IT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR! Oh how I blooming love Christmas-time, I love the food, I love the family time and I reaaaally love putting up our Christmas decorations.

I reigned myself in this year (slightly) because last year I had the decorations up during the last week of November - please don't judge me, it was my first time having my own living room to decorate and the creative freedom was just too much for me, I couldn't contain myself! This year I held out until the weekend of the 1st December and thought I'd share with you some of the decorations I put up to get us in the festive spirit!

Our tree is an artificial one from Notcutts Garden Centre. When I lived at home with my parents we often got a real tree each year however to be more environmentally friendly both my Mum and I have purchased an artificial tree each which will hopefully last us for a good few years. As we have a slightly unconventionally shaped living room we opted for a taller, narrower tree but i still love how full and realistic it looks.

When it comes to tree decorations I am ALL about the sentiment. 80% of the decorations on our tree are ones from my family home which my Mum kindly donated to us when we had our first Christmas in this house last year. We've always had the same decorations on our family Christmas tree for as long as I've been alive so it's really special to now have some of those on our tree. 

I've purchased a few more decorations too and our tree is super personal to us with Sandy Claws making an appearance along with some personalised baubles. I love decorations with a difference as you can see I have a few brussel sprout decorations along with owls, birds, a llama and a sloth. Like i said, unconventional!

This year I'm very spoilt with three different advent calendars. We have a large fabric one which was a gift from my parents and they've very kindly put chocs in each pocket! I also have a Cadbury calendar (a time old tradition which I simply refuse to break) and a L'Occitane Advent Calendar which was a present from Rob. Honestly one of my favourite things about December is waking up and remembering my advent calendar's need opening - it gets me through the morning before work!

I hope you've enjoyed taking a little look through the keyhole into our festive living room, I will be sharing more photos over on my Instagram @laurenefell as we go through the month of December and I would love to see photos of your Christmas decs so please follow and tag me in your pics! 

FILL YOUR STOCKINGS: BURT'S BEES

With chapped lips and hands being the bane of so many peoples lives this winter Burt's Bees is probably one of the most helpful and useful gifts out there, so team that with smelling and tasting super good and you've got the ultimate stocking filler or Secret Santa gift. Here's a round up of my favourites from their winter range.

A Bit of Burt's Bees in Coconut & Pear, £5.99

This little beauty is a double-whammy, not only do you get one of Burt's gorgeous Coconut & Pear (omg yum) lip balm but you also get a mini tin of Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream to keep your fingers and nails looking tip top in the harsh weather. I've never been one for looking after my hands which is kind of silly of me I suppose as I also never wear gloves when I'm out in the cold, so my fingernails are going to be grateful for some much needed TLC this winter.

Beeswax Bounty, £12.99

If you're undecisive, like moi or perhaps you're not sure which flavour your mum or best mate will like the most then you can go no wrong with the Beeswax Bounty collection. This adorable looking gift set contains four scrummy flavours; classic Beeswax, Pomegranate, Mango & my personal fave Vanilla Bean. These are my go-to when it comes to lip products, I'm super lazy with my makeup when I go to work or the gym and most of the time I just use some CC cream and then one of these bad boys for some light coverage and most importantly some much needed moisture.

Endless Shine Trio, £9.99

As I just mentioned, I love Burt's classic lip balms for work or the gym but when it comes to a slightly more fancy occasion like dinner or drinks with friends then I opt for one of these beauties. Not only do they come in 3 gorgeous, natural shades but they also contain Apricot Wax and Sunflower Seed Oil to keep your lips moisturized and silky smooth which you know, is kind of what Burt does best!

Nature's Kiss, £9.99

This product is probably my absolute fave out of them all. This duo has you covered from all angles as it contains a gorgeous lip crayon in shade 'Sedona Sands' which gives the most gorgeous full-coverage matte colour plus a Lip Shimmer stick in 'Peony'. The lip crayons, of course, have their fair share of goodness, containing Shea butter and jojoba oil to add moisture without being too heavy. I love to mix and match this product with the Endless Shine Trio, using the lip crayon as a base and then pairing a Shine Trio gloss over it for the perfect finish.

*This post contains PR samples.

10 REASONS WHY CHRISTMAS AS KIDS WAS SO GREAT

As soon as the decorations go up in this house I always get hit with a wave of nostalgia and *feels* because I'm still spending Christmas in my childhood home so there are familiar decorations and traditions all over the place. It also gets me thinking about all the reasons why Christmas was so incredibly awesome when you're a child and still believe in Father Christmas so I thought I'd share my favourites with you!

• You didn't have to contribute to putting any of the decorations up, the tree just suddenly appeared and the stockings were hanging over the fireplace and it was all so magical. Well, until you go to touch a bauble and your mum's spider sense tingles from another room and she tells you that you move or touch anything on the tree at your own peril. 

• It was so exciting to get the Argos catalogue out so you could narrow down your list to Santa but apparently November 1st was too soon to sit on the sofa folding down pages and circling toys that you wanted...


• Picking a multipack of Christmas cards for your entire class at school then making the really difficult decision of which card design to give to which person and finally posting them in the little red post-box left in reception area just in time for handing-out day.


• You were never picked as Mary in the Nativity play but it was okay because a) you made the best Angel Gabriel anyone's ever seen and b) the chosen Mary kept messing up her lines and crying into the cardboard manger.


• Nothing felt as good as waking up in the night for the 2453rd time to see it was finally 4:30am which meant in half an hour it was going to be reasonably acceptable to wake up your siblings and run into your parents bedroom for the stocking-opening ceremony.


• Receiving a 'Bang On The Door' set of smellies from a girl in your class that you'd spoken to once throughout the year and pretending you'd left theirs at home before your mum rushes out last minute to One Stop to get them a box of celebrations.


• The magic of coming downstairs in the morning to see Rudolph had taken a bite of the carrot and the brandy and mince pie had vanished and a note from Father Christmas thanking you, yes, you personally, for the treats.


• Being completely and utterly amazed by that one fish cracker present. You know the one, the little flimsy paper fish that can sum up your whole personality and entire life achievements depending on the way it curls in the palm of your hand. 'The tails curled up. I'm jealous? Do it again on the other hand.'


• When your parents did that thing where they pretend like you haven't got much or Father Christmas forgot to bring you the one thing you really wanted and then Nan and Grandad come round and bam there's the Cabbage Patch Kid doll that you circled in marker pen thirty times in the Argos catalogue.


• Finally, the best thing about being a kid at Christmas has to be that first peek around the living room door in the dark and seeing presents before practically screaming at your parents that 'HE'S BEEN! HE'S BEEN!!'

Can you relate to any of these? I would LOVE to hear your Christmas memories so feel free to share in the comments below and we can reminisce together.