5 Things Friday - A Very Happy Christmas

A quick review of the year, a big thank you and a special Christmas offer

Hello, how are we all? Nine days to go and I’m sure you're probably somewhere between mild panic and resigned to what will be! Christmas can be a stressful time and, dare I say it, particularly for us women, but for my family at least, the Christmasses when we have had some mild disaster have ended up being the ones we all remember and laugh about the most. The one where I discovered a family of mice had been feasting on the wrapping paper (on the wrapped presents) and had to do an emergency Christmas PJ shop as they had nested in the festive onesies! The one where we had a powercut halfway through cooking the Christmas dinner (we ate very late on that one). And the one where I discovered the dishwasher had flooded the kitchen just as I was off to bed at 1.30am on Christmas Eve… that one took me a while to laugh about if I’m honest! Whatever your plans are, I hope you all have a well deserved rest and spend time with the ones you love, which is the most important gift anyone can receive.

This year has been a hard one for me on a personal level, but one thing that I’ve enjoyed is spending time on here. It has been a welcome distraction and I’ve loved having a space away from the craziness of my social media life to discuss all things fashion, style, beauty, and home - navigating our way through what I feel can for lots of us be the most challenging time of our lives. I’ve loved sharing my thoughts and ideas and hopefully helping you (and me) to feel comfortable, confident and heard in our daily life. That was one of my main aims when starting this newsletter, as I feel it’s something often neglected by the mainstream media. I’ve talked about my own personal insecurities when I first pressed that publish button, but it was the absolute best decision, so if you have any goals for 2025, remember that nothing should hold you back from achieving your dreams!

For me a personal highlight on 5 Things Friday this year was getting to interview make-up guru Bobbi Brown. Never would I have thought that I would have the opportunity to chat with one of my icons of the beauty industry; someone whose energy in later life has led to a whole new brand and career. The Make-Up for Mid-Life was one of my most popular posts and, on a personal level, it’s helped me to make some changes to my own makeup routine, which I’m very pleased with! I’m pleased to say you’ve loved the new addition of videos in the newsletter. The Autumn Footwear guide was my most viewed post and I’ve taken you with me on trips to Porto, Kefalonia, Amsterdam, Lisbon, Fuerteventura and Turkey. You do love a packing edit! Hopefully, 2025 will bring me the long-haul holiday I’ve been hoping for. We’ve also discussed style, building a forever wardrobe, good basics and how to avoid fashion mistakes. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading it all as much as I have loved writing it.

As a little thank you for all your support this year, and to tempt more of you to take the plunge to enjoy all the benefits of paid subscribership, I thought a special Christmas discount to 5 Things Friday would be appreciated. I’m offering 20% off an annual subscription. It’s now a huge archive of fashion edits, styling ideas and travel reviews, with the odd splattering of recipes and home and garden ideas - and all for 84p a week! We also have a wonderful vibrant, friendly community here. If you’d like to be part of the club, and have full access to everything, then upgrade with the Christmas offer through the link below.

If you’re still looking for that last minute gift, you can also gift a subscription to a fashion friend. Offer ends 1st January 2025.

So with that, I do hope you all have a super Christmas. I’ll be taking a break from writing over the next 2 weeks, but I will be around on the chat threads to keep in touch. I want to take the opportunity to thank you all for your support and friendship this year. It’s been so lovely to connect with you, and to share thoughts and ideas. I’d love to hear from more of you in the chat thread and comment section. It’s your newsletter so do take the opportunity to join in the chat.

See you in 2025!

Happy Christmas and much love,

Melissa xx