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Do you ever go to the January sales? Most shops have sales after Christmas. They used to start in January, but now they start earlier. Some sales start before Christmas, some start on Christmas Day and some start the day after.

When I was a child, the sales usually started in January, so we called them January sales. I always looked forward to the January sales. I often got money for Christmas from relatives. I spent the money in the sales in January. I usually bought books or music.

Now, I go to the sales on December 26th or 27th. The shops are packed with people searching for bargains. I usually buy clothes now. I don’t go clothes shopping in Japan, so I buy my clothes in the UK. The sale season is the perfect time for me to go shopping. I can only buy a few items though, because if I buy many clothes, they don’t fit into my suitcase! One year, I bought too many clothes, and I had to send them to Japan by airmail, because I couldn’t carry them! Since then, I’m always careful not to buy too much.

Heather @ I Talk You Talk Press

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Are you making any New Year’s resolutions? A New Year’s resolution is a change you want to make, or a goal you want to aim for. Some common New Year’s resolutions are “I’m going to stop smoking”, “I’m going to cut down on alcohol”, “I’m going to exercise more,” “I’m going to study hard”, “I’m going to lose weight,” etc.

For 2019, my New Year’s resolutions are:

• write more graded readers
• exercise for an hour every day
• study Russian, Chinese and French every day
• eat less chocolate (I don’t know if I can do this one…)
• spend more time outside

How about you? What are your New Year’s Resolutions?

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Is it just me, or has this year flown by? It seems that each year seems to pass more quickly than the last. January seems like only a few months ago! People say that the years seem to speed up as we get older. I agree with this. When I was a child, the years seemed to pass slowly. When I started working, they started to speed up. Maybe it is because we are so busy every day.

This year, the summer was very hot. Summer seemed to pass slowly. I was looking forward to cooler weather, but the long summer days seemed to last forever. Then when it became cooler, time started to speed up again.

Next year, I want time to slow down. Maybe I need to make some changes for this to happen. Maybe I need to spend some time sitting quietly, or I need to take more time off work to relax and enjoy the days. Maybe I need to get out more! I think many of my days are the same. Maybe I need more excitement! I’ve thought about keeping a diary, but I know that I won’t keep it up for long. Maybe I can try to do something different every day. Even if it’s just a small thing. I think I will appreciate the passing time more.

Heather @ I Talk You Talk Press

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Sending Christmas cards is a popular tradition at Christmas. When I was a child, I used to send a card to everyone in my class at school. Then, when I went to high school, I just sent cards to my family and friends. Now that I’m older, I only send cards to my family and close friends.

I buy the Christmas cards in Japan. There are some interesting Christmas cards here. My favourite cards have illustrations of famous Japanese sights, such as Mt. Fuji, Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto, or Izumo Taisha Shrine in Shimane. The pictures are filled with mini Santas! My family like these cards very much. They are different from the cards which are available in the UK.

There are many other beautiful cards too. These cards have brightly coloured pictures of Mt. Fuji or other places in Japan. They are expensive, but they look nice, and different from the other cards in people’s houses.

Heather @ I Talk You Talk Press