Mollys Guide - Winter 2019

The Party One
Any excuse for a celebration, this mum loves to entertain and the
festive season offers so many opportunities to do just that. She never
misses her works’ do (and feels a bit the worse for wear the day after)
but Party Mum also likes to hold intimate dinners with cocktails for
her friends and Frozen-themed parties for her children. She is happy
to host Christmas movie sleepovers with buckets of popcorn and will
instinctively invite everyone back for pizza after visiting the theatre to
watch the pantomime. I love Party mum. Why? She’s always got a bottle
of Prosecco on ice.
The Hot Mess One
She’s been trying to get her act together
for years but somehow, despite her best
efforts, she’s still wrapping last-minute
gifts at midnight on Christmas Eve. Like
the Organised One, she has at least seven
to-do lists on the go but never seems to
cross anything off. She will arrive late for the
school Nativity and will probably be wearing
her Christmas jumper inside-out, but she
will be there. She is full of good intentions
but life just gets in the way. The one thing
she never messes up on though is making
sure her family is happy on Christmas Day
morning, even if she had to work through
the night to make the magic happen.
The Crafty One
Often to be found lurking in the
aisles of Hobbycraft, Lakeland
and B&Q or at a felt wreathmaking
class, the Crafty One is
the parent who enjoys making
everything from scratch. All
of her Christmas decorations
are either customised
shop-bought baubles or
unique pieces hewn from
the branches of the cedar
tree she chopped down last
autumn. She wouldn’t dream of buying a box of
Christmas cards and instead makes her own. She is most likely to gift
a bottle of (really good) homemade sloe gin or a crocheted reindeer.
The Fizzing With
Excitement One
The Instagram-perfect One
As you walk in, past the spectacular
handmade wreath hanging on her front
door, your nose is filled with the aroma
from the ‘After Sledding’ Yankee Candle
(that’s a genuine fragrance) which flickers
on the sideboard, nestled among a display
of glittering stags of various sizes. The
walls of her immaculate home are painted
in the softest of grey, the sofa is white (to
echo her Christmas 2019 snow theme)
and complemented by a cream rug and
white throws. You can only marvel at how
she keeps the place clean with seven kids
running around.
She rotates her Christmas
jumpers daily throughout the
months of November and
December and watches festive
movies on a loop. Naturally, Elf is
her favourite film of all time.
She decorates her house as soon as
Bonfire Night is over (tastefully, she loves
to colour co-ordinate her baubles with the new festive bunting
she just bought from The Range) and enjoys sitting in the glow
of the fairy lights, cradling a mug of hot chocolate - sprinkled
with cinnamon - cinnamon is THE festive spice of choice.
The Thrifty One
There’s no way this mum is flexing the plastic
and if she does, she uses her 0% credit card and
the balance is paid in full before the statement
arrives. She buys EVERYTHING in the sales,
including the Brussel Sprouts. Any leftovers from
Christmas dinner are whizzed into a soup and
frozen, to be consumed
when needed - possibly
every day until June.
She doesn’t buy
Christmas cards but
instead downloads
a free template from
Pinterest and gets her
children to colour them
in. I could learn a LOT
from Thrifty Mum.
The ‘Is It Over Yet?’ One
She makes sure her children have a great time but
really, she just wants the decorations down and for
life to return to ‘normal’. Christmas for this mum is
just a bit overwhelming - so much to do, so much
to think about, she’s often so busy keeping the
plates spinning, she forgets to enjoy herself. When
she does take her foot off the gas, she is happy to
watch a Christmas movie but
she will only watch it once. No
repeats of Elf for this mum.
Once a year is enough.
Molly’s Guide and newspaper columnist Sam Curtis lives in Lincoln with her husband
and their two children Lottie, 14 and Louie, 6.
You can follow Sam on: Twitter: @sammanfa
Facebook: SamCurtisWrites
Instagram: sammanfa1
Snapchat: @sam-manfa
www.mollysguide.co.uk
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