I’m feeling festive🎄🎁🤶🏻
It usually takes a while for all my Christmassy vibes to kick in - I’d say by around week two of December, but it seems like we’ve all jumped on the twinkly Coca-Cola truck a little earlier this year, yearning for a smidgeon of normality and yuletide cheer.
I went shopping for my Christmas tree yesterday and it’s now sitting in front of my bay window, bare and slightly off-kilter, awaiting all the shiny baubles and lights I’ll be buying later today.
This is my fifth Christmas in my flat, but it’s the first time I’ve bought a tree. I’m no Bah Humbug, but I do tend to only hang strips of tinsel along my fireplace and scatter a few other festive decorations around, like my squishy snowman cushion that counts down the sleeps til Christmas Day on his tummy, and my dumpy Rudolph doorstop.
When it comes to the centrepiece - the tree - I’ve ended up going without. There’s something about living on your own that, sometimes, makes you think - it’s only me, so what’s the point?
But this year, in keeping with the recurring theme of 2020 - it’s very different. I thought I’d splurge on a real tree.
I became a lover of real fir trees back in 2011 when I was working for a PR agency here in Newcastle, and the British Christmas Tree Growers Association (BCTGA) was one of my clients. It’s one of those wonderful organisations that you never knew existed and sounds a little bit magical on paper. You can’t help but smile once you’ve discovered it.
I had to become clued up on all things Christmas tree-related so that I could write and pitch content on everything from tips on picking your perfect tree and caring for it, to explaining why they’re better than fake ones.
The highlight though came just before Christmas…
The BCTGA selects a ‘champion grower’ every year who donates the tree that stands outside 10 Downing Street, and I travelled down for the day to coordinate media coverage of the winning Nordmann Fir tree being put into place, as well as interviews with the grower who, I recall, had the most perfect Santa-esque white moustache and rosy cheeks!
The likes of the BBC, ITV, 5 News and Global Radio covered the story, and Blue Peter filmed on the day too. We also enjoyed an unexpected tour inside 10 Downing Street, and met the then Prime Minister, David Cameron. It’s a shame he didn’t go all Hugh Grant in Love Actually on us though…
Ever since then, the idea of putting up a fake tree in my home has felt a bit wrong, as - in typical sentimental-Alexis fashion - the BCTGA’s enthusiasm for real trees really did (ahem) grow on me, and it gave me a new-found love for Christmas.
As you can imagine, going four Christmases without any tree whatsoever has felt borderline scandalous. But, this year, I figured that if I’m going to be at home 24/7, I want something uplifting and pretty to look at. Plus, there’s nothing quite like walking into a room that’s filled with the scent of a real fir tree. It’s pure Christmas.
My home might feel like I’m trapped inside a snow globe of sorts this festive season, but I’m trying to find the joy in simpler things amongst the chaos, and this includes my cute ‘lil tree. A real, sparkly antidote to 2020 in every sense.
November 24 - 30 mixtape
Quote of the week
This was a quote I saved on my phone, but I can’t recall where I first spotted it:
Zoom out a little to see your progress
Sometimes we get too caught up on the details and the here and now. Instead, we should look at the bigger picture and reflect over a longer period of time to see our full journey and just how much we’ve achieved 🔭
Words of the week
I want to say thank you to everyone that’s posted a tweet, sent me a private DM or commented on my posts on social media since The Monday Oops launched over the summer. I love hearing how other people relate to the thoughts, feelings and experiences I write about, so this is just to send a big virtual hug to all of you 💜