Things that suck in winter !

Coming from Australia I've never been too keen on the cold, and although I've now lived in the UK for almost ten years I still have trouble with the cold come December (although the excitement of snow I don't think will EVER wear off!) I FREAKING LOVE THATS STUFF!

Though in Edinburgh we are blessed with a multitude of fairy lights, Christmas markets and fun fairs come December ( as well as visiting reindeer ) which does make the dark nights and cold way more bearable and glamorous! (Plus I'm a sucker for a scented candle or anything involving cinammon, pine or any smell the wise men brought ) so its handleable... There are some things though that I never really noticed until I had a child that truly suck come winter.

1. The amount of time it takes to get your child prepared to GO OUTSIDE!!!!! The number of times I have already stood waiting with my scarf, gloves, hat, huge jacket and fifteen layers underneath sweating and barely able to move whilst trying to still get the dude to "For the love of god please get your shoes on or mummy will cry!" knowing full well there are still gloves, jacket - and argument about which jacket, hat ( trying to FIND the hat - then finding the hat and realising its last years hat and therefore no longer reaches the dudes ears - then cursing repeatedly for not being organised enough and realising I should've bought a new hat in October when I purchased new gloves and scarf. ) Taking a total of 47 minutes to get each finger into gloves and wishing I had've bought mittens instead, then remembering I had this same problem last year and making a mental note to remember next year, (instantly forgetting.) All whilst sweating but not wanting to take anything off as of course, I'm running late! Phew!

2. Getting ANYWHERE! We live quite centrally and although we use City Car - Fab and highly recommended, we either walk or use buses. This completely sucks during winter when its either - So windy you can hardly breathe let alone hold onto your dude or dudette and see where you are going, or pouring with rain, or both! Which often results in me shouting at the dude to keep walking and not do the 50 or so necessary stops to look at things on the way ( You have a child you know what I'm talking about.) And by the time I get to where I'm going I'm exhausted from battling the wind and look a mess! Time for a lie down.

3. PLAYPARKS ARE HELL IN WINTER! I love a playpark, they are free they are fresh air there are other children to socialise with, they are a great place to meet up with other mothers for play dates, did I mention they are totally free! But in winter they are the coldest places on earth, and the better the playpark the colder they seem to be! Take The Meadows, I think hands down the best play park in central Edinburgh, always busy, heaps of space and loads for kids to do. In winter it is like being in a fridge with a broken seal with a fan on you at fullblast in the middle of Antarctica. The same as Inverleith park, another fantastic park and close by for me but in winter it is horrendous ! And no matter how many layers you prepare yourself with and how many hats and gloves and scarf after about half an hour you would consider diving into the pond there with the swans because surely it can't be as cold as standing in the middle of that with the wind going full pelt.

Having said that, there is nowhere like Edinburgh at Christmas and I wouldn't swap it for the world, a backyard barbecue just doesn't have the same appeal for me anymore. I love Christmas in the cold, just don't ask me to meet you in a playpark with my dude in the next half hour or so.

#Christmas