As the first week of December rolled around, it was time for our annual festive friends holiday – something I had been looking forward to even more than usual, after a month or so of feeling very anxious and overwhelmed.

Last year, we went to Burton Bradstock for our festive weekend, which was absolutely lovely and the best house we’d stayed in so far… but this year’s farmhouse trumped it (although I missed being able to walk to the beach).

While last year’s trip saw at least a couple of chilly walks by the seaside, this year I only went as far as the bottom of the garden. Others did go for a walk (we had 2 dogs in the group after all), but I chose to spend that time having a nap, or being incredibly cosy on the sofa.

It was such a relaxing few days, I really switched off from (almost) everything that was making me anxious, ignored real life, and just had a lovely time with some lovely people.

Because of this, I haven’t got many photos – just a few of the house, the garden, and a few of our meals.

Arriving at our farmhouse AirBnb in Exford

After getting a little bit lost, we arrived at the house at dusk, greeted by hundreds of pheasants on our way in. The almost-full moon greeted us, and smoke clung to the air.

The house was HUGE in comparison to some we’ve stayed in before – every bedroom had an en suite bathroom, and there was a lovely big kitchen-diner next to the spacious lounge – with a lovely big fireplace, which was lit immediately as I opened a bottle of bubbly and the first arrivals waited for more friends and the food shop to arrive.

The evening was spent greeting friends, catching up, drinking, and eating homemade pizzas with dough from Bristol pizza shop Gigi’s again! We are so lucky to have such well-connected friends.

We played some games in the games room, and a handful of us stayed up late into the night talking, not wanting the fun to end quite yet.

Faux Christmas Day in Somerset

We pretended the first full day was our Christmas Day, just like we did last year. I woke up to see that the garden was covered in a sparkling layer of frost. While we waited for others to wake, a few of us has a gentle walk around the garden with hot drinks.

It was such a magical morning – I’m particularly fond of the mossy tree, and I can imagine that being a little kid here would be so much fun. There is so much potential for a child’s imagination to run wild, with a stream at the bottom of the garden, all sorts of nooks and crannies where fairies could live… it’s a very lovely place to be.

And, as you can see in the photo below, there is also a hot tub! We didn’t get around to using it during this trip, but if we return, we definitely will.

Once he was up, Mike and I set about making pancakes for everyone again, as he is the pancake king. I laid the table with fruit, bacon, syrup and honey, as well as the makings for Buck’s Fizz.

This year, I was the one who needed a nap after breakfast, so I got one in while others went for a walk and to get some extra supplies we were missing. The house was so quiet. It was a really cosy feeling, listening to everyone come home and start preparing Christmas Dinner while I woke up and got dressed.

The Christmas roast was spectacular as always – the cauliflower cheese might just have been the glistening golden crown.

After a short recovery period, we launched into a Christmas quiz that our friend put together, with multiple themed rounds. I am a sore loser, so I was very pleased when it turned out that Mike and I had won – with a couple of odd gifts that the others had picked up from a local shop earlier in the day.

We watched a Christmas movie, had a couple more drinks, ate some freshly baked brownie and Vienetta, and slowly made our way to bed with very full tummies.

A very cosy day in Exford

The next day, a bunch of us pitched in to make a fry up, and then a few of us lounged on the sofa and watched a couple more Christmas films. I had the genius idea to bring the duvet down from our bed, making the sofa an extra cosy spot to be.

There were a few Christmassy snacks floating about, and then we decided to make a cheese station with crackers, chutneys and other nibbly bits to eat while we watched, and a bottle of port made an appearance too.

It felt so good to not have to be anywhere or do anything.

In the evening we had an incredible feast of curries again – I think our menu/food shop was almost exactly the same as last year’s trip! – and just like last year, I was so full from a few days of feasting that I couldn’t eat much.

We really need to remember to bring tupperware for leftovers next year.

We were lucky enough to get a late check-out on our last morning, so there was no rush for eating a bit of breakfast, sorting out the leftover food and drink to take home, and packing up our bits.

It really felt like it was over too soon, and I think we’re going to try for a night or 2 extra next year. I already can’t wait.