How I Spent My Thursday: Festive Shopping and Rekindling Hobbies

Thursday was shopping day, and as usual, my mom and I followed our routine. We started at Home Bargains, picking up snacks for my daughter—pop, crisps, chocolate, all her favourites for college and home. I also grabbed a few more stocking fillers for her Christmas pile. Between these little treats and the cash I plan to transfer on Christmas Day, she’ll have plenty to enjoy. Her gifts are stacking up nicely, and it’s always satisfying to see everything coming together for the holidays.

After Home Bargains, we moved on to Sainsbury’s for the main food shop. Switching from Aldi to Sainsbury’s has been such a game changer. While Aldi is great for budget shopping, I found their fruit and vegetables didn’t stay fresh for long. Sainsbury’s produce, on the other hand, lasts much longer, and the tailored discounts through their app make it just as affordable. I’m a creature of habit and tend to buy the same items weekly, so the personalised offers work perfectly.

We finished our trip with a quick stop at Poundland for a look around. I also picked up a small Tupperware container for defrosting my frozen fruit portions overnight, which makes breakfast prep easier.

On the way home, I stopped by one of my brother’s. For those who don’t know, I’ve played guitar since I was 13 - 25 years now, which feels surreal. I sold all my guitars a few years ago but recently started thinking about picking it back up. I mentioned to my brother that I was considering buying a cheap acoustic to get back into it, and he suggested I borrow one of his first to see if the interest is still there. He ended up lending me a beautiful Ibanez acoustic. It’s a lovely guitar, though the action is a bit high, which makes bar chords tricky. After having a play, I think I will treat myself to a new one after Christmas.

Once I got home, I unpacked the shopping and wrapped the gifts I’d picked up. My dad, who’s on the early shift this week, stopped by around 2pm. for a cup of tea and a catch-up. I’d picked him up some of his favourite treats while shopping and also got him puff pastry mince pies, which he enjoyed with his tea. Mince pies have never been my thing, but he was happy to take the rest home.

By the time he left, it was nearly dark—around 4pm - and we’d had some wild weather earlier with heavy rain and strong winds. The early sunsets can feel a bit depressing, but there’s something comforting about being inside, warm and cosy, with the Christmas tree lights glowing. It really sets a festive mood, especially when the weather outside is less than inviting.

For dinner, I had pork chops, sweet potato, and green beans, followed by some grapes. thus evening I'll be winding down and writing a blog post for Friday. I’ve been on a roll lately with writing/posting consistently for the past few days—and I’m really enjoying it again.

Thanks for reading, and I hope your Thursday was productive and festive too!