppins came out in the Disney Movie industry.  I would totally recommend this movie, if you have Netflix give it a shot!

TV Shows

Bates Motel

not mine // source - Google images

I have gotten through both of the seasons on Netflix and now I am craving season three to come on Netflix.  It is a prequel series to the horror movie Psycho, following Norman Bates and his mother, Norma Bates' story alongside his older brother Dylan. 

I'm a Celeb

not mine // source - Goggle Images

I absolutely love this show!  It is on everyday for an hour for three weeks, so it is a bit of a commitment!  This year I have been hooked once again and I love it with all the different characteristics from the celebrities.  If you don't know what it is, it's just a reality TV show which 12 celebrities are sent in the jungle of Australia without any technology, just themselves and necessities and have horrible tasks to complete to get their meals and rewards.  Obviously, there is also a bit of drama going on too...

Gogglebox
I have absolutely no idea why this hasn't been in my favourites yet, so I decided to include it this month.  If I describe it to you, and you have no idea what it actually is, it's going to sound boring!  But you watch people watching TV shows, it's not a scripted drama but is classed as an observational documentary, however it is hilarious!  The families and households are the same every week so you get to know their characters and you start connect to them.

The Apprentice

not mine // source - Goggle images

Mum and I love this programme as well!  Most of the contestants get on my nerves but some of the things they do are just hilarious and embarrassing to watch.  It is basically a show where 12 contestants try and get through each week without getting fired, they have to complete a business task which they are spilt into two teams.  There is a lot of drama going on in this programme as well!!

Random

Fairy Lights

I love fairy lights all year round, but I always have mine on in the evening in my bedroom at this time of the year.  It just makes me relax a little bit, especially with some nice candles lit as well.

Gabriella Lindley

Gabby is one of my favourite YouTubers, she is just so nice, stands up for herself and she's hilarious.  Her vlogs throughout the past couple of months have been amazing as well as her main channel videos.  And have you seen her new hair?  It is absolutely stunning!

BBC Radio 1 Teen Awards

Izzy's vlog from the event - another favourite, she always is!!

I got to go down to London at the start of this month to go to see the Teen Awards at Wembley Arena.  My favourite bands were playing; 5SOS, All Time Low and Little Mix along with Nick Jonas.  The 'surprise act' was Justin Beiber, who isn't my favourite but he can definitely dance I'll give him that!  Demi Lavoto also performed her song 'confident' who I have wanted to see live for a while now and she didn't disappoint.  The atmosphere was amazing and the stories we got to hear about the Teens was astonishing and they definitely deserve the recognition.

Thanks for reading the post and putting up with two parts to this months favourites.  Let me know what you've been loving this month!  It seems like all I have done this month is watch TV shows and listen to music...opps!

Hope you all had an amazing weekend and this coming week will be better than the last one.  I seriously cannot believe that December is starting in a couple of days!!  And hopefully I will be going Blogmas :)

Georgie
xx

November Favourites || Part 1.0

So November is always a brilliant month for new music and this year it did not disappoint.  That's why I decided to make my music favourites of this month into a separate post, otherwise my monthly favourites would be extremely long!

Music Favourites

One Direction

So if you didn't know the 1D boys released their new album, it is the last album before their hiatus, called Made in the A.M.  Can I just say it is probably my favourite of all five albums, sorry Zayn! Midnight Memories has been my favourite album, but I think this has topped it. Again, it is more mature and the songs are just amazing, my favourites at the moment are Olivia, If I Could Fly and History.

Lower Than Atlantis

So LTA re-released their self-titled album on the 20th November and has been teasing us with releasing the cover songs they added to the album.  My favourite out of the covers they put onto it has got to be Strong (originally sung by Robbie Williams) or The Reason (originally by Vanessa Carlton).   I loved the album already, so when I found out they were re-releasing it with more songs I was buzzing!  Definitely one to take a listen to if you aren't into pop that much.

Little Mix

Yes obviously my music taste has a wide scale if it can go from LTA to Little Mix, but if you haven't heard Little Mix's new album, 'Get Weird', which was released at the start of the month, give yourself a treat and give it a listen.  One of my favourites if Weird People but I also love Grown and A.D.I.D.A.S.

5 Seconds of Summer

Obviously their album came out late October but I have got to put them in my favourites again because I have been listening to them all through this month as well.  Sounds Good Feels Good is just mind blowing and is great to run to or just sing your heart out to, and I cannot wait to hear it live!  

Troye Sivan

Oh Troye!  His album is out on 4th December!! How amazing is that?!  But seriously I have been jamming to YOUTH and TALK ME DOWN a lot this month!

Good Charlotte

I don't know why but I have noticed that I have been listening to some Good Charlotte songs this month when I haven't been listening to the new music which has been thrown at me this month!  I have been loving Lifestyles of the Rich and the Famous, Girls & Boys and The Motivation Proclamation.  Definitely recommend if you like rock-y type of music.

Simple Plan // Boom

This month has just been full of a range of music. Simple Plan's song Boom has been on replay a lot as well.  It's just a good so to dance and get you happy.  I was also listening to this song a lot in October as well so I had to give it a mention!

I told you I had a lot of music favourites this month! So in the next couple of days I will post my Part 2.0 of my Monthly Favourites which will include the rest of them.  I hope you enjoyed today's post and you all had a good week.

Georgie
xx

Review #5 || Primark Candles

Sorry for not posting at all this past month, it has not been the best month of the year in terms of stress and sixth form but I am here and back at writing blog posts!

Reviews seem to be my favourite things to write at the moment but this time I am not reviewing anything to do with beauty, obviously by the title of the post I will be reviewing candles.  

Last month or so, Mum and I did a cheeky shopping spree and popped into Primark.  We either love it or hate there, and this time it was a love it experience for us and hate it for the bank!

 Anyway, I have always wanted to pick up a few Primark candles and give them a go, and since it is autumn and I was in need of some candles I thought I would try them.  So these are the ones I picked up;

First Thoughts

"How can candles that smell and look so good be so cheap?!"
From what I have heard about them, I thought it was too good to be true and that they won't actually be as good as people say, but there are believe me!

Smell

They obviously don't have such a strong scent, like Yankee Candle, but for the price you pay I would say it was really good.  Definitely makes my room smell nice and autumn-y!

Appearance

To me, they don't look like they are from Primark at all!  The glass jars that they come in are like ones you could get in the more expensive shops, my favourite is the rose gold coloured jar.

Burning Hours
They go down quite fast I'm not going to lie,but then that may be because I burn them a lot!  

Blackcurrent and Forest Plum - 30 hours
Winter Berry - up to 12 hours
 Rose Gold Jar - 16 hours

I would say that the Rose Gold may be just less than what it says because, for me that was the one that was finished first and the other two are still going.  The Winter Berry is nearly finished but, I would say that was more like 16 hours! 

Price

£1-£2.50!  Yes that cheap!

Blackcurrent and Forest Plum - £2.50
Winter Berry - £1
 Rose Gold Jar - £1.50

Recommendation
Definitely yes!  If you find yourself in Primark or in need of some candles grab some from Primark, you can't go wrong with a couple of quid.

Again, I'm sorry for the lack of posts of the past couple of weeks, but I will get back into posting more actively.  Hope you all have a good week :)

Georgie
xx

October Favourites

I cannot believe October is already over!  This year has just zoomed by.  October always seems to be the most busy month for pretty much everything for me, especially concerts, music and live shows.

Music

5 Seconds Of Summer

So 5SOS gets the award for the best album of the month.  I flipping love their new album, Sounds Good Feels Good.  I have been waiting for this for ages and it was so worth the wait.  I seriously cannot tell you one single favourite song because holy wow they are all amazing.  But some top songs of the album are Airplanes, Invisible, Carry On (at the end of Outer Space, which I also love) and Catch Fire.

One Direction

I love their new single, Perfect, and on the EP for it the new song sound called Home is also amazing!  I cannot wait for their album to come out in November.  I think, those who didn't like 1D before hand may start to like them from this album.  Not only that I got to see them in concert earlier this month!

Love Me // The 1975

Oh wow!  The 1975 dropped their new single Love Me at the start of this month and I have not stopped playing it.  I seems like all I have been doing this month is listen to music, which is pretty accurate to be honest!  

Wake Up // The Vamps

Another brilliant song from The Vamps.  This is such a 'get ya moving song', I just have to dance when I hear it, yes even in public!

Beauty

Lip Moisturiser

I find, especially in Autumn and Winter, that my lips need some caring.  Mum recommended the Blistex Intensive Lip Moisturiser, and I love it.  I use it every morning before I apply my lipstick and whenever my lips are a little too dry (and I don't have lipstick on or I can reapply it!)

Fashion

Batwing Roll Neck Jumper

This jumper, which I got from New Look earlier this month, is seriously super comfy.  I think it's the fact that it's a batwing style so it's more baggy around your biceps/upper arms and tummy  It is so easy to style, I tend to wear it with my next fashion favourite.

Black Ripped Skinnies
I have a pair of high waisted black skinny jeans, but they are fairly thin and I'm not that comfortable wearing them at the moment, so when Mum and I went on a shopping spree, I saw some ripped black skinny jeans, that weren't high waisted in New Look (again!).  These are slightly too long on my legs and a little to big around the waist but they are still really comfy and I wear them whenever I can!

Knitted Khaki Jumper

Another item from New Look!  My favourite shop this month I suppose!  This is a chunky knit jumper which is a deep khaki colour, which for me, is a winter/autumn colour, which also goes with the black ripped jeans.  You can dress it up, with chunky heeled boots and a dainty necklace, or dress it down with leggings and trainers.


Movies

Jumpers For Goalposts // Ed Sheeran Concert Movie

Izzy and I couldn't believe it when Ed announced he was doing a movie for his shows at Wembley because we didn't get tickets for them.  So of course, we booked the tickets and went into town to watch it on its premiere night.  This meant we watched an hour live viewing of the premiere and the 2 hour movie.  It was amazing and just blew me away how just one person could fill Wembley not just for one night but for three nights.

TV shows

Dance Academy
Yes, I have already watched this series on Netflix before, at the start of the year.  And yes, it was in my favourites then.  But I just put it on as a background sound when I was doing some sixth form homework and note catch up and I soon found myself staying up late, once again, to watch about 15 episodes before I go to sleep.  I know I am 17, and this show is probably aimed more towards the 12-14 year olds but who doesn't love a bit of Australian cheesy drama about Ballet and friends?

Random

The Amazing Tour Is Not On Fire

Well, lets just say I am still not over how amazing this live show Dan and Phil put on was!  I laughed so much and I couldn't stop smiling.  If you are luckily enough to be going to a date in November, be prepared to be blown away!

So that is what I have been loving this month!  I cannot believe it is Halloween and that tomorrow is November, where has the year gone?  I hope everyone has a fantastic Halloween and a brilliant weekend.

Georgie
xx