Eight Ways To Increase The Light Through December's windows

1. Prepare To Dazzle Your Neighbours

In our modern world where light pollution has become prevalent, we have forgotten the real magic of an illuminated landscape or feature at night. Consider illuminated music displays with fountains: www.barcelona-touristguide.com/en/faq/attractions/magic...Or visit one of the beautiful enchanted forests to see the different landscape lights can produce: /www.enchantedforest.org.uk/ 

LIGHT YOUR PATH HOME: DAZZLE YOUR NEIGHBOURS

2. Give Your Own House Some Sparkle

Cleaning in December? You must be joking I hear you screaming! On top of everything else?  Ok I hear you! But hear me out! Doesn't a clean house cut stress levels hugely? And  almost all of us  all expect visitors over the festive period...….

Ok! Let's get down and get the chores done! How to  cut the stress and bring light into the process? I'd recommend the cheapest and most natural products: lemons, bicarbonate and vinegar. Method do a good line too.  White foam magic cleaners are also really great. Assemble your cleaners and get the music on. Here's the tracks according to Emily Serwer: (Oct 2016)

18 October 2016 by Emily Serwer

1. "We Found Love," Rihanna
2. "Unwritten," Natasha Bedingfield
3. "Good Feeling," Flo Rida
4. "Billie Jean," Michael Jackson
5. "Team," Lorde
6. "Paper Planes," M.I.A.
7. "Call Me Maybe," Carly Rae Jepsen
8. "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)," Pitbull
9. "Party in the USA," Miley Cyrus
10. "Diva," Beyoncé
11. "Just Dance," Lady Gaga
12. "Jealous (I Ain't With It)," Chromeo
13. "Live Like We're Dying," Kris Allen
14. "A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got)," Fergie
15. "American Boy," Estelle
16. "I Love It," Icona Pop featuring Charli XCX
17. "Can't Hold Us," Macklemore and Ryan Lewis featuring Ray Dalton
18. "Fire Burning," Sean Kingston
19. "Sexy and I Know It," LMFAO
20. "Roar," Katy Perry
21. "Summer Love," Justin Timberlake
22. "Brokenhearted," Karmin
23. "Oops! . . . I Did It Again," Britney Spears
24. "Wannabe," Spice Girls
25. "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," Taylor Swift
26. "Run the World (Girls)," Beyoncé
27. "Can't Stop," Red Hot Chili Peppers
28. "No Diggity," Blackstreet
29. "Eye of the Tiger," Survivor
30. "No Scrubs," TLC
31. "So What," Pink
32. "Boom Boom Pow," Black Eyed Peas
33. "Mirrors," Justin Timberlake
34. "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," Cyndi Lauper
35. "Bohemian Rhapsody," Queen
36. "Billionaire," Travis McCoy
37. "ABC," Jackson 5
38. "Respect," Aretha Franklin
39. "Don't Stop Believin'," Journey

DITCH THE STRESS: ADD SOME SPARKLE

 3. Brighten Up the Card Writing Task

   

For many of us nowadays the only cards we write are Christmas and Birthday cards.  We know that we can use the occasion  to catch up with distant friends and relatives.  And yet how often do we put off this Christmas task? As with all tasks  timely preparation, the correct tools and a beautiful setting can considerably ease the burden. …...

1. Preparation- Order cards  in November , along with personalised details stamper

2. Get the Correct tools- Christmas pens, fountain pens, coloured pens

3. Setting- favourite café, long train journey for work, your own fireside?

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Stuck for inspiration for your  messages? Try the following website:

https://www.shutterfly.com/ideas/christmas-card-wording

I include a few of their ideas:

       

• Have a holly, jolly Christmas!
• Merry Christmas with lots of love.
• The best present one can hope for this year is to spend time together. I can’t wait to celebrate the holidays with you.
• May this Christmas end the present year on a cheerful note and make way for a fresh and bright New Year. Here’s wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

• Three phrases that sum up Christmas are: Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men and Batteries not Included.
• May your fun be large and bills be small this year. Merry Christmas!
• Please note: Christmas is cancelled. Apparently, you told Santa you have been good this year…he died laughing.
• There’s snowbody like you!
• Christmas is the season when you buy this year’s gifts with next year’s money.

        

Lighten the Load: Spread Some Cheer

                       4. Brighten Up Yourself: Prepare To Shine

Jewellers bombard us with adverts for expensive gems in the lead up to Christmas. But what do people really want? Often the most simple pieces are the most appreciated; such as personalised necklace with the recipient's name or a bracelet or ring with your loved one's birthstone. Often the best way to start is to choose something to make you sparkle!

Buy Something Bright: Shine Out!

                    5. Enlighten Yourself: Check Out New Scents
                    

1. Relax the night before you hit the shops and take the perfume
     quiz: https://www.scentbird.com/onboarding
   2. Try some top 2018 scents:

         According to Sharon Feiereisen in 'The Fashion Spot' these are the top five            perfumes for women for 2018:

1. Chanel Chance Eau de Toilette

2. Chanel Coco Mademoiselle Eau de Parfum

3. Philosophy Amazing Grace Eau de Toilette

4. Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue Eau de Toilette

5. Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau de Toilette

https://www.thefashionspot.com/beauty/616565-best-perfumes-for-women-fragrance/#8zJVPJlfDhl3JuVv.99

   3. Gather as many samples as you can, retreat to your favourite

       café and enjoy!

Blast on the Scent :  Blaze Out!

                      6.. Enlighten Yourself: Learn a Christmas Craft 

       

http://www.simplebites.net/how-to-make-spiced-orange-pomander-balls/How to make spiced orange pomander balls

• Use a corner of the citrus zester to make a few designs in the skin of the orange. A peeler works too, but will make wider strips.
• Poke a row of holes in the orange with a tooth pick and push the cloves into the pre-made holes. You may not find this necessary, but if you are crafting with small children, as I was, the cloves hurt their fingers without the pre-made holes.
• You can really make any design you like on the oranges. The ones we did are more time consuming, but we had lots of helping hands.
• Martha Stewart places a rubber band around the citrus and uses it to make a perfect circle around the orange. She also gets out the glue gun, but I like to keep it simple.
• If you like, you can finish by rolling the pomanders in ground spices for extra fragrance. Ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, and of course, cloves, would all be nice.

Craft With Love: Spread Christmas Cheer!

                      7. Enjoy the Light: Walk in Winter Wonderland

One of the best antidotes to the overindulgence and commercialisation that can sour the festive season is a long woodland walk. Gathering some fresh holly, mistletoe or other Christmas greenery we are reminded of the  Christmases our forefathers enjoyed and the simple joys of the season. If you live in the Uk you can check out the following walks:https://www.saga.co.uk/magazine/travel/specialist/walking/woodland-walking-routes

                      Stride Out: In Dappled Light!

8. Light a Candle: Sing a Carol

One of the quickest way to get into the festive mood is to head for your local carol concert. We reminisce about Christmases past as we listen to the bells of Christmas chime out for another year.According to Google, the most searched-for hymns are: Silent Night, Away In a Manger, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, The Twelve Days of Christmas and O Little Town of Bethlehem. 

Whatever yours is I hope you are singing it surrounded by loved ones. 

Happy Christmas!

 

Sing Out: Spread The Cheer!

Send Me Your Ideas For January- My Last Month!

Sara Particco- Twitter or below

I look forward to hearing from you

Let's  help each other to increase  the light!

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