December came so quickly this year! It’s been a month of reflection, travel, lots of family time, and many, many seasonal events. We are a busy family, and I think I realized just how busy we are compared to others with this project. 2025 has been the best year of my life and I am so excited to see what 2026 has in store. Kai, Amelia and Robin have all grown so much in this year and all of them have made me so proud to be their parent. Onto 2026.
This post is a part of Project 365 where a bunch of bloggers share a picture and a bit about each day of the year. Some share weekly, some monthly like me. You can check out other bloggers at the bottom of this post.
December 1st – Monday, Funday
Starting the last month of the year on a Monday feels like a brave choice, but I am here for it! We had our normal, chaotic Monday of packed lunches, getting kids off to school, and then getting right to work. I am currently taking part in a walking challenge, called #FindYourActive Big Winter Walking Challenge, so I am going to be walking more and more (as I am competitive and find leader boards to be a challenge!) So, I started off the day by doing a big, big walk for no real reason. I then went right back into work and continued until it was school pick-up time. This time, we played Birdy Call at Geek Retreat, had some shakes, and then headed to the movies. I had arranged girls night out, with friends, and we all attended the movie Zootopia 2. It was pretty good! We got home right on time as if we went to Max Monday, so I served some crockpot lasagne soup to the DnD boys and us girls, then we watched Zootopia for girls night, doing face masks and painting our nails. Everyone then headed off to bed.
December 2nd – Tabletop Tuesday
December is a weird month, so for us, a lot of days are out of order. I started off the day by packing lunches and seeing kids off to school, then started walking in circles around my house while in work meetings. Dann and I worked during the day, and then went out for Spotlight hour in the afternoon. Due to the walking challenge, where our Pokemon Go friends are on a team against strangers, there were plenty of people out to get a bit of extra steps in! Dann and I actually went to town slightly early and continued walking around, as both of us are trying to level up in Pokemon Go as well. After spotlight hour, we headed home where I made breakfast for dinner for our tabletop group. We played a game about plants and ate a bunch! Today’s photo is a photo from walking around, slightly before Spotlight hour, that I am very proud of as it just looks weird.
December 3rd – Raid Hour
Today I walked Kai’s lunchbox to school, getting a lot of steps in as I went a really long way, and then I came home and realized I was really over-doing it. I have a back injury from childhood that locks up my entire back, and so it was currently fucked. I ended up just doing work for the rest of the day, walked back to Kai’s school to pick up the lunchbox, and then headed into town for Raid Hour. Again, Dann and I went early and had a walk around, grabbing a Starbucks as a treat, and running some errands. We then did the raids with our friends, with me leveling up!, before heading to the movies. Molly and Husky had returned from Japan, and brought me a special Pikachu. It was super lovely of them! At the movie, we saw Wicked for Good, again, as our friends wanted too. This time, however, I am on the Cineworld ad where I am answering questions about movies! That was super cool to see, then we headed home to bed.
December 4th – Tired Thursday
Today started like yesterday – walked to Kai’s school, walked back home, started on with work. Today was a bit of a rushed day, as we grabbed Amelia early and took her to the dentist. She had a lot of trouble there, which was really for us all, but we ended up getting some of it done and heading home. At home, Kai came home from school first as Robin had a club. Kai went right to the gym and when Robin came home we had cabbage soup, her request, before heading to our local theatre for a Panto. We saw Sleeping Beauty at the Harlow Playhouse, which was all decked out for their influencer night (gifted). Our kids got so many snacks, treats, ice creams, light up toys – it was really a fun experience. Robin even got to take a picture with one of the stars of the show. We enjoyed the performance before heading home and getting ready for bed. I stayed up to do some more extra walking and work before heading to bed myself.
December 5th – It’s a Friday!
Today was a very boring day, mainly because we were all a little tired! It was the normal wake up, food, packed lunches, and then going to school or work. I had a lot of work to get done today, but hit a wall, so we went for a big walk at our local nature reserve. Dann and I are still going strong in our walking competition, so getting in some extra walks feels like a good excuse. We then headed to pick up everyone from school and do the usual Robin to her acting class, Kai to the gym, and Amelia and I hung out. After all of that we had dinner, watched a Christmas movie and headed right to bed. It was good to have a relaxing day!
December 6th – A Travel Day!
Dann and I woke up this morning and started getting the house in order to leave the country! We packed our bags, got the cats sorted and made sure everything was set out for our house sitters before heading into town for a Pokemon Go community day. Our town had a light-switch-on festival, complete with tin drummers, and we did a bunch of walking for our walking challenge. Then, we headed to the airport for our trip to Austria! When we arrived, we met up with some of our friends, and we all went to dinner. It was nice having some traditional food, before heading to our hotel and going to bed for an early start the next day.
December 7th – Seeing Everything in Austria
We woke up in Austria to a packed schedule! Two of our friends were showing us around and know we like doing everything, so they set up everything for us to do. We started off the day at a cafe that’s known as the “Starbucks” of Austria, before heading out for the day. We checked out several Christmas markets, got candy from the oldest active tram, went into the historical Cathedral, went to Demel which has a history with a famous chocolate cake… and so much more. It was an extremely busy day, but one that we found perfect for our lifestyle. I am writing up loads of the individual things we’ve done which will be shared over the coming months on this blog!
December 8th – More Austria
Today we went to more cafes, more Christmas markets, and went to Europe’s largest Zoo! It was such an extremely busy day, with so many good foods and good memories. Austria is really into pastries, which has been fun, as Dann and I don’t often start the day with pastries. We ended up going to a few historical places, but our main goal on this holiday is exploring Christmas markets, so it’s been fun to seeing different ones. I tried a garlic potato pancake type thing yesterday and am now going through and trying these at each market, which has been such a fun adventure, as each one is quite different! Off to bed, as tomorrow is another day in Austria.
December 9th – Austria!!
We went to even more cafes today, tried the other historical chocolate cake, went to the place where Schnitzel was originated, went to the large library in Austria, and went to even more Christmas markets. These days are absolutely ram-packed with activities and we are having such a fantastic time. I did try more food from the Christmas markets, which is really quite fun for us. We went to an extremely small, local Christmas market that’s out of the way in Austria, which had a man selling apricot juice from his farm – it’s the best thing I have ever tasted. I am truly so lucky to get to live the life that I am living and this has reminded me of that.
December 10th – Last Day
Today was a day of markets and museums! As it was our last day, we went to our favorite Christmas markets, went to some more cafes, and went to a few beautiful places including a museum from the artist Hundertwasser. It was so much fun! We also went to the Natural History museum too, which was absolutely massive. Dann had always wanted to go to the Christmas markets and it feels like we really went and did them all. I had so much fun, but tomorrow is an extremely long day, so we headed to bed early, ready for tomorrow.
December 11th – One Day, Three Countries
I woke up in Austria early, and we headed off to the airport, heading home. When Dann and I got home, I went straight into flipping my bag, as after dinnertime I was off to Spain for a work trip. Dann’s staying behind this time, which is fine, but the quick switch is always one I find a bit stressful! I headed back out to a different airport and landed in Spain in time to get to my hotel and go to dinner, which was fantastic. It was a day of mainly travel, but that’s okay, as I got lots of sleep along the way.
December 12th – BIG Festival in Spain
I woke up in Spain and went to the breakfast buffet, before heading to BIG Conference to play loads of games! I have lots of friends that live in Spain, so it was fun to connect with them and play so many games. I am invited to this event, so got to have an extremely fancy tapas lunch with the other delegates, before walking around the Christmas market in Spain and heading to my hotel for a bit of work. In the evening, I went to the afterparty, which was a lot of fun, before dipping out for food with friends. I ended up back at my hotel at after midnight, so am well ready for sleep.
December 13th – Travel and a Play
Spain was a short trip, as I woke up this morning, had breakfast, and then headed back to the airport. I landed in England early in the morning, which was fantastic as we had a packed day. We all went to see Snow White, and then went out to lunch. Our kids picked pizza, so that’s what we had, before heading back to our town to check out the newly opened Christmas Market. This market was very good for their first year! We then headed home, had some dinner, and I went right to bed as I had had an extremely long week.
December 14th – Another Play and some Sushi
Today was another busy day, as we had a lot to fit in! We went out to a play in London, which had a big scientific twist on it, which was a lot of fun. This was a slightly afternoon play, so we had already had lunch, but Kai wanted to go out to an all you can eat sushi place for dinner. We ended up at Inamo, where Dann and I had previously made dragon rolls. We had an extremely fun time – Robin, Kai and Amelia all enjoyed playing video games on the table, ordering, and getting loads of rounds of food. We then headed home and settled down for bedtime. It was a packed but fun day.
December 15th – Monday, with Friends
Today started off as a pretty normal day! We got up, packed lunches, got kids off to school. Robin wanted something new for breakfasts, as she has been eating more lately, so I made her loaded potato soup for breakfast. Then, I did my work day before picking Robin up from school. I did a litter pick at her school, as I arrived early, and then we both made our way to the town to meet up with Dann, Kai, Amelia, and her friend. Robin and I had another look at our town’s Christmas market, where Robin got a free Christmas ornament activity, before heading to Geek Retreat to play Wheely Derby, which Robin declared was her favorite board game so far! Amelia and her friend both got Pokemon cards and opened them, then we all headed home to relax for a little bit before Max Monday. We met up with more of our girl’s friends, who all then came over for dinner. When we arrived back, it DnD was in full swing, so I served up some chili to everyone in the house. Robin and her friend watched a movie set up in her room while Amelia and her two friends watched a movie in my room, with the big projector. Desserts were handed out, facemasks done, and then everyone went home at around 10pm. Dann and I cleaned up and went right to bed.
December 16th – New Hair
Today I woke up, packed lunches, and then headed out with drop off. I had a hair appointment right before the holidays! I got tinsel put in my hair and it refreshed completely, which was so much fun. My hair stylish also got me a Christmas gift which was so sweet! This took several hours though, ended around 2pm, and from there I headed right into London. I met up with one of my friends and hung out with him in London, going out to a food hall and taking in the view of London from within one of those high-rise buildings. I headed home late, so that I could wake up early and pack more lunches tomorrow for both Kai and Robin now!
December 17th – Cookie Day
I woke up early to pack both Robin and Kai a lunch today and bring it to them. On Friday, we were contacted by the school and told that Robin doesn’t like school lunches and isn’t eating enough food in the morning when coming in from her other house, so we are back to packing her a lunch as well. It’s not a huge deal, but I do wish that their other parent would be more capable. Robin does really love my cooking though! After dropping in the lunches (and getting a lot of steps in for our walking contest) I did a mix of meetings and baking cookies. I make cookies for our Raid Hour Pokemon Go Christmas event, which was tonight! We did a secret Santa and I brought hot coco too. The cookie boxes weren’t the right size this year, but everyone got a Pokemon Go merch item, a code card, and then three cookies; Chocolate Mint, Lemon Crinkle, and Thumbprint. It was a very fun evening! We then went to the Cinema to see Five Night’s at Freddies 2, which was pretty good to be honest.
December 18th – Final Light Trail
Today was a lot like yesterday! Woke up, dropped off lunch boxes, got some steps in, went to work. Work was boring and long today, which is fine by me, as it’s nearly the holidays! In the afternoon, we all went out to our last light trail of the season; Enlightened at Markshall Estate. This was a fantastic last light trail, with some new features, and everyone was in high spirits. Kai got along to the gym, as he does daily, but was especially grateful today, which is always nice. We came home, had dinner, and then I went to bed early as I was so tired.
December 19th – Robin’s Performances
Today was the longest Friday in history. Everyone had different half days, with Robin needing a packed lunch. We dropped everyone in, then stuck around Robin’s school for her singing performance. She did wonderfully, despite being distracted by a family member who was standing up, and prompting her to move differently than she was in the show. It was a really weird thing, actually, and not like how that family member has acted before. A few of the parents afterwards reached out to ask about it, as it was so distracting to everyone, and for seemingly no reason. It’s just wild when adults try to make things about them, when it’s really not. We then headed home briefly before going out to pick up Kai and Amelia from school. Amelia brought a friend home, and then Dann grabbed another one of Amelia’s friends before picking up Robin. Everyone made it home, I fed those who had not had lunch at school, and then Kai went to the gym. After that, Robin and I went up to town and got wielded bracelets before one of Amelia’s friends needed to head home. Then, Robin got ready for her second performance of the day, which was a play! We all headed there, with Amelia’s other friend heading off to her own after school club. Kai, Amelia and I played at a park while Robin had her dress rehearsal, before we went in and saw her play. She played 4 named characters and was so very good. My heart was so full of pride for her, as she really shined through! She is such a little actress. We then headed back home, dropped off Kai, picked up Amelia’s friend who went to the club, and Amelia, her friend and I headed to our cupcake class. Then, we came home and I went right to bed while Dann dropped her friend off home. The longest, longest Friday.
December 20th – Movies and Pokemon Go
We woke up today, had breakfast, and then headed out to the movies! Our kids wanted to see the new Spongebob Squarepants film, and also to see my ad at Cineworld. We got to see both today, which was a lot of fun. The movie was okay, more kid focused then others, but it’s all good. Then, Dann and I did a little Christmas shopping before heading out to Pokemon Go Research Day. This day was a lot of walking (perfect for our walking challenge) so we ended up in second place in the walking rankings! It was a very fun day and quite a few of my favorite people to hang out with did the big walk with us! We then headed home, Dann made hot pot for dinner, and I worked until it was time for bed.
December 21st – On a Boat
Today was a pretty lazy, low-key day to start with! I did some little tasks in the morning and got ready for Christmas. Then, Dann and I went to London to drop off some food for our friend who is having a baby. We made a bunch of freezer meals to ease when the baby comes, which is meant to be this week! Then, we headed back to our town to check out the last day of our town’s Christmas market. We grabbed lunch here and walked around, before heading home for a bit. I put on a movie and got back to little computer tasks for the day. In the evening, Dann and I headed to London to go on a GoBoat ride in Canary Wharf, which was absolutely fantastic. Before the ride, we grabbed some Asian food, which is always a favorite, then we met up with a bunch of our friends and enjoyed each other’s company on the boat. We headed home late and went straight to bed.
December 22nd – Christmas DnD
Today was primarily a work day, with a lot of work that needs to be signed off before Christmastime. So I spent most of the day actually getting lots of work tasks done. There is so much to do this time of year! Towards the evening, I got ready for DnD and did a big shop today, hoping to cover Christmas and onwards with foods. There were tons of people that complimented my hair or asked if I was from the Cineworld ad, which was wild. For DnD I wrapped everyone little gifts I had made; they each got a little gelatinous cube dice holder and a dice keychain that holds a bunch of baby dice. I also made a meal of roast in a jumbo yorkshire pudding. Everyone enjoyed it and they had a lovely time at their Christmas-themed one shot. I returned to working and went to bed after everyone had left and the house was reset.
December 23rd – Christmas Party
Today was a cooking and work day, with me dipping in and out of meetings and creating food for our Christmas party. Instead of our usual tabletop night, we decided to invite some extra friends over and do a Christmas party. I made loads of things for this; ham bread, dips, charcuterie and so much more. We went out for Spotlight Hour in Pokemon Go, where a good handful of people were out walking around, before returning home to get everything set up. Our friends arrived, we all ate, and it was such a fun time. Our house really felt full of joy and warmth, which is what Christmas should feel like.
December 24th – Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve is always a bit of a nothing day, if that makes sense! We fed everyone appetisers for lunch, we went for a walk to the park and I did a big litter pick. It’s the last day of our walking competition, so we wanted to get some extra steps in. Then we kinda hung about, with our kids playing video games, until Raid Hour. Amelia and Robin were so delighted to see their friends at Raid Hour and do a little gift exchange. We stayed out for the hour, then headed home to make Gingerbread Houses. These are hand-made by me, and then they decorated them with all the candy. We ate them up and our kids headed to bed shortly after. Dann and I set up the tree and went to bed ourselves. We had so many gifts there wasn’t much room to place them!! I am so glad our room isn’t still filled with gifts.
December 25th – Christmas Day
Robin woke us all up early, as she was so excited for Christmas, which makes sense. We all came downstairs and watched Kai, Amelia and Robin light up when they saw the gifts. Robin got a new phone, a Switch 2, some games, and lots of toys! Amelia’s big gifts were a new, professional drum kit that she had picked out and a Switch 2, along with some games and a bunch of small items including a pottery kit that she really liked. Kai got lots of gym stuff and a new phone, along with posters, a bunch of band clothing, and snacks. Dann and I don’t do so many gifts for each other, but we did our gifts too, which were full of surprises. After gifts were done, we played with out stuff and cleaned the house, as this year I am hosting! The in-laws have tried my food this year (I really am a good cook!) and asked me to host. I made ham, duck and turkey, with the idea that we could eat leftovers for the next few days, along with all the fixings. The extended family came over, we ate food, and then we played Jackbox and other games on the TV together after our gift exchange. When everyone left, I cleaned up, and then Dann and I watched a movie before bed.
December 26th – Boxing Day
Boxing Day is just a Dann and Jupiter day. We have some Christmas traditions that we like setting aide a day for, so we did that today. We watched some movies, ate some charcuterie and celebrated the end of the year with just the two of us. It was a lovely day, full of us being together.
December 27th – Escape Room
Today started off a bit rocky, as the other parent of the children picked the time that we were meant to pick them up, then just didn’t show up. They then ignored emergency contact for nearly an hour – which was very concerning. I do feel that it’s either stupidity, when it comes to literally following what they asked for, or it’s just trying to mess with us around the holidays, which is a thing they tend to do every year. Either way, once the day actually started, everything was okay! Amelia spent a lot of time on her drum set, which Dann set up, and playing with her Switch 2. Robin played Roblox with her friends and took out loads of her toys, including a magic kit, getting into the whole thing. Kai went to the gym with a bunch of his workout stuff and played video games with Dann. I got some writing done – it was a lovely day. In the evening, we went out to Christmas Cat-Astrophe Escape Room, which was a lot of fun, before heading home and going to bed.
December 28th – Lots of Friends
Since Wednesday, Robin and Amelia have been asking when their friends could come over, so today was the day. We got up, I made Robin a new soup for the week (she eats soup for breakfast) and then got the house tidy for their friends to come over. Two of them came at 11 and stayed until 5pm, so it was a fun, load, chaotic day. Kai spent a lot of time building Lego and hanging up posters in his room, with a big break to the gym. I got a lot of writing done today, which was my goal, and we all ate through some of the leftovers in the fridge, which is always a good thing to do. In the evening, Robin and Amelia both played on their Switch 2s. Amelia is playing a new Pokemon game and Robin is playing a new SpongeBob game. I also had a bath this evening with a bath bomb I got for Christmas.
December 29th – Girl’s Night
Today felt a lot like yesterday, but with just our household! Everyone got up, we got breakfast on. Then, Robin went on VR, Amelia on her Switch 2, and Kai finished building his Lego and started another Lego. This is wild, we have no idea why he is building so much Lego suddenly!! We all just hung out doing our things until the afternoon, then we all went up town to Geek Retreat. Amelia and Robin got milkshakes, and we played two board games! This was a lot of fun. We then walked around the town before Max Monday. I got a shiny today in the Dynmax Raids, which was nice, then we all went home. It was lasagne for dinner, which I plated up for Dann’s DnD friends and Robin, Amelia and I. We watched the second Night at the Museum movie, did face masks, and painted rocks for a local rock painting contest. Then, everyone headed to bed, I did some cleaning of the kitchen, and went to bed myself.
December 30th – Escape Room
Today we woke up, I made breakfast, and Robin was up early on VR. Amelia played some of her switch, then after lunch we went up town to go to The Tomb escape room at the Panic Room. We had been to this escape room before, but had not done this specific room. It seems like next year’s theme will be escape rooms! We had a lot of fun at this one, which was fantastic. Kai then went to the gym and Amelia, Robin and I went to Starbucks. I took a photo of the sunset that my local newspaper is using as their header on Facebook, which was very cool. We then hung out around town, before going home. In the afternoon, Dann and I went to an Adult’s Only Panto, which was a lot of fun, before heading home and going right to bed.
December 31st – Last Day
Today was very much like an average Wednesday! Dann and I woke up, we went out shopping between meetings and work. In the afternoon, we went to Raid Hour, which was very busy due to the fun Pokemon that was there. It was very cold, but very fun hanging out with so many friends. Dann and I then went to see the Housemaid as our last movie of the year, which was really good. I had been listening to the audio book, so it was cool seeing the movie version. Then, we came home and Dann made a huge hot pot, that we then ate into the New Year.