In a way, I’m enjoying having to work round the cafes and meeting places being closed. I went for a takeaway coffee/walk on the Greenway with a friend this week and there was something more memorable about it even though it was drizzly weather. On Friday, I got a gingerbread latte and sat with another friend on a bench overlooking the main road. It’s interesting to see how much coming and going there is and I enjoyed chatting there even if we were numb from the cold by the end of it 🙂 I’m always happy to see the emergence of Christmas style cups and syrups in coffee shops. I think I’ve always overdone the pumpkin spice by now 🙂
Following on with the same theme, I decided to put up our Christmas tree. (I know it’s too early but I felt like we needed it now!) I put the lights on while the girls were at school to spare them my annual lights-detangling temper tantrum and they enjoyed putting all the baubles on when they got home 🙂 I put some lights up in the windows too, so the neighbours are going to love us 
I got out our little Santa post box and got the girls to write their Santa letters. The kids love to check and see if the letters have gone to the North Pole the following morning 🙂 Every year they announce that they’ve forgotten to put something on it – this year it was a pet rat!
The weather was miserable for most of the weekend so I made some popcorn and we watched Sister Sister on Netflix yesterday morning. It was my favourite show when I was little and I like rewatching it with the girls now 🙂 I love sweet and salty popcorn too and the bowl is always emptied by my daughter and me. My other daughter doesn’t like popcorn (I don’t understand how that’s possible.) Warm popcorn is just like joy in a bowl to me 🙂
We met friends at Stormont and went for a walk along the little fairy trail. It was wet but we were well sheltered by the trees and the carved wooden animals distracted the girls too.
I made the girls a paper fortune teller. It seems to have been the favoured game of the weekend. I just filled it with actions like “stand still like a statue” and “pull a funny face.”
Afterwards, we did one of the craft kits we got from Lina at https://www.amistykindofblue.com/ We did the by the fireside one that is like a fireplace decorated for Christmas 🙂 We started with the wallpaper and carpet and made a little felt rug. Then we added the fireplace and flames with plenty of glitter 🙂 We made a little wreath to hang on the wall and added the Christmas decoration stickers Lina had sent us. The box comes in such a lovely package and would make a great present. (As would Lina’s artwork and jewellery on her website :))
I decided to get the girls involved in helping with chores and they enjoyed them. I don’t know why I didn’t get them to help with more sooner. It made it so much easier to clean the house quickly 🙂 They also think the hoover is a special treat and fight over who gets to use it first 🙂
In the afternoon, we went to the drive-in cinema to see the new version of Aladdin. We had pizza, popcorn and drinks delivered to the car and got to sit and watch the film without venturing out in the rain 🙂 The only squabbles were over pizza crusts and seating arrangements, which for a two-hour long movie, was pretty good 🙂 I liked their matching pizza-eating, screen-staring expressions in this picture 🙂 And of course, the babies had to join us.
The Funky Thrifter 