Christmas Past and Present
Being a kid at Christmas is one of the best experiences ever. I have really wonderful memories of Christmas from when I was a child.
Waking up Christmas morning and discovering a stocking full of presents at the end of my bed, then going downstairs and seeing presents under the Christmas tree too! Of course, it wasn’t just about the presents. I loved being surrounded by my family at Christmas time and getting to share the day with them.
Now that I’m a mum, I’ll be carrying on some of the Christmas traditions from my childhood with my own children.
Intu, owner of shopping centres in the UK, have commissioned a survey to find out what the nation’s Christmas age is. They’ve discovered that we have our best childhood Christmas at the age of 9 and it reignites at age 31. I’m 28, soon to be 29, so I’m looking forward to that!
According to the survey, 84% of people said that they experience the joy of Christmas through their children and I have to agree. Now that I’m a mum, and even more so this year because our girls are at the age where they start to fully understand Christmas, I really do enjoy it more because of them.
Take the run up to Christmas for example. I love it! Getting to take the children to meet Santa, helping them write and post their letters to Santa and then getting to decorate the tree and bake festive treats!
Then you have the wonderful experience of watching your children discover that Santa has been! The excitement on their faces as they open their presents is something I will always treasure and remember forever!
This year, we’ll spend Christmas day in our own home being visited by family. We’ll have a delicious Christmas lunch and I’m sure we’ll have a fantastic day!
The survey also says that for 60% of Brits the seasonal magic starts to wane due to the cost, stress and pressure of getting the present right. This I can relate to as well! Christmas is expensive. Buying presents, decorations and food. It all adds up and that means the stress levels can be raised too. Buying the perfect present for everyone just adds to the pressure, but I think as a nation we’re a pretty good bunch at gift giving!
As mentioned above the survey was conducted by Intu. If you haven’t heard of them before let me give you some more information. Intu work with lots of different retailers to showcase their latest ranges on intu.co.uk. By browsing the various categories or retailers, you can add items from different retailers to your basket and checkout with one payment. A pretty good idea if you ask me as it means you can shop from the comfort of your own home, plus there’s free click and collect delivery or you can have your items delivered to your home. Most of their retailers deliver for free, although a few do have a small fee.
I’ve recently discovered that my local shopping centre, St David’s in Cardiff, is an Intu centre, so I’ll be making the most of the Intu website in the new year!
