Epiphany - Taking Down the Christmas Decs

Pronunciation: /ɪˈpɪf(ə)ni, ɛ-/

noun (plural epiphanies)

• 1 (Epiphany) the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi (Matthew 2:1-12).
•  the festival commemorating the Epiphany on 6 January.

• 2a moment of sudden and great revelation or realization.

Epiphany 'the festival commemorating the Epiphany on 6 January'

Twelfth Night, which marks the coming of Ephiany and the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas is believed by some to be the last date to take down your Christmas decorations, else bad luck will befall you. Whilst I'm not sure I believe in this bad luck, there does come a point when you're ready to pack down the Christmas decs and start afresh. Here are a few things to do before you forget Christmas for another 11 months:

1. Cut out old Christmas cards to make gift tags:

2. Keep any flat pieces of wrapping paper big enough to cut out and use next year:

3. Shop for a few Christmas bargains in the January sales:

String reduced from £3.50 to £1 and 24 Gift Bags reduced from £8 to £1, Ikea

4. Put everything away neatly in a 'Christmas box':

5. Relax and eat leftover Christmas chocolate:

Epiphany 'a moment of sudden and great revelation or realisation'

I came to the realisation over the Christmas break that I can't do everything all the time. I have a demanding job, a long commute, I'm often all over the country and when I get home, I'm pretty knackered. So I need to stop giving myself a hard time; the house won't always be clean and tidy, dinner won't always be made-from-scratch, the ironing pile might start spilling out of the basket and I won't always go to the gym as often as I maybe should. Instead I will pursue the things that make me happy, enjoy each day as it comes and not sweat the small stuff.

So that means more cakes, more sewing and more blogging in 2014, cheers to that!