This morning we had the first of this winter’s warm bowl of porridge breakfasts, we were sat at the table together, drinking milk/tea *delete as applicable listening to the radiator (toddler P speak for radio) as we have done since weaning began. It’s our breakfast tradition on my days off work, we sit together at the table, radio on, for some mummy and daughter time. It’s our non-school day ritual.

Today being the 1st Nov, there’s been lots of memes and jokes doing the social media rounds about how Halloween is over and the Christmas count down has begun. It got me thinking, being a traditionalist, what is our Christmas going to look like. I know it’s not out first Christmas together, it’s lady P’s third in fact, but for her first we were a family of 4, then her second I was only 6 months free of my marriage and still a bit wrapped in the stress and upset of becoming a single mum etc. So this year is really our first Christmas together as a duo without any stress or underlying upset. It’s just us.

So what do we want our festive periods to looks like? What traditions are we going to make? What will our annual rituals and festivities be? I don’t know but I’m really finding the prospect exciting.

It’s made me think of Christmas growing up and routines we had, like picking out a pair of my dad’s black socks to use as stockings and laying them on the floor by our beds. Dad’s annual drunken Christmas speech. Christmas crackers laid across each plate, extra chocolate tree decorations added to the tree overnight by Santa. Some of these I may recreate but some things are going to be new, they’re going to be us. So if you’ve any ideas, pass them my way because I love a good tradition!