24 Reasons to be Grateful This Christmas

I'm going to say it... 

The 'C' word!

Christmas is a no-go zone in the Morse household before December.

It's a strange time of year for us, neither I or my husband are Christian's, we have no religion. 

I'm as much a Christian as I am a Jew, a Muslim or Buddhist - I just happen to have been born in a country founded on Christian doctrine, where, even though the church and state were separated by the Magna Carta, still ties its national holidays and values to Christian ones.

Our families are a mix of believers: my mum considers herself a Christian (although she's not a churchgoer). My dad is best described as agnostic. My in-laws, although only ad-hoc and special occasion churchgoers, consider themselves Christians. Whereas, like me, my siblings have no religion. My husband's brother and his family, are however, practicing, churchgoing Christians.

For my husband's family, Christmas is a BIG deal! For his mum especially (and no one dares defy Mother Morse!).

My family, are much more chilled out about the whole affair, as long as we find a way to all get together and eat (always a favourite pastime in my family) they're happy. No one really cares if no cards or presents are exchanged. It’s all about food and booze induced merriment (whenever we get together, that's generally the plan)!

Gifts and cards are however exchanged with my family - mostly out of equity - because, the very idea of 'Secret Santas', or agreeing NOT to buy gifts for my husband's family is deemed outrageously unacceptable and inappropriate. 

The merest half-joked suggestion of playing down the spending spree, going on holiday instead or NOT buying each other crap for the sake of having to buy stuff and feeding the commercial machine - is met with cool silences and narrow-eyed glares!

As a non-Christian, childless and independent couple, enjoying the festive frenzy proves to be a challenge for us. 

It's the idea of 'forced fun' and 'social expectations' that doesn’t sit well with either of us. It sucks the joy from the whole process!
 
Because I'm naturally positive - (I can't help myself, I'll always make the best of things) -  I'll tolerate the capitalistic BS, vomiting of sparkly plastic, tedious earworms of odious musak - for the opportunity to spend time with the people I love and skive off for a couple of weeks at the end of the year. 

I'm also a Christmas birthday babe so I get extra excuses to drink Baileys, eat cake and wear a glittery frock!

My response to the excesses and wastage of Christmas is generally 'Thriftmas'. 

I enjoy making hampers for gifts, with a mix of homemade goodies and shop bits, all packaged up to look expensive! It's a great excuse to make jam and get carried away buying ribbons and baskets!

As a non-Christian, for me, Christmas is about being grateful for what you have and the people in your life. That's what I celebrate.

It got me thinking...

If Christmas is about gratitude, then rather than the whole month of December being about commercial excess, it should be about being thankful.

In the run up to Christmas, I shall be sharing 1 thing a day that I'm grateful for, using the hashtag: #AdventGratitude 

24 reasons to be grateful in December...
 
Will you join me?

Look out for updates on my Twitter and Instagram accounts.

 

Ideas for a Thrifty Christmas

It's that time of year again - where Capitalism has a collective orgasm - as we lose all sense of control and vomit Christmas all over everything in an explosion of commercial excess!

I'm being a little facetious, of course (but just a little...)

It's so easy to get carried away at this time of year. Everything is shiny! How can you resist?

Everyone is either telling you to spend, spend, spend - or save, save, save.

I'm on the saving side!

There are plenty of great lifestyle bloggers talking about how to have a successful, yet thrifty Christmas - I'm calling it 'Thriftmas'

#Thriftmas


I don't have children and have a relatively small family, therefore, a not unwieldy list of presents to provide.

Let the social convention commence - How much to spend on who? What's appropriate as you predict how generous, or stingy, each recipient is likely to be?

Let's just ignore all that nonsense and create gifts that are personal, heartfelt, tailored to the receiver and don't break the bank, instead!


I love having an excuse to get my craft on and make things at this time of year!

I had a homemade Christmas last year and blogged about it: All I Want For Christmas, 2015

Here are a few quick things you can do to have a crafty and thrifty Christmas... 


Quick Thrift Tips

Gift tags: Cut up last year's Christmas cards to use as gift tags. It's pathetically simple, cut out an image or word, some larger cards with lots of small images can even become several tags. Hole punch a corner and thread through scraps of ribbon.

Ribbon: Keep the ribbon scraps cut from clothing, off cuts from other projects and from presents you've received. I also take the tiny bits of ribbon off crackers once they've been pulled. Keep ribbon scraps collected throughout the year in a box (I have a drawer of them) and use them for gift tags, wrapping etc.

Wrapping paper: We waste so much wrapping paper. I saw a report online saying in the UK alone there is enough wrapping paper wasted at Christmas to stretch to the moon!

Get into thrifty habits and start saving any gift wrap you can reuse. Save any tissue paper or other large sheets of paper used to wrap purchases you've made throughout the year.

Pages from magazines and newspapers, even brown paper can be dressed with ribbon to make lovely gift wrap.

Wrap any household gifts in a tea towel so the wrapping also becomes part of the gift. Scraps of fabric can also make lovely gift wrap.

Fabrics: When I have an item of clothing that is irrevocably stained or damaged (therefore unsuitable for charity), I cut it into fabric squares that can be used for other projects. Some basic sewing skills can turn these scraps into patchwork projects, cushion covers etc. for gifts. Or, if you are giving a gift to a crafty friend, trim the scraps into fat quarters with pinking shears, iron flat, fold nicely and wrap with ribbon to give as a gift. My sister, Artist Chloe Birnie, always loves getting little fabric stacks as a gift!


Hampers: I made hampers last year and will do some again this year.

They're so simple (and inexpensive) to put together and look expensive and impressive.

As an example, last year I made an 'Indian Cuisine themed hamper' for my mum and dad. I bought a cheap balti dish then sat some sachets of Indian spices, a bag of Bombay mix, mini cans of coconut milk and a jar of homemade Mango chutney in it, padded out with shredded tissue paper, wrapped it in cellophane, secured it with ribbon and added a nice printed tag. It looked great and cost me less than a fiver!

Made from brown paper and doilies

Save baskets and nice boxes throughout the year and repurpose them for hampers. Or, make your own!

I'm making baskets again this year by weaving strips of brown paper or magazines together. Here's a handy how-to Pin.

Ideas: I have a secret Pinterest board of ideas for gifts that I fill throughout the year so when it comes to the run up to Christmas I have no shortage of inspiration.



What are you doing to save  money and create lovely, memorable gifts this Christmas?

Being a Christmas Birthday Babe

I've just read a blog post about having a birthday at Christmas. I'd like to share it and add to it because it really resonates with me:

http://www.thetortoiseshellglasses.com/2015/12/christmas-birthday/

My birthday is December 29th. 

Having that one day where you're allowed to be self indulgent and have a whole day that's all about you is tough at this time of year. No one's interested in your day when there is much more to celebrate and everyone is busy thinking about everything else at Christmas that they'll probably forget anyway.

My mewsings today are for everyone out there who's birthdays are at this time of year - I feel your pain...

Kacey's comments about the effect having your birthday at Christmas has on you as a child is especially poignant.

But it's not all bad, there are pro's and con's to being a Christmas birthday babe (granted, there are more con's, but I always like to look on the bright side.)

Con's

• For kids, I reiterate Kacey's comments: not being made of fuss of at school like all of your class mates is a cruel and merciless experience.
• If you know someone who's birthday is at Christmas NEVER wrap their present in Christmas paper - this is a crime for which no punishment is suitable
•  Every year my husband complains he has to buy my birthday card in September as there are never any decent birthday cards in the shops in December, you're lucky to even find them in most places
• NEVER give a Christmas birthday babe a 'joint present' - you look like a total cheapskate and an a'hole (unless they ask for something big as a joint present, then it's OK.) 
• No one will come to your party. My birthday is 2 days before New Year's Eve so every year the excuse is that everyone is saving themselves for that. I can't even remember the last time I had a party for my birthday - really, what's the point when no one will come?
• One year I decided to have a 'half birthday' in the summer and throw a party. No one celebrated it because 'it was silly', and then when my actual birthday came round no one came because I celebrated it in the summer! Lose Lose. 
• You have to think of more present ideas and think carefully about what to put on your list as you only get one chance a year. 
• If you don't get want you wanted for Christmas, there's no second chances, you have to wait an entire year to ask again

 
Pro's

• When I was a kid, I used to get a lump sum from our grandparents at the end of the year which meant I could buy big stuff for myself without having to think about saving up. Rubbing my brother and sister's face in it when I bought something bigger and better for myself in the January sales was like no other joy
• I've never had to go to work or school on my birthday. In fact, I've never had to have any responsibilities on my birthday
• It's much easier to have a low key or intimate birthday - no one will notice anyway so there's no pressure to put on a big bash. 
• Because it's party season, even when your Christmas birthday is mid-week bars and restaurants are busy and buzzing. 
• When I was working for someone else, I never had to take cakes into work on my birthday, and honestly, my colleagues have always been grateful when the staff kitchen is full of everyone's unwanted Christmas chocolates and sweets.
• It's OK to just keep on partying. People are in a festive mood anyway so having a birthday just after Christmas means I start celebrating on Christmas Eve and just keep going until New Year's Eve. Result.

Enjoy the festive season everyone - Party on!

All I want for Christmas...

My mewsings are all about Christmas right now...

My business is taking the back seat while Christmas invades every inch of desk space in my office.

Spot the proof copy of 'Gabriel's Game, Part 2: The Black Knight' languishing in a pile of tissue paper.

It's already filled with scribbles and editing notes. My first job after Christmas is to update it, get feedback from my other beta readers and then publish it. I'm hoping to publish it by the end of January.

Too late for Christmas unfortunately, but just in time for everyone who had a Kindle for Christmas


...to load it up with new books!



Although I'm not making much money this month with my Amy Morse, Authorpreneur business, I am at least saving money by making lots of presents this year (sort of). 

I've been melting chocolate and baking biscuits like a woman possessed and creating labels for all the homemade goodies going in Christmas hampers this year...

 

I've also been thinking about what my next 365 project should be for 2016. 

In 2015 it was 'Authorpreneur Almanac: 365 Adventures in Writing and Entrepreneurship'

I launched my authorpreneur business and have worked at it every day, updating my blog weekly.

I will publish a compendium of 52 blogs on writing and entrepreneurship in the new year, so watch out for that...

Pulling faces in the mirror and other writers habits...

This week for 

Operation Author: 365 Actions to Becoming a Successful Author

I've not quite built up to seven actions and with Christmas approaching, my time is going to be more and more diverted. I plan to continue this 365 project into January before starting a new one.

My first action has been to think about what 365 project I might do in 2015. I put a question on my Project Book 365 Facebook page:

What do you think I should do?

Vote here:  https://www.facebook.com/ProjectBook365


My second action was to create some 'writers problems posters'

 

 






















My third action had been to schedule in lots of social media updates on Twitter and Facebook using these posters and other content, follow me there. I've also been pinning them on Pinterest, find me there too.

My fourth action was to map out 'Gabriel's Game, part 1: The White Queen' - Here's how I plan my books:

 I start with a blank sheet and mark the first chapter and the last chapter







The blue post its are character groups and a key 
The yellow post its are the scenes







I have 1 post it per scene and plot them out






Finally, I've marked the scenes I've written with orange.




As I write I can rearrange the scenes and connect them together. I may add, merge or remove scenes and I can then swap the post its around until everything fits neatly together







My fifth action had been to make writing related Xmas presents. I don't want to say what they are until after Xmas in case of spoilers.

My final actions have been writing. I have set myself a target to complete the first draft of
'Gabriel's Game, part 1: The White Queen' by the end of the year.


Arr - I've just seen a You Tube video of a Dr Who feature called 'Gabriel's Game' - I might have to rethink the title of the book...