I'll be honest - for a while I didn't fully enjoy Christmas.
Of course, when you're a child, it's the most magical thing ever, but as I reached adulthood, a bit of the sparkle wore off. Making sure all family members were visited over the few days of celebrations, this involved lots of travelling and not being home much no time to sit down and relax as there was another journey to make. Lots of our family live all over the country, so it wasn't always possible to see everyone. Christmas had become, dare I say it, a bit of a chore and duty.
But something happened to change that....
My daughter was born in Summer 2018 and since Christmas that year, it has gained it's sparkle back. Being a parent has now made me appreciate just how magical this time is and with every year she gets older and understands more, it gets even more exciting. Seeing Christmas through children's eyes, with all the magic and innocence this brings, has brought back my love for the season. Their excitement at seeing streets with twinkling lights. Putting up the tree. Starting advent calendars. Posting their letters to Father Christmas. Seeing what the naughty Elf on the Shelf has been up to (IYKYK.) And of course, Christmas morning, when Father Christmas has been and they have some presents waiting for them. There's nothing like that feeling of excitement radiating from them - that is the magic of the season I was missing for a short while, but it's back and I couldn't be happier.
I love capturing this excitement within my Christmas photo shoots (using the mixture of props including my red post box where children send that important letter to Father Christmas.). It's always so lovely creating a bit of that magic when you visit me. I now love Christmas so much, immediately after the sessions have ended for the season, I start planning for the following year's Christmas sessions - I've already got some plans for 2025's sets and I can't wait to put them into action!
