My Winter (okaaay primarily Christmas) To-Do List

Found via Pinterest

I love this time of year more than any other time. As soon as the air gets colder, the evenings get darker earlier and I can dig out all of my woolly favourites, I start thinking about winter and the build up to Christmas. I love the lights in the trees and lining the streets, the songs, the food, spending time with friends and family, and the joyful expectation building as you get closer to the day itself. I'm hugely lucky to be surrounded by people I love at this time of year and all the excuses to get together and enjoy each other's company.

A few bloggers I follow made autumn to do lists/bucket lists, which I thought was a lovely idea but I never got round to sitting down and writing one. A winter to do list on the other hand, this practically wrote itself.

Found here

So here are some things that I want to do over the course of the next month and a half or so, before the end of the year and 2017 brings a whole new list of must-dos!

• Ramp up the hygge this winter - cosy nights in with the mister, warming stews, festive treats (I haven't found any gluten free mince pies yet!) and candle light, in the absence of a roaring fire to cosy up beside- that will be for another year's list.
• Decorate the Christmas tree and the house - probably a given but I'm also planning to make some homemade decorations (paper chains never go out of style, right?!) and find a wreath for the front door.
• Go to a carol concert. 
• Find some charitable activities to take part in.
• Read 'A Christmas Carol'. I've watched about 800 adaptations of this but never actually read it myself.
• Enjoy lots of mulled treats - cider, wine (and hopefully pick up some mulled Pimms that Samantha mentioned in her Wonderful Wednesday this week - is that a thing now?! I hope so!)
• Take in some Christmas shop windows and Christmas lights. We saw John Lewis' Christmas windows on Oxford Street this afternoon and they of course didn't disappoint as they were themed around the Christmas advert - the hedgehog curled up into a little ball in a cocktail glass was a particular favourite...as well as the squirrels running away with some champers.
• Do some Christmas baking (we're also planning to tackle some gluten free sausage rolls on Christmas Eve, watch this space - adventures in gluten free pastry are always interesting!)
• Watch White Christmas, the Snowman, Love Actually, the Sound of Music and Home Alone - this list may increase as I remember other favourite Christmassy movies.
• Go on a long London walk, stopping off for hot chocolate/mulled whatnot breaks and finishing with a roast of some description.
• Plan a family Christmas get-together. (We've actually started planning this one already, I'm very excited!)
• Try some roast chestnuts. I've never actually had these before but I've walked past so many people selling them in London in years past, thought they smelled delicious but didn't stop to try any. This year is the year!

What's on your winter/Christmas to-do list? Have I missed anything crucial on mine?! (I can't ice skate so that is definitely not on my list!)