As I stood at the kettle in the glow of the twinkling Christmas lights this morning spooning a sweetener into my morning cup of tea I realised how ridiculous this was considering the amount of food I consumed yesterday.

I have always loved Christmas, and Christmas food is one of the absolutely best things about it. From the box of Fox’s biscuits opened last Sunday with my cousins, to the chocolate almonds bought to celebrate the kids working hard at school (or some other excuse we just like them). From the ‘roll your own croissant’ tradition on Christmas morning (we had a few strawberries to balance it out) to the After Eights and Chocolate Oranges. Christmas lunch this year was pate to start, then mushroom and lemon stuffed chicken with all the trimmings – red cabbage, pigs in blankets, yorkshire puddings (yes it’s allowed), carrots, honey roast parsnips, roast potatoes and one brussel sprout – followed by Christmas pudding (Aldi’s best) and brandy butter. The chocolates were shared and bottles were drunk – from bucks fizz in the morning to amaretto at night via more prosecco and pudding wine in the middle. We finished the day with a slice of Mum’s Christmas Cake and cheese (yes I know) and Dad’s famous royal icing. Everyone does Christmas their own way and this is how we do ours. Delicious.

Today we’ll be hoovering up leftovers. I’ll add a few healthier options in, like a salad with the chicken and mushroom stuffing risotto, some tomatoes and olives with the as yet untouched cheese board, and um some orange juice with the Yule log maybe?

It’s clear none of this is healthy and I’m ruminating on a challenge for myself for 2022 to help the sweetener along a bit in it’s fight against the unopened packet of Maltesers that’s smiling at me.

But for now it’s a rainy Boxing Day. A day for making lego, watching movies, reading books and playing new board games, probably with a glass of pink gin.

However Christmas was for you I’m sending love and positivity. Allow yourself time to rest – that’s what I’m doing for sure. It’s safe to say my mental health has taken a bit of a hammering this year and I’m going to make time over the next week to put some scaffolding up, but also to snuggle down with my beautiful kids, more Christmas movies and some of that delicious Green and Blacks chocolate. Merry Christmas x