I know, I know, there's still 21 more days to go until Christmas day but people have started to get very excited for the special day. If you're like some, you're often referred to as the grinch simply because you no longer get excited for Christmas or you're not on the same level of excitement as some of your friends. Or you're just like me and you get excited for Christmas on the 27th December and your Christmas joy and excitement never goes away. Either way I'm going to share with you how I personally get excited for Christmas and how you can too: 

1. The Christmas tunes

I feel like the 'Christmas buzz' officially comes into play when the radio begins to play all of the well-known and loved Christmas songs. Whenever I hear the beginning to Mariah Carey's 'All I want for Christmas is you' i get a warm fuzzy feeling inside and I end up smiling like a maniac. Since i've listened to the song since I was a child. I feel like the most recent Christmas songs no longer live up to the classics that we all know and love. For example;

'All I Want For Christmas Is You'-Mariah Carey

'White Christmas'- Bing Crosby

'It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas'- Bing Crosby

'The most wonderful time of the year'-Any Williams 

'Last Christmas'-Wham

'Let it snow. Let it snow. Let it snow'-Frank Sinatra, B. Swanson Quartet

For as long as I can remember I've had very dry and irritable skin. One minute its clear and the next dry patches have appeared and ultimately have made it their mission to ruin my makeup on a daily basis. My skincare routine has changed so much over the last year through trying out different products alongside my staples that I've been using for years in an attempt to put an end to my ruined makeup days because of dry patches. 

I have combination skin but to the extent where my oily areas are outnumbered, and even then it's not really a problem for me due to face masks. Over the years I've battled with extreme eczema which in 2012 became my worst nightmare when it started to appear on my face due to hormone changes. Thank my lucky ducks that it went away within a month and my skin wasn't left scarred because of it due to the products that i still use today but no longer on my face except for my moisturiser. 

These products have helped my skin immensely since I started using them, getting rid of my dry patches for the majority of the time and taming my skin in general. I love them all to pieces and whenever i go away they come with me. I seriously recommend all of the products above- some more than most for those who deal with dry skin as some products are tailed for the skin type. 

Clarins duo Lotion Technique and Cleansing Milk: I've forgot how many times I've re-purchased this product over the years. It's done miracles for my skin and has kept the problems away. Both products come in a set with the other clarins products mentioned in this post, which normally has a price drop around this time of year and the new year (would be a lovely Christmas gift too!). The cleansing milk is so soothing to put on your face and gets a lot of your makeup off too! The toner helps me so much with the oily parts of my skin and my pores are no longer a petty problem. I highly recommend the products to anyone no matter their skin type due to their being a set for all. 

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot cloth Cleanser: I actually asked for this last year for Christmas after reading so many good reviews about it. Last year is when I properly got into my skincare routine and it was actually one of my new years resolutions to improve my skin and I achieved it!! It does what it says on the packet and my skin has made such an improvement because of this product alone. FYI I've had it for a year and the product still hasn't run out after countless times of use. There's no harsh chemicals or ingredients in the product which helped me immensely when i had small batches of eczema re-appear now and again (haven't had eczema on my face since May!). 

Clarins Instant eye makeup remover: Now I know this is more to do with removing my makeup but still it has woven it's way into my routine. I've recently got back into using mascara on a daily basis and it's safe to say that this is one of the only products that doesn't harm my eyes when removing my eye makeup. I've never experienced any redness or other after effects when using it except for those which are positive of course. It may be tiny version of the product since coming in a set but this has lasted me a bloody long time, one little bit of the product works on both eyes for me and gets all and i mean ALL of my eye makeup off in one go. It evens gets the heavy and waterproof makeup off. 

Liz Earle Gentle Face Exfoliator: I used to be very scared of using exfoliator because i feared that if i did my eczema would just get worse and i'd have no skin left on my face. Gruesome picture, I know.  However, using this product for the first time, under careful supervision I might add, those fears went away very quickly. I haven't used any other exfoliator other than this one so I'm unable to compare it to another brand but I doubt that I'll be replacing it with another brand any time soon. It leaves my face feeling very smooth, the dry flakes are gone and my face isn't left feeling dry after use. Buy this if you're looking for a good exfoliator. One thing that annoys me slightly about it is if you are using this product with the cleansing cloth that you can buy separately then you're very likely to find a natural bead on your face when putting on your moisturiser. But with a quick splash of water all residue is gone. 

Eucerin Intensive Lotion Moisturiser: Where on earth do I begin with this product. For starters, it's amazing. Secondly, it's brilliant. Third, it saved my skin. Fourth, I highly recommend it. Fifth, have i already said its amazing? I've been using this product for years and I can safely say that I always end up coming back to it when i try and stray away for a little bit when trying something new. This got rid of my eczema completely and you can use it on your body in general rather than just your face and neck. The product is very thick and from personal experience the less you use of it in one given time the better the results down the line. I use it first thing in the morning when getting ready so it's absorbed into my skin before putting on my makeup so i have a 'natural glow' as i call it when my makeup's done. If you have eczema or dry skin in general, use this product and you'll see results the next day I promise you. This product is one of my absolute favourites and i can't see it not being apart of my routine any time soon. 

So this is my skincare routine for before i go to bed in the colder months of the year. My routine takes less then 20 minutes to do every night and is so beneficial for helping and improving my skin a lot since the start of the year. I now know this routine like the back of my hand due to its simplicity and non-item consuming state compared to past routines. The only difference between my morning and night routine is just a few products being taken out here and there (5 to be exact-my morning routine consists of my moisturiser, bad i know).

Christmas has always been my favourite holiday for as long as I can remember. From the family gatherings around my Great Grandma's house on Christmas day with as many family members as possible, to the local football club bringing around a sleigh with Santa on every year for the kids, giving them lollipops and even to the Christmas light switch on a month before Christmas itself. As I've gotten older my obsession with Santa has died down a lot (it's still there, i promise) and I've developed a new meaning of what Christmas does in fact mean to me. 

For starters, it's one of the only times within the year that my entire family can meet up and have a lovely Christmas meal while discussing everything that's happened since we last met and what we're looking forward to in the new year. This year has gone by so incredibly quickly, it only felt that I completed my GCSE's, turning 16 and finishing school happened only a couple of weeks ago. It's been nearly 6 months-half a year. Last year's Christmas only feels like it happened 4 months ago, yet here we are again with putting the Christmas decs up and nearing the end of my first full term in sixth form. I come from a relatively large family, I'm no longer the youngest of the bunch and I haven't been for a while when I think about it. One of my second cousin's (no. 3) son is nearly 6, while two of my other second cousin's (no. 1 and 2)  have both welcomed daughters while another one of my second cousins (no.4) has welcomed a son not that long ago-extending the family even more. The furthest my family extends to is Australia, I don't think I've seen them since second cousin no. 1's (for privacy purposes) wedding a couple of years ago-before she had her 3 kids. There coming over this year to visit the family and to introduce us to their newborn daughter. 

There's a lot of family traditions surrounding Christmas for my family- some of which only happen when we're all together which seems to be getting harder and harder every year. The main tradition is how Christmas day works in our household. The first thing we do is open presents, youngest to oldest, before the Christmas tunes come on, as well as the TV, while Christmas breakfast is cooked (it's normally like a normal day's breakfast because of the HUGE lunch we have) and the main part of our Christmas dinner is put in the oven so it can be served in time. Family members start to appear left, right and centre with their gifts and food offerings, before we all sit around with the wine and the chocolates out, enjoying each other's company for the rest of the day-feeing like a stuffed pudding who just wants to nap the rest of the holidays away. 

My family is split in half when it comes to who's religious and who's not. Mainly the older family members are (like my grandparents and great grandparents, and the few aunts and uncles). Whereas, the younger generation of the family aren't; including me and my mum. To put it shortly, I'm not religious so my definition of Christmas is different to those much older than myself. 

For me, the definition of Christmas is spending time with my family and being grateful for the opportunity to do so. Christmas is about love, faith and hope. Celebrating new beginnings and endings with my loved ones. Once my house is decorated for Christmas (which you'll get to see in another blog post very soon!!) I'm very much in the Christmas spirit and my house starts to feel like Santa's grotto. Memories from when I was child have contributed very much so into what Christmas means for me, I'm very lucky to still have my great grandparents with me and for my entire family in general. Santa lives on in our family without anyone dressing up like him, despite the urge (really don't like that word) to do so from some, for the kids of the bunch. 

Writing this has just added to my excitement in general for Christmas and for the rest of Blogmas. 

Studio Fix Fluid SPF 15

So that's my Christmas Wishlist for this year. Has this given you any idea's for what you'd like this year? Let me know in the comments below if it has.