“Are you a Christmassy person?” is a question nobody has ever asked me.

I don’t think that you have to know very much about me to understand that I am one of those people. In fact, in the past few years I’ve actually had to make a conscious effort to draw back from anything too festive, lest I repeat the terrible mistake of 2014 and hit peak Christmas-excitement levels early December and then become entirely sick of it by the time the big day rolls around.

For me, it’s really the small things which I love. No 23-year-old should ever be this excited to receive post, and this year I have had the joy of sending and receiving Christmas cards from Germany and old friends across the country alike.

This year has also been the year I discovered Pinterest, which made for a whole lot of excessive Christmas crafting and homemade present-creating. From the beginning of December I have been taking regular trips to HobbyCraft, and spending my evenings pottering away in my room with twine and jars and beads and all. “Sorry I can’t come, I have to make my Christmas presents,” is legitimately an excuse I have given in the past few weeks. And a perfectly acceptable one in my opinion.

I suppose I could get all didactic here and repeat the age-old lessons of it’s the giving which counts, but I don’t think anybody really needs to hear that. Buy some twine, print those old family photos, take some time to create loving and thoughtful gifts, and the happiness you’ll see on the faces of your friends and family will speak volumes enough.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight!