Christmas Decoration Haul

 

Happy Monday! This weekend my Twitter and Instagram feeds have been filled with people who have decorated their houses and their Christmas trees.

I'm a massive fan of a Primark fleece and they absolutely smashed it with their Christmas range. They had a great range of their Christmas patterened fleeces but they also had two amazing character fleeces I just couldn't say no to. The first is one I'd been hoping they'd release for years and this year they answered my prayers. They released a Grinch printed fleece blanket. It's a stunning blue background with Grinch faces and the iconic picture of him holding the bauble. And the second is this gorgeous white Mickey and Minnie fleece blanket. It's stunning and has a repeated pattern of of Mickey and Minnie kissing under the mistletoe.

 

 When I nipped to The Range recently, I instantly fell in love with this little Christmas ornament. It's not the usual kind of ornament/decoration I go for but I just couldn't resist it. I think it's the cute little Santa's that made me love it so much. It feels really sturdy and well built and cost less than £3 if I remember correctly. I'm not sure if I'm going to place this on my desk or on my bookcase, it all depends on what space I have left after tinsel and lights. 

 

 Can we please talk about how cute these hanging decorations are. I've cut the string to hang them with off as they'll be too heavy to hang off anywhere safely. However these are still going to look cute sitting on a shelf somewhere. My only issue with them is the glitter and how you end up covered as soon as you touch it. These are the only three available as I couldn't just chose one, I ended up buying all three.

 

 I adore the Primark Christmas snowglobes. I already have all of the ones they'd previously released, which they still sell as part of their Christmas range but this year they've added another. How can anyone resist this Santa Clause who's stuck in a chimney. It's miniature so it doesn't take up too much and cost about £2 in total. If you haven't checked out the Primark decoration range, I highly recommend you do. It's budget friendly, has something for everyone and is constantly getting new styles and additions.

 

Who doesn't like a Christmas light or five? I love Christmas lights, they're possibly my favourite decoration. Nothing beats snuggling up in bed with a hot chocolate and a Christmas movie with nothing but the Christmas lights for illumination. I already have a lot of lights from previous Christmas' but can never help but buy more when they start to appear in the shops. The first set I brought are the most adorable little Christmas lights around. They consist of a thin wire string that holds miniature LED gingerbread men. They were only £5 from Marks and Spencers and are going to look adorable wrapped around the stem of a lamp or hanging off the edge of my bookcase. And the second set I got is again from The Range and couldn't be left on the shelf. They're miniature Snowmen with a white LED light inside. There is only ten in the box but because they're well size, ten is the perfect amount. I'm going to hang them over a couple of canvases I have hanging over my bed and pray that I don't get woken by taking a Snowman to the eye. 

 Another new lighting addition I have is again Snowman related. I couldn't help but order this when I saw it. It's absolutely gorgeous. It's a LED Laser Pyramid, each side has the same gorgeous pattern of The Snowman and incased inside is a set of rotating star lights that illuminate the beautiful scene on the outside. I love this so much and it was in fact the first Christmas decoration I brought this year and I've been dying to put it up for months. 

Now this little fella doesn't have a permanent home just yet but I wanted to share him all with you. Coming in at just £6 from Primark, this standing Gingerbread Man is absolutely adorable. He's soft to the touch with velvet buttons and a knitted scarf. He doesn't need support to stand would look adorable tucked in front of the Christmas tree with the lights shining down on him.

This is the first of two hanging plaques I brought. Primark smashed it with their Christmas Disney range and this wooden hanging sign was just one of many stunning pieces. With an old fashioned design of Mickey and Minnie decorating their tree, it's simplistic yet adorable and doesn't take away from any other decorations that may be near it. At the moment it's hanging off my mirror but I may have to use one of those command hanging strips to hang it from the wall. 

 And the last thing I have to share with you is something I intially was't going to buy but when I went back and brought, I knew it was something I'd have kicked myself for not buying if I hadn't. If you didn't know by now, I'm a massive fan of the Grinch. I don't know what it is but I absolutely adore him so of course when Primark released their Grinch Christmas range, I had to buy pretty much one of everything, including this Welcome To Whoville hanging sign. What's not to love about it, it's Christmassy, it's from one of my favourite films ever and it perfectly describes how my room will look when I've finished decorating it. And he wasn't massively expensive either which makes it even better.

Five Favourite Christmas Films

My favourite part of the build up to Christmas by far is the amount of Christmas movies there are to watch. I have a decent sized pile with more on order from Amazon and there's nothing better than at the end of a long day than going home, taking your make up off, popping your pjs on, brewing a cuppa and snuggling down to watch a Christmas film or two. And today I'm sharing with you my five favourite Christmas films that never fail to get me in the Christmas spirit. You may notice that Nightmare Before Christmas isn't one of the five and that's not because I don't love the film, I do, but because I wasn't sure if it could be classed as a Christmas film even though it's in the results when you search Christmas films on Google.

The Santa Clause (1994)
The Santa Clause is an old school Disney movie. I remember watching it when I was only little but didn't rewatch it or any of it's sequels until last year. And I honestly don't know why it took me so long to watch it again. It's an amazing film that makes me feel nostalgic for my childhood yet still makes my adult self excited for Christmas. This was one of Disney's best original films next to Halloweentown and I can already see myself watching this more than once before Christmas. 

 The Polar Express (2004)
Oh how I love you Polar Express. It's the all singing, all dancing, instant feel good Christmas movie. Tom Hanks is amazing as the Train Conductor, the kids are adorable and it's plot never fails to get me in that festive mood. I like to have this ready to watch when I'm wrapping presents alongside The Grinch and Muppet Christmas Carol as it makes me feel the most Christmassy and whilst it takes me double the time to actually wrap my presents, I can't help but feel my inner child get even more excited for Christmas. If you haven't seen it don't worry, it's shown pretty reguarly on TV over the festive period. 

 Arthur Christmas (2011)
Arthur Christmas is one I only discovered a few years ago but instantly fell in love with. Arthur Christmas isn't your normal Christmas film. It doesn't depict children staying up late to see the legendary Father Christmas but of the work that Father Christmas and his elves put into making Christmas perfect for the millions of children in the world whilst also enjoying Christmas with his own family. It's hilarious, slightly dsyfunctional and has a couple of more grown up jokes that will make you laugh. Again this is one I could happily watch on repeat, especially if I've had a bad day or if I'm feeling a little down in the dumps. 

 The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
It isn't Christmas in our house until me and mum have curled up under blankets with a cuppa and watched Muppet Christmas Carol together. It's one our all time favourites and we can't resist singing the songs, repeating the lines or impersonating the Muppets. My mum is dying to watch this already and as I write this, I can totally understand the urge to watch this. I am however holding off until December to watch any of these as I don't want to lose that Christmas spirit to early. If you haven't watched it, I highly recommend you do, not only will you discover a family favourite but you'll also get to see Kermit, Miss Piggy and Michael Caine all singing in the same film, something that is extremely unlikely to happen ever again. 

 How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
The Grinch is my all time favourite Christmas movie. I will never get bored of watching it on repeat throughout December. Hell, I even watch it throughout the year when I've had a bad day or I'm going through a bad patch. Jim Carrey will forever be the best Grinch no matter how many versions they release.He makes the humourous moments even funnier, something as I've gotten older I've started to relate more to the Grinch which for me just makes Carrey's dry humour approach even funnier. It never fails to put me in a good mood and I can tell you now this will be my most watched Christmas film of the year even though I have a ton more waiting to be watched. 

Christmas Week: Top 5 Christmas Films

At this time of year nothing beats snuggling down in cosy pyjamas with a hot drink of choice and of course a Christmas film. There are so many good Christmas films out there so today I thought I'd share with you my favourite five of this year.

Every year without fail I have to watch The Muppet Christmas Carol. It reminds me so much of growing up and is something me and my mum share at Christmas. It's the one film we make a point of watching together even when our schedules get busy. If you like corny Christmas films that have catchy songs you'll be humming all day then this is for you. I know I'll be watching this a lot this festive period.

Another film I have to watch every year without fail is The Grinch. It's like an integral part of Christmas for me and I don't feel festive until I've watched this at least once. It's another of those films I grew up with and to me is another important part of Christmas. It may sound silly to some but now as a grown up I think some of the magic of Christmas has worn away, especially because I work in retail. So anything that puts that festive feeling in to me and my house is a winner in my books.

A film that I don't watch every year but do enjoy thoroughly when I get a chance to watch it. The Santa Clause is another film I remember watching a lot when I was a kid. There's just something about the nostolgic films that I love at Christmas time. It also has two sequels and they're just as good as the original. I'm definitely going to be watching this, this upcoming weekend.

A film that I wasn't a fan of until recently is Polar Express. It isn't what I would consider your standard Christmas film but it has a brilliant storyline and characters. There's no musical numbers or catchy tunes but it does have a brilliant script and pace that will keep you enthralled. Tom Hanks portrays one of the characters and it adds a little something to the film that would otherwise be missing.

And finally there is Arthur Christmas. What isn't to love about Arthur Christmas. It's set in the North Pole, has a brilliant storyline and a great range of characters. Arthur Christmas is one of those Christmas films I can put on and instantly feel better, great for those days when work is a little bit overwhelming. If you haven't seen this then I suggest you hunt it down on Netflix and give it a watch. You'll be in a Christmas mood instantly.

Top 5 Christmas Films

It's gotten to that time of the year where I want nothing more than to curl up with a hot chocolate and a movie. And what's better this time of the year than a Christmas movie. So today I thought I'd share with you the Top 5 Christmas Movies in my collection that I rotate for the whole of December every year.

My first film is my one of my favourite Christmas films of all time. It's The Muppet Christmas Carol and to me it's not Christmas if I don't watch it at least one (or twenty) times. I've grown up watching this film so it's like a Christmas tradition for me now as I think it is for quite a few people who were little in the 90s. If you haven't seen it then I say that you should definitely check it out this year.

My next film is another film I've grown up watching. The Grinch is brilliant for the whole family with themes within it that resonate with every age group. Plus it stars Jim Carey and a young Taylor Momsen who is beyond adorable as Ciny-Lou. I could watch this over and over again and never get bored of it. This is another film that will be watched about twenty times in the next month.

SANTA!!!! Sorry couldn't hold that in. And of course my next film is Elf. I love Elf, it never gets old and I know all the lines but still find the funny bits hilarious. Will Ferrell is brilliant as Buddy and everytime after I watch this if I see Will Ferrell in anything else all I can think of is him as Buddy. Definitely another film that's going to be getting a lot of screentime this month.

My next film is a newer favourite of mine, one that my whole family gather together to watch whenever it's on. It's Polar Express and when I first saw this I didn't like it. I've always had my favourites and this one didn't fit into it. However the more I've watched it over the years the more I've grown to love it. Starring Tom Hanks as the train conductor this festive family film is like every child's wildest dream at Christmas.

And my final pick is a film I only picked up last year but automatically fell in love with. Arthur Christmas was a film I'd seen advertised a lot when it came out in cinemas but it didn't really grab my attention as much as it did when I saw it in HMV last year. This film is brilliant and I can see I'm going to watch it a lot over the next few years. Lots of laugh out loud moments which will be loved by the whole family. Definitely one I recommend checking out if you haven't already.

That's it for my Top 5 Christmas Films. What are yours? Were any of them the same as mine? Let me know in the comments.