What Sophie Said

I went to Elf the Musical fully aware I wouldn’t be seeing the best musical ever written, but ready for some Christmas fun. And that’s exactly what was delivered. I wouldn’t give it any awards when pitched against other musicals (not even close), but Elf the Musical is probably the most unapologetically Christmassy entertainment you’ll find on any stage. The musical is incredibly true to the film, which is potentially both what makes it great and what lets it down. Was it ever really going to beat the film so many name as their favourite at this time of year? Especially a film so well-known and so ‘quote-able’. However, all of the classic lines and the heart-warming story are there. The musical had a huge cast, considering there are only a few named characters, and this really added to the ‘party’ feel of the bigger, Christmassy group numbers. ‘Christmastown’ was a great opening, and set the mood for the show ahead. The elves were hilarious, with each actor giving their ...

December is such an exciting month, full of merriment and friends and family, and of course it features Christmas. Here are my ten favourite things about the final month of the year: Family time. My family are great, simple as. Advent calendar chocolate for breakfast. Why does chocolate taste ten times better when it’s been hidden behind a cardboard and foil window? Christmas songs. I know they’re cheesy, but I love them. Christmas carols. I love singing them at the top of my voice in Christmas services. Giving presents. There’s nothing nicer than being able to treat the people you care about Christmas decorations. Everything is so bright and sparkly! The gatherings. The chance to get dressed up and have a good old catch-up with friends and family. Christmas jumpers. They’re so warm and so cheesy: perfect. The mood. People seem so excited, and happy to be heading off for a break from ‘normal life’. The traditions. There’s something so cosy and comforting about family Ch...

I’ve ‘almost’ written this post so many times. As a fact in itself, this makes me sad. Each time I’m prompted to write it, I take a step back, and just note it down. Because I don’t want to make it clear each time exactly what I’m reacting to. The particular discussion/topic doesn’t actually matter. What matters are people’s reactions to it. On the one hand, the blogging/social media world is a tight-knit community. People make great friendships. People share great content. People applaud one another’s successes. But every now and then – and unfortunately it’s fairly consistent – there’s drama. This is to be expected to an extent. After all, no one is happy all of the time, and arguments and disagreements happen. The majority of the time, people are mature enough to accept that it’s ok to have different opinions. Sometimes, these opinions are harmful or upsetting to one or multiple people. Sometimes, it’s impossible not to respond. The probl...

Hello, December. You’ve raced towards us, this year. I always look forward to December. I’m a summer girl through and through, but December holds a special place. It’s so Christmassy. Bright. Festive. Busy. Full of family. Full of friends. Full of excitement. I get an overwhelming mixture of emotions in December. I had a couple of strange ones. In one, I was home after my first term of university, where I wasn’t happy. That December/ January, my sister was really poorly. I didn’t like that year. In another, I felt nauseous. A lot. I was convinced I had some kind of bug, but couldn’t figure it out. Chewing gum (the minty taste) kept me going through social outings. That was third year of uni. A couple of months later, it became clear that had been the first signs of my anxiety taking hold. In another December, I was struggling, probably at one of the worst parts of my panicking. I had to leave the room during a family gathering. I ate next to nothing...