Hello everyone! I hope you are all having a lovely week. I am here as Ellie has kindly allowed me to be a guest blog writer for this page. I can’t wait for you to read through this post based on “What the Festive Season means to Me”.
Get to know me
I am a digital creator in many areas of architecture, travel, lifestyle, food & drink, and coffee. What excites me is travelling around to distinctive locations, searching for the best independent restaurants, cafes, homeware, and lifestyle shops and to document them as I felt in the moment. Life can be overwhelming at times and I like to treat my life as slowly and simply as I can, and try to see beneath the bigger picture. What you see on my social media is what I like to do with my days, to embrace the little things in life, to do what I want and not be too overly consumed by everyone else’s lives.
Since coming out of the pandemic I have embraced more of a self-discovery journey and carried out many solo adventures, whether that be weekends away, or dining out, going to the park to read a book, and more. It has only helped me see more of life and to not limit myself and my capabilities.
Christmas and the festive season – an overview
I love this time of year because of the festive activities and environments that lighten the mood especially with the shorter and gloomier days.
On the other hand, I have mixed views on the festive season because part of me finds it magical and exciting, but the other side to me finds it overwhelming.
When I thought of this post I wanted to put together ways in which I cope around this time of the year in the hope that it helps many out there.
It’s so important to not be overly consumed by what people post on Instagram because it puts thoughts in your head that you should be with someone, doing something, and if you’re not, then you aren’t living a good life and that’s not the case. It’s okay to want to make plans on your own or with minimal people or to have days of doing nothing.
I love making plans with people, especially with the small circle of friends I have. I love being able to spend quality time with the ones that mean the most to me. I always find Christmas quite overwhelming because you see everyone trying to make plans and then you feel like you need to do that as well. It’s a time in the year that comes and goes quicker than you think.
From another perspective, I also find joy in making my own plans because it’s time to myself that helps me grow in confidence, take a step back from depending on people, and to be able to enjoy my own company as that is very important. It gives you time to reflect, re energise, and grow as an individual regardless of if you are with a partner or not.
The Cosy Festive Activities That I Like Doing Each Year:
Many of these I love to do on my own, but you can also do with other people if you like. I also like to vary what I do because not everything has to cost loads, even if it’s a simple cafe visit for a gingerbread latte or a walk around the Christmas Markets.
● Baking: Now I’m not the one to bake everyday, even though I love baking, I don’t always have the time for it. When winter arrives I’ll make one or two festive recipes such as in previous years I’ve made mince pie cookies and Christmas tree brownies. It’s so relaxing having the tv on with some classic festive films such as home alone, or I’ll grab my laptop and pop a good series on, one that I’ve watched a million times but never get bored of, that type. I mean I couldn’t miss Bake Off of course, a great show that I can binge on whilst having a cosy and comforting day at home.
● Decorating my Room: I love going out purchasing new decor, and collecting the decor from my storeroom to display in my room and make it all cosy, but be minimal with the ornaments and heavy on the lights. There is just something special about the transition of my room from what it was like before to this magical grotto which I would describe it as. Fairy lights for days and lamps in each part of my room, nothing like ending the day with an ambience like this especially as it’s very calming.
● Winter Walks: A wrap up in snug clothing accompanied with a coffee made at home or when I’m out and about I’ll find one to visit for a takeout. When I used to live in Cornwall, I would always enjoy going to Mount Edgcumbe House & Country Park as that was a 10 minutes drive from my place. When I worked at the pub just outside I would often go for a stroll after my shift. They have a beautiful cafe called The Orangery overlooking one of the many featured gardens that serves a great deal of tea, coffee, and homemade cakes which were delightful.
● Cafe & Shopping: I think many can relate to this, but there’s something quite special about visiting a cafe during the festive season viewing their cosy menu of spiced drinks and sweet treats. Watching people doing their Christmas shopping, being surrounded by the Christmas lights and decor, that feeling is so lovely! Walking around the shops to buy gifts for people or just browse all the amazing products these shops have, whether that be big or independent retailers. Garden Centers also come into this as I love visiting them in the winter and seeing all the mini village displays, plus buying a few unique items from there.
● Christmas Lights and Markets: I love walking through the Christmas markets seeing all the local and independent stalls. The Christmas lights that really bring the place together. Seeing all the cosy wooden cabin stalls dotted around the city, such as the toasted marshmallows, apres bar, bespoke homeware and jewellery, scarves and accessories, German sausages, and hot chocolate stands. If only they had something like this all year round because I love the unity of independent crafts people and comforting food & drink stands. When I moved to Southampton that was a time when I properly braved the festive markets and bought things from the stalls. I have always been an anxious person around crowds like you get at markets, but I was so happy that I went to the Dutch mini pancakes stand and after that I went over to Westquay, a little more less busy to enjoy my pancakes with white chocolate.
It’s crazy how quick the festive season goes, you think of all these plans you want to do and then next minute, it’s been and gone. There is no pressure to do anything, so try not to let social media or people around you to tell you what you should be doing or questioning why you aren’t doing much. Keeping it slow and simple can be the best for you, to not make yourself overwhelmed around this time of year.
We have come to the end of this post. I would like to thank Ellie for allowing me to write for her blog page. If you would like to learn more about me and my content, I’ll leave a few links below. I hope to connect up with some of you!
I wish you all a lovely rest of your year!
Jas
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasminefitze/
Website / Blog: https://www.jasminefitzephotography.com
Tik Tok / Twitter: jasminefitze
Ellie's Little World 
This was lovely to read; it’s nice to find out what other people do and how they navigate this time of year. I certainly like the idea of visiting Christmas markets; I’ll have to see if I can find one near me!
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