So, the advent calendar is out and Facebook is littered with photographs of people decorating their trees. We are about to rediscover our annual month long obsession with Slade and Wizzard and I'm sitting with a big pile of Christmas cards in front of me ready to be written. I'm not going to share the designs here until you've all actually receive your cards so instead, I thought I'd get in the mood by revisiting a few old favourites.
These pictures are different to most pictures on my blog because they're not actually places I've been to so they don't have stories associated with them. Instead, they came from those books people buy you when they come back from a particularly scenic holiday. Or the ones they get you for Christmas sometimes that list out thousands of places you're supposed to visit before you die. Although they represent an immense challenge, I do actually quite like those books because they have some lovely pictures in them.
The first picture is (I think) Yosemite which is right at the top of my travel wishlist. The second one is Banff which is actually somewhere I've been but I never saw this place. I always think it looks like such a cosy little cabin tucked away in the mountains and a great place to spend Christmas. I've no idea where the third one is but it looks like lovely snow to ski on - maybe popping back to that cabin afterwards for a vin chaud.
I've reprinted each of these pictures a couple of times over the years because they're three of my personal favourites so I'm sure some of you will recognise them. I hope you like them as much as I do and enjoy the countdown to Christmas wherever you are.