WEEKLY UPDATE: 15th - 21st December 2025 | Christmas Shopping, Festive Prep & a Magical Trip to Liverpool
- Jan 22
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 25
The countdown to Christmas was well and truly on this week, and while I didn’t film loads for the vlog, it was one of those quietly busy, behind-the-scenes weeks filled with festive preparation, shopping trips, and a very special theatre treat.
🎄 Festive Shopping in Manchester
On Monday, Lawrence and I headed into Manchester city centre to tick a few more things off our Christmas to-do list. We spent the day wandering around B&M, The Works, Aldi, Lush and Lindt, picking up gifts, festive treats, and all those little extras that somehow always end up in the basket.
It was actually really nice having a relaxed shopping day together, soaking up the Christmas atmosphere and slowly getting organised. Once we’d finished shopping, we stopped for lunch at KFC before heading home to unload our bags.
🎁 Christmas Eve Box Prep & a Liverpool Theatre Night
On Tuesday, we carried on with Christmas prep and popped into our local Home Bargains to pick up bits for the children’s Christmas Eve boxes and stockings. I absolutely love putting these together every year – it’s one of my favourite traditions and really helps make Christmas Eve feel extra special for Alice and Leo.
Later that day, I swapped festive prep for a festive theatre trip and caught the train to Liverpool. Before the show, I grabbed some dinner at the pub inside the station, and as I still had about an hour to spare before curtain up, I decided to take a little walk over to the Liverpool Playhouse.
I’d been told they had a poster outside featuring a quote from my Young Frankenstein review, and I could spot it straight away. It was such a lovely surprise to see my words displayed outside the theatre — definitely one of those little moments that made me smile.
After that, I headed off for the 7pm performance of Matilda the Musical. This was actually my third time seeing the show — I’ve previously seen it on Broadway and in the West End — but this was my first time seeing a touring production. I was seated second row in the stalls, which was an incredible view, and the show itself was absolutely fantastic. It was such a joyful, magical evening and the perfect little bit of Christmas escapism..
👉 You can read my full review of Matilda HERE
🏠 A Quiet End to the Week
On Wednesday, the day after seeing Matilda, I sat down to write up my review for the blog and did a bit more video editing too, alongside the usual house jobs and looking after the kids.
Then on Thursday, while Alice and Leo were at school, I got absolutely everything out that I’d bought for their stockings and Christmas Eve boxes and sorted it all into piles for each of them. I filmed two YouTube videos — What’s in My Children’s Stocking and What’s in My Children’s Christmas Eve Box — and just managed to finish filming before it was time to head out for the school pick-up.
Friday was all about editing those videos and getting them ready to go live, and the weekend was a mix of housework, tidying, and spending time playing with the children — lots of simple, cosy family moments as we eased into the final countdown to Christmas.
It was actually quite nice having a slower end to the week – a chance to breathe, reset, and enjoy the build-up to Christmas without rushing around too much.
🎥 Watch Our Weekly Vlog
If you’d like to see what we got up to this week, including our shopping trips and my Liverpool theatre night, you can watch Weekly Vlog #436 below
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