Merry Christmas to you all!

So how are you all doing this week? I have to admit I am starting to get a touch of Christmas anxiety. I thought I was pretty on top of things but then my kids handed me their letters to Santa which were a completely different list than they had given us a month ago when I did a load of the Christmas shopping early to try and get on top of things!

I know it’s not about them getting everything they ask for and that they will be thrilled with the things we have for them but I still have that desire to keep the magic alive for them. The present I wanted to get Fred now won’t be delivered in time for Christmas as their stock didn’t come in and now Tilda’s School has taken an extra inset day at the end of term which takes out one of my days to get things sorted.

Fred then had new tyres put on his van only to drive over a nail a few days later. All silly little things that in the grand scheme of things are really not important, but I think with everything this year I’ve been feeling a little overwhelmed and it’s the little things that can be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

Don’t worry though, I’ve had a word with myself, there is much to be grateful for. We are happy and healthy and that is more important than anything!

So let me focus on a few nice things. Lovely Eilidh is in the middle of moving house and while the new place is being decorated, she has relocated with Elliot and Beau down my way. So we took the opportunity to have a lovely socially distanced walk down at the beach.

It was so nice to be able to have a good old chin wag and properly catch up, as sometimes at work there just isn’t time to have those sorts of conversations other than a quick ‘hey how are you’?, as we run off to our next show. Eilidh also got to meet my girls which was so nice and I got to see little Beau again who is just the cutest smiliest wee man.

I stayed warm in my latest purchase for myself, the Centigrade Faux Fur coat in Blue, it featured in one of the Style shows I did recently with Katie Pemberton and I loved it so much I had to get one. I never normally go for this sort of colour but when I put it on in the studio I was sold!

The funniest thing though is that we also have a fluffy blue throw on our sofa and when I came in wearing this and sat down next to Ivy she started tugging at me to try and get what she thought was the blanket off me. They now won’t leave me alone when I wear it as they want to stroke it!

Beach days are very much our go-to activity right now as there isn’t a huge amount of other things to be able to do so this last weekend after my morning gift shows at QVC I made it back in time to get down to the beach hut and have a little treat of hot chocolates and cakes.

I ended up cracking open the Cocoba chocolate bombs early which I had been saving for Christmas but then I figured life was too short! The kids loved them because as they melt, marshmallows pop out from inside them. It was such a bright sunny day which made it so nice to be able to stay outside without being driven home by the cold. I love that the kids will just play and play once they get going and it’s hard to drag them home!

True Balance Challenge!

Gill Gauntlet and I went head-to-head after our Gift shows on Saturday with the True Balance game. This is always such a hit in the studios and gets all of us presenters very competitive with each other. You can see the video on my Instagram and see who was eventually the winner! Yes Gill Gauntlet I see you cheating now, haha!!

See if you can spot what she’s up to. It’s a fun game and definitely a good bit of family fun this Christmas. The larger version comes as a single option but you can also get the set of two smaller ones which are good for smaller kids.

Nellie’s Laundry Soda – pre-launch 9pm 22nd December

We have a new brand for you! Nellie’s is an all-natural cleaning brand and we will be bringing you a Today’s Special Value of the All Natural Laundry Soda in the 100 load tin plus a 50 load re-fill pouch.

Quite a few of our presenter team have been putting it to the test and it made for a very amusing email thread as we all started sharing how much we loved it and what we’ve been washing! You would never have expected us all to get so excited about laundry but it seems to have captured us all.

I had to do my dining table chair covers as I managed to knock a full cup of tea over a couple of them. Ivy’s chair also had a lot of sticky syrupy finger marks all over it so I took it as an opportunity to put it to the test. I wasn’t disappointed at all, they have all come out beautifully! I am now doing all our family loads of washing with it and everything so far has come out perfectly.

I am also experimenting with something called Laundry Stripping. It’s the latest cleaning trend to get rid of all the old residual dirt and build-up on your laundry even when its clean out of the wash.

What you do is soak your towels, for example, in a hot bath with Nellie’s soda and leave to soak. You can also add the brightener too but I didn’t have that so did it without. I was pretty surprised to see how grubby the water was after, as the towel was clean out of the airing cupboard. It just shows how much stays on the fabric with conventional cleaners but also washing at low heats.

Ashwood Handbags Today’s Special Value

I thought you might like a sneaky look ahead at the Ashwood Today’s Special Value which launches Christmas Eve into Christmas Day. It’s a gorgeous Leather Clara Flap-over Cross-body Bag which we have in five colours, Black, Grey, Navy, Pink and Orange. It’s a really stylish design with beautiful chevron quilted detailing and the option to use it like a large clutch or also a cross-body bag.

I love that we have the choice of classic colours and then bolder colours like the pink and orange. Stine, our lovely presenter stylist pulled together a few looks for me to wear for these pictures and it shows how different a look you can go for depending on the colour. Do make sure to set the reminders for the launch to secure your favourite colour.

The first look is the black Clara bag with a WynneLayers jumper along with the leather-look skirt from Gok Wan and WULI:LUU, it’s a classic combination and the black leather keeps it all very sleek and grown up.

The second outfit is bringing the colour with the amazing pink version of the bag which pops on any outfit! I am wearing a Hobbs jumper in blue along with jeggings by Phase Eight in a rather lovely port colour. I am wearing the 12 but I think they come up small so I would prefer to be in the 14.

Dyson Corrale

I know quite a few people who are considering the Dyson Corrale as a Christmas present this year so I thought I would show you how I do my hair with it. Of course it is a considered purchase by anyone’s standard so you will want to make sure it’s worth it, so do remember we offer a 60 day money-back guarantee so you can be really sure it’s right for you or for whoever you are getting it for.

I will say I have been so surprised by how much I like it. I didn’t think straighteners could be so reinvented. For me it’s down to being able to achieve the look that I want on a lower heat, which in turn means better hair health and less damage. This is also due to the sprung-loaded copper plates that help ‘corrale’ the hair as you run them down the hair.

The fact it can be used cordless also means it is really easy to use without having to be right near a plug socket but also you don’t get wrapped up in the cord. In this video that I did over on my Instagram you can see how I style my hair for when I am on air and also when I want to make an effort at home too! Click here to watch.

That’s it from me this week, my next blog will be after all the Christmas mayhem so let me take this opportunity to wish you all the loveliest Christmas however you are choosing to spend it.

We will have my sister with us and we will be going to a local pub for Christmas lunch. As much as I love to cook, I thought I would take it off this year and just enjoy the day. My parents are staying put in Ireland and Fred’s mother will be with friends in Northern Ireland so won’t be alone. What a year eh?! Let me know how you will be spending yours!

So much love to you all and your families, from mine to yours, and a big thank you for reading my blogs this year and tuning in to QVC.

Love from Katy xxxxx