Natalie Wiseman, 40, a regional gym operations manager from Newham, East London, has her Christmas tree up and decorated all year round, rotating her decorations to put them up in June and July. She has already bought all her presents early, saving around £800 by purchasing bargains in the January sales.
Early Savings and Preparation
Natalie estimates she saves at least £800 on presents by starting her shopping in January. "Last year, I bought five or six boxes of chocolates for the price of two so it meant I had presents ready to go without forking out a fortune," she said. She also buys Christmas food shopping weekly, including tinned items and gravy, to spread the cost.
Year-Round Festive Spirit
After Christmas, Natalie changes her tree decorations to an 80s and 90s theme with colourful lights and foil adornments. Come summer, she gives it a festive makeover. "All of your Christmas baubles and tinsels have different memories attached to it," she explained.
Natalie plays Christmas music every morning and never gets bored by rotating the songs. Her family and friends support her festive enthusiasm. "My two eldest love Christmas as much as I do and my two youngest are fine with what I do, even my boss knows how much I love Christmas!" she said.
Christmas Traditions and Social Media
Natalie's Christmas Eve tradition involves Chinese food and hot chocolate, while Christmas Day is conventional with dinner and TV. She plans to take her nearly two-year-old grandson to see Father Christmas and ride the Polar Express train. "Last year, he was a bit too little to know what was going on but he loves the lights already," she noted.
Natalie owns 15 sets of Christmas pyjamas and 15 festive jumpers, which she wears all year. On her TikTok page @xmas6609, she shares daily countdowns to Christmas. "Most of the reception that I get on social media is very positive and I don’t let the haters upset me because if they think it is too early to celebrate, then that is fine with me," she said. She has made Christmas content creator friends through a Discord server she set up and receives messages from people saying her content helps their mental health.
Spreading Early Cheer
Natalie encourages everyone to spread early festive cheer. "It doesn’t always have to be something big, even drinking my cup of tea out of my Christmas mug helps to boost my mood," she said. "Christmas isn’t just on the day, it is a whole period of joy and happiness you can get involved in very easily."
