I don’t like to seriously start thinking about Christmas until December. Although I have to make plans for work at home my Christmas preparations begin when I put up the advent calendar, the first of many traditions. I made this calendar when my son was a baby and we have put it up every year since.

Another thing I like to leave until December is reading the Christmas issues of magazines. I might peruse a few online magazines but I save up my printed ones. Pictured below are Coast, Country Living, The Simple Things and Mollie Makes.

I hand make Christmas cards for close friends and family, trying to do something different each year, but I’m always a bit last minute with them. This year I’m going for simple chalk board style designs.

Making the cake is another Christmas preparation I leave until the start of December. I make the cake when the whole family is around so we can all stir the mixture and make a wish, a tradition that goes back to when I was a child. The absolutely best thing about making the Christmas cake is the delicious smell that fills the house….Christmas is on it’s way!

(click on images to enlarge)