My Favourite John Lewis Christmas Adverts

I'm under no illusion that this might seem like a totally random blog post but I LOVE LOVE LOVE the John Lewis Christmas adverts. It's something I get excited for every single year, and as soon as November the 1st hits, I'm just waiting for it to air. A few years ago I did a post very similar sharing some of my overall fave xmas adverts including M&S's Paddington Bear, Sainsbury's Sharing Is For Caring which centered around the first world war, and even the Heathrow Bears which gets me every year. So many retailers are pulling it out of the bag each year but John Lewis is always the most anticipated. I do think the last few years have fallen slightly compared to some of their earlier ones but I still always look forward to seeing what they've come up with each Christmas. I really wanted to share my 5 favourite xmas adverts of theirs, and I'd love to get a discussion going with you! Let me know if any of these have pulled at your heartstrings too or if there are any others that I've not mentioned.

1. The Journey

Okay, at number 1 for me, now and forever is 2012's advert featuring the snowmen. To the song 'The Power Of Love' sung by Gabrielle Aplin, the advert showed a snowman defying the odds, tackling all weather conditions to get a Christmas gift for his wife, Mrs Snowman. It's fricking adorable, the music is gorgeous and it's just what Christmas is all about. It's one that always stands out as special to me because it was the first John Lewis advert George and I both sat down and watched together (this seemed to be the year everyone started to cotton onto it being a thing) and I still remember getting emosh the very first time and every year since then it's been something we've remembered and looked back on.

2. Monty The Penguin

This is one of the John Lewis adverts that is pretty much guaranteed to make me cry every single time. This time Tom Odell whose voice is just perfect for an ad like this recorded a cover of the John Lennon song 'Real Love' and it tells the story of an unlikely friendship between a little boy and his penguin friend Monty. Monty sees all of these loved up couples at Christmas time and wants that for himself though - it's just adorable.

3. The Long Wait

This is the 2011 advert and whilst I can't remember watching it at the time, though I'm sure I did, it's one I've re-watched loads since the John Lewis hype really started and I just adore it. Featuring the song 'Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want' sung by Slow Moving Millie it shows a little boy's impatience at waiting for Christmas. It leads you to believe he's excited for it to arrive for himself but it's actually because he wants to give a gift to his mum and dad - SOB. I am a mess.

4. The Bear and The Hare

I've always loved Bears and now I have my very own little Bear myself so for some reason this just makes me even more emotional now. 2013's ad was about a bear who always hibernates over Christmas, leaving the hare very sad so one year she (no idea if it's a girl or boy, doesn't matter) leaves the bear a gift that will ensure he'll be up to enjoy Christmas with the rest of the woodland animals. It's has a very classic Disney style to it which I think makes it even more special.

5. Excitable Edgar

Last up is this year's advert featuring Excitable Edgar. I do think now the John Lewis adverts are starting to become more about what merchandise they can sell i.e. the cuddly toys, books etc, and I get it but I do hope at some point they go back to their roots a bit as I do think it's a little obvious now when each year is more of a character than just a nice story if that makes sense. Anyway I still really enjoy this year's advert. Edgar, a young dragon gets so excited about Christmas that he can't control his flames even leading to him burning the village tree, but maybe his best friend will have a solution. It's extremely cute, Edgar's little face makes me want to cry everytime.

I hope if you're a fan of the John Lewis Christmas adverts, or just any festive ads that this has been just as much of a nice read for you as it was for me to write! I can't wait to see what they come up with next year.

Do you have a favourite John Lewis ad? or are there any other brands ads you prefer at this time of year?

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My Easy Marshmallow Rice Krispie Treats Recipe

I'm back with another recipe and whilst this time it isn't strictly festive it's definitely one you could add Christmassy ingredients to and jazz up for any get together's, parties or just as a festive treat for yourself - it's rice krispie treats. You can't beat the simple recipes sometimes and this is SO easy with 5 ingredients and minimal setting time meaning you can devour within an hour, perfect!

Ingredients:

150g rice krispies (any are fine, I used Asda's)

100g butter/margarine

180g marshmallows

2 tsp of marshmallow fluff (optional)

Sprinkles

Method:
1. Grease & line a rectangle baking tin with baking paper and leave to one side
2. Heat your butter in a saucepan and leave until it's completely melted
3. Lower the heat and then add in your marshmallows. From here you'll need to stir constantly to ensure the marshmallows melt and you get a sticky consistency
4. When the marshmallows are all melted, pour in your rice krispies. Stir them through until they're all coated in the marshmallow mixture. I then added in 2 tsp of marshmallow fluff for that extra sweetness but it's optional
5. Tip into your prepared tin, spread out evenly and then sprinkle with whatever you like. I used hundreds and thousands but there are lots of Christmassy baking decorations out at the moment which would be lovely! Once decorated, leave to cool for around 20 minutes
6. When cool, pop into the fridge for around 30 minutes just to firm them up a little
7. When set, pull out from the tin using the baking paper and then cut into squares

These are little squares of pure sweetness, just so delicious and they hardly took any time at all. Rice krispie treats might be incredibly simple but they're so much fun and can be a great one to make with all of the family! This recipe will make around 16 squares too so plenty for everyone to enjoy.

Have you done much baking recently?

Recipes - The BEST Triple Chocolate Cookies // Tiffin // Oreo Brownies

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3 Tips For Saving Money At Christmas*

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Whilst Christmas is undoubtedly the best time of year and there is always so much excitement surrounding these last few months of the year, it can also be an incredibly tough time for many. With all of the happy things Christmas brings, it can also bring along a ton of pressure and stress that we just don't need. Some of it is put onto us by others, but mostly we do it to ourselves, desperate to make sure each year is better than the last. 

You hear stories all the time of how people have got themselves into trouble by trying to buy the most expensive presents for their kids or have gone overboard on the decorations to compete with others. Morses Club offer Christmas loans (Representative 466.37% APR) and have put together an infographic on Christmas savings. It shows the extent some people feel they need to go to for the Perfect Christmas, with 33% paying for things on credit cards, 68% spending more than they initially budgeted and 26% taking on extra work. Christmas should be a time of year for everyone to enjoy so here are 3 of my tips for saving money in the run up to the big day!

Spread The Cost Of Christmas

My top tip for saving money at Christmas is to start early and spread the cost out over a few months rather than buying EVERYTHING in December. I tend to start buying presents from August/September onwards so by December the remaining budget can go on food for the festive period and festive experiences like visiting the markets. Not only do I feel 10x more organised buying presents early, but it also means I can get everything I've had in mind rather than rushing closer to the day when everyone else is out doing their shopping too. Some people buy presents throughout the year aswell, even starting as early as the January sales and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that! I think it makes much more sense to spread the cost where you can rather than having a lump sum coming out of your bank at the end of the year!

Spend What You Can Afford

Everyone's budget is different and it's really important to remember that at Christmas. Just because one person splashes out on something, doesn't mean you have to aswell. Christmas is about so much more than presents and the food. As early as you can (I'd recommend at least a few months in advance) sit down, look at your finances and work out how much you can realistically afford to put away each month and what you want your savings to look like by December. Set yourself a limit for each person you're buying for, that way you're at least less likely to buy more than you planned. Even now George and I have a limit for presents for each other because if we didn't, we really would go insane and it would end up being a waste. And if you're cooking the Christmas dinner, which can get really expensive, make a list early of everything you think you'll need and compare prices at different supermarkets.

Get Cashback On Your Shopping

I've mentioned cashback sites before on my blog but that's because they really are worth signing up too! It's free money for shopping you'd be doing anyway, why wouldn't you take advantage? My personal fave is Top Cashback and whilst it takes a while for companies to pay out, it's something that can be building in the background throughout the year ready to take out for Christmas. It adds seconds onto your online shopping and you get a percentage of your money back each time you make a purchase, it's brilliant.

If you do want to save a bit of cash before Xmas then I hope these tips have been useful. Let me know if you have others you want to share!

*Advertisement feature - this post is in collaboration with Morses Club

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My December To-Do List

This post is totally inspired by Hannah's December To-Do List so definitely head on over to her blog and check her post out too, she is one my all time fave bloggers! I've actually been meaning to do one of these for a while but just not got round to it until now and when I saw Hannah's post I realised that December would be the perfect time to start. It's my absolute favourite time of the year, Christmas is really just around the corner and it tends to be when I'm at my busiest work-wise and personally, but also a time where I really make sure to have plenty of cosy weekends in with nothing but festive films and hot chocolates. So, here are a few of my plans for the month, let me know what yours are!

See Frozen 2

I am SO excited to see Frozen 2 this week! I definitely don't get out to the cinema as much as I used to now we have Bear so it's something I look forward to even more now. George and I saw Last Christmas a few weeks ago which was BRILLIANT, it made me feel even more festive (like that was possible) but Frozen is always a film I put on around Christmas Day so I can't wait to see what the second film is like. I've been listening to the soundtrack for weeks and I'm fully obsessed with 'Show Yourself'.

Visit The York Christmas Market

We visited the Leeds Christmas Market last weekend and whilst it was good, it's definitely not my fave of all the ones we've been too so I can't wait to see what the markets in York are like. York is already a pretty christmassy place and it's somewhere we love to go every so often anyway so I just can't wait to be back there. It'll be our second wedding anniversary too so even more reason to look forward to it, it's come around so fast!

More Christmas Baking

I shared my recipe for snowmen cupcakes last week which is the first bit of festive baking I've done in a long time so I really want to try and create some more bits this month. I want to do christmas tree brownies because brownies are life and maybe some sort of iced biscuits would be nice too!

Winter Walks With Bear

I really want to try and get out a bit more with Bear this month on some Winter walks. He absolutely loves having a good explore and meeting other dogs and I personally love that feeling of coming home afterwards and getting all cosy with a Christmas film. It's absolutely freezing out at the moment though so he needs to be wrapped up warm which he isn't too fond of.

Watch All Of My Fave Christmas Films

Both George and I were ill last week, and I'm talking the most ill we've ever been in our lives, so we watched a load of Christmas films over the weekend and it was lovely. Not the being ill part which I could have definitely gone without but it was an opportunity to get wrapped up in blankets, nap and do nothing but watch films. I've already cried far too many times at Love Actually ,watched The Holiday for the millionth time and got through one too many cheesy Christmas24 movies but I have lots more I want to watch over the next few weeks.

I can't believe we're in December already and that Christmas is just a few weeks away. I adore this time of year, I just don't want it to be over so quickly!

Have you got any Christmas film recommendations? Do you have much planned for December?

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