A Very Merry Christmas
wishing you all a happy holiday season + a year in review
Just before I sign off for Christmas, I wanted to say a huge thank you for supporting me this year.
It’s been something of a tumultuous year as we adjusted back to life in the UK after 9 years of expat life. However, we’re ending the year feeling settled and happy. Whilst I wouldn’t recommend an international house move, followed by home and garden renovations to anyone, I’m thankful that we are to start 2025 on a fresh page.
2024 has also brought changes to this Substack page and I now have a very clear path going forward. First and foremost, I made the decision to rename this page ‘This Playful Home’ to better reflect my social media pages. You might also notice that this website is now officially thisplayfulhome.com after I made the decision to fully close down my WordPress website. Over the coming months, I will be transferring all of my old play-based blogs onto this page.
If you missed the post about all of the changes to this page, you can read it below:
In real life, I’ve had increasing demand for my tutoring and educational consultancy services. My bespoke curriculums, which blend classical children’s literature with seasonal living and a playful hands-on approach, are becoming increasingly popular with local families - and it’s also something that brings me a great amount of joy - so I have decided to branch out and offer my tutoring services online too. To celebrate this,
will be officially launching in January. I will be offering private tutoring, educational services and off-the-peg curriculums.Family Rhythms at Christmas Time
A key part of my own philosophy is to use family rhythms as an anchor. When life gets crazy and stressful, our family rhythm helps to keep us focused. And every season, we hold a family meeting to decide on what we really want to do.
Whilst things don’t always work out as planned (like our cancelled trip to Blenheim Palace), part of the fun is writing out our bucket list. We’ve been able to fully embrace all things Christmas this year and it’s been so lovely to have some stability. Last year, we literally just moved into our house on the 21st of December which made Christmas feel like a bit of an after thought! So far we’ve baked sugar cookies, watched a load of Christmas movies, made Victorian-style orange garlands and possibly drank a few to many hot chocolates!
Christmas Ideas
I bet you’re busy enough already, without me adding Christmas activity ideas to your list. But if you’re looking for some playful ideas for the holidays, here are some of our favourites.
On Friday, I will be publishing a blog post brimming with activity ideas for the Winter Solstice.