Festive pulled pork and drinks with Poundland

I had a sneaky feeling that last week would feel a little strange. Usually I'd be popping my out-of-office on, leaving work and packing up my suitcase before embarking on my annual pilgrimage to see the family. But this year we'll not only be spending our first Christmas just the two of us, but I will also never step back into my old office again. On Friday I finished my job at Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity after more than four years there. I won't deny feeling a little sad. GOSH has been responsible for some of my closest friendships (including two of my bridesmaids) and I've been genuinely happy there.

Not wanting to restrict my farewells to the pub, I invited some of my nearest and dearest round for a few Christmas drinks and some pulled pork so we could say goodbye properly before Frank and I head to Manchester. This posed a little challenge: we're trying to save every penny at the moment for our upcoming move, but I wanted to create a little winter wonderland so that everyone would feel suitably Christmassy and festive. Very kindly, Poundland gave me a £25 voucher to create a festive atmosphere, so I popped down to my local store and gawped at all the bargains on offer.

We picked up a couple of packs of Christmas paper chains, and after an intensive session of licking and sticking, managed to cover our entire lounge ceiling (with lots still left over!)

The Merry Christmas banner spruced up our large lounge window.

At Frank's request I bought various chocolate treats for the tree, as well as some pretty wooden ornaments.

The festive table runner was a steal at £1.

Naturally a Christmassy home wouldn't be complete without some tinsel...

Possibly my favourite purchase was this magic snow - a little tube of powder. You mix 1tsp with 60ml of water and it froths into beautiful fake snow that you can sprinkle over your table.

This little wine glass charms were adorable and will no doubt get used year after year.

I also picked up a kilner jar and lots of sweets to stuff inside (along with some Matchmakers of course!)

Add to this a hoard of paper napkins, knitted stockings, festive gift bags and Christmas ornaments and we were well on our way to Christmas Day. My friends devoured the pulled pork, drank spiced apple cider and mulled wine and we bid each other a fond farewell. For now...

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