This post is also available in: Bulgarian

How does December smell in your opinion? What do you think? For me, it’s like a sweet symbiosis of mandarins, honey, ginger, apples, cinnamon, hazelnuts and coziness. The last one I really don’t know the scent of, but I search for it all around me. And every year I feel that the coziness lies not in the new and expensive things, gifts that are necessary and unnecessary, the great glamorous Christmas decoration and everything that prompts us to be consumers more and more in order to be nice but it’s rarely working. For me the coziness is in the small but practical things you create to make you feel good. And this year I didn’t get a real tree for many reasons but the main thing is that I want something more sustainable in time, I don’t have glass and heavy toys on the Christmas tree because I have a sweet kitten who likes to play with them and I don’t want to stop his pleasure, I don’t have garlands, deers and a dancing Santa Claus, only lights and some real cones that I turned into toys for home decoration.

I don’t think of posting an article about Christmas gift ideas because I myself will count on things that have been hand-made by me and Kalo (I shared with you on Instagram the wooden table that Kalo made for the bath, this is his new passion and he makes great things from trees like candlesticks, a real tree with branches as a jewelry holder and other interesting things that we decided to create for our loved ones, according to their needs and personalities) or to choose gifts with a good cause. I recently told you on Instagram stories about the idea behind www.plet.bg – handcrafted scarves made from Bulgarian grandmothers who come with a unique photo story about the woman who made the scarf come to us. I ordered one for me and two for a gift, the quality is very good and it’s a unique feeling to have in your hands something so personal, human and real, made by hand, especially for you. For the small children in the family I will order toys and backpacks from WWF’s online store because every purchase from the e-shop helps WWF to protect endangered animal species, centuries-old forests, rivers and their inhabitants. And who would not have enjoyed a panda or a koala toy? I ordered a T-shirt for myself because I liked how basic and practical they were. I will also order some handmade things from www.olemale.bg that help mothers of disabled children to work and support themselves. Take a look at the site, you can find cool ideas for your Christmas decoration and other things.

The truth is that I’m one of those “strange” people who love more giving presents than receiving them. It’s strange but I feel happier when I’m preparing something for someone, not when I get it. I will not hide that the bloggers and vloggers get great Christmas compliments in the form of products, accessories, Advent Calendars and many kinds of gifts from different brands that we can rarely use up or test. I’m endlessly grateful for this opportunity but for myself I have chosen to give away everything I will not use soon or it’s not right for me, not to store and keep things for a future indefinitely. I’ve told you before that I’m not collecting any extras, I don’t need a huge makeup collection and 20 palettes. I just don’t find it necessary. But a very sweet and different gift excited me by heart because I really admire aromatic candles and it was one of my first surprises under the tree for this year. The gift was a box with the limited edition of Glade Nutcracker candles, which was full of hazelnuts and smelled of something sweet that brought me back to my childhood. It reminded me of the smell of plum jam, which the grandmother Miche from the next door apartment on the block was making when I was a kid and she carried jars just for me and my mom was making pancakes. I remember that grandma Miche added pelargonium roseum, a little bit of powdered sugar and I haven’t had a more delicious jam since. Such an interesting thing is the aromas, they brings so many hidden memories and history.

The whole atmosphere at home inspired me to also buy a small book that combines some of my favorite Grimm’s fairy tales, to prepare a new YouTube Christmas playlist and to enjoy. And our plan with Kalo was to meet Christmas in another place, our place called a new home, but everything good in life takes time … In the beginning this news disappoints me a little, as if Christmas wouldn’t be the same as before, I didn’t care to decorate, to do something nice and meaningful for our old home, to contribute to the Christmas mood myself, to feel good and be cozy, I just wanted nothing of it but just for the time to pass and pass, as quickly as possible. But Kalo, the little hairy creature in the corner – my little cat Bebo and the sweet surprise of Glade – showed me that not the place makes the house a home, but the people and the energy inside it that they create. And the home is a home where your kitten sleeps and everything is as warm and rewarding as you create it because you are just together. And we are really happy if we can enjoy the things we have now.

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Computer glasses – Ralph Lauren by Leonardo Optics

Brown sweater and dress – LC Wakiki

Laptop – Acer Swift 3