After what was a very restful Christmas break, the organising bug has taken hold hard and I’m in full blitz mode. I don't know about you, but my urge to tidy and sort the house is off the scale. It started with my Christmas decs (I invested in a bauble storage box from Amazon, then I moved onto deep-cleaning and sorting kitchen cupboards and organising our medicine cupboard.
I’ve spent hours drooling over beautifully labelled boxes and jars on social, and have now I’ve gone full Khloe Kardashian. You'll find me happily labelling everything I can get my hands on with my trusty new label maker from Amazon, which makes me very happy.
My other organising tool is my bullet journal. I've one for a few years now (I use a dotted notebook from Papier) – it's basically my take on a paper diary and planner which I like to have in addition to a digital one – and setting up for a new year is something I really look forward to. I block out a few hours with a chill-out playlist on the go while I get creative and try to organise my thoughts and plans.
While I’m in this zone, reading our Open House creator Amanda's article on why it’s a good idea to plan for next Christmas now really struck a chord. I'm planning to reflect on what went well this year and what I’d like to do differently next year while it’s fresh in my mind, noting it all down in a book so I can start December 2026 one step ahead.
19/12/25: Twixtmas hibernation
My house is looking wonderfully twinkly now it's fully dressed and ready for Christmas. I’ve gone a bit tinsel-tastic but it’s definitely giving festive glow and it was the perfect setting for the Ideal Home team Christmas do this week – Secret Santa, gingerbread house making and s’mores were all on the agenda and the frozen margaritas made in this slushie maker from Very went down a storm. I’ll be serving those at every party I host from now on!
I have a few more Christmas activities to do with the kids, like our annual gingerbread house making (a cookie cutter like this is a handy investment if you want to make your own), and we'll be using some chalk pens to add a little bit of festive cheer to our windows. I've also got a few final things to pick up to get the spare room ready for overnight guests.
I'm about ready to take my foot off the gas, and lean into some serious down-time, with hibernation mode ready and waiting to be activated for the Twixmas period. I can't wait to get my bullet journal set up for 2026!
12/12/25: Christmas problem-solvers
I can't quite get my head round the fact that it's less than a fortnight until Christmas and I'm feeling woefully behind with my to-do list and am starting to get that sense of overwhelm I've been trying to avoid.
I haven't managed to finish all my gift shopping yet, but there's a pile of stuff that I can definitely start wrapping, so that's on the agenda this weekend – this clever tape dispenser from Amazon is a recent purchase I've been loving that promises to speed things up. I also need to blitz the house and get it party-ready as I'm hosting the Ideal Home team's festive do at mine next week. That 'hostess with the mostest' crown is destined to be mine!
05/12/25 Embracing the tacky Christmas trend
I'm going for it with a gold Christmas tree in my kitchen, adorned with a selection of food-related baubles and kitsch decorations. I'll be throwing on handfuls of tinsel lametta (I'm thinking pink from Amazon) and topping the tree with a striped bow I've been stalking on John Lewis.
