Well, it's official: it's the 26th of December, also known as the day after Christmas.  All of the giddiness and excitement has dwindled down and now we're all enjoying the gentle quiet of post-Christmas.  An added space has taken up our rooms, made up of boxes and envelopes and gifts and filled stockings we received from relatives and close family the day before.




I don't want this post to be me boasting about all of the things I got for Christmas in a show-offy manner or to rub it in anyone else's face, and I even considered to myself whether people typically make posts like these and whether they're okay to make.  But I think this post seems pretty harmless and I thought it would be fun to give people a little peek at my Christmas haul :)  This Christmas was  definitely harder than past Christmases.  It took awhile to truly get into the spirit and it was clear that things were changing more and more with every year, as we are all getting older.  I didn't have a whole lot on my Christmas list to begin with and didn't have very high expectations, so it was such a thrill on Christmas morning to still be so surprised opening each gift!  They were all pretty simple items, but they were all things I really wanted!  I'm so content with the little bundle of gifts now sitting in my room.

The first pair of gifts in my haul are these two black sweaters.  Oddly enough, I own no black sweaters other than a somewhat nice velvety one.  But I don't have any real, thick, casual black sweaters, which is something basic that I've really been wanting.  I also like that the bottom one is more of a cable-knit sweater while the top one is a bit more casual.

Sorry for this quality picture.  I'm working with a serious lack of good lighting here...

Yet another basic I received, but that I can always use more of, were a pair of black leggings!




The next gifts in my haul are a few pairs of tights, which is something I'm starting to want more of lately, as I'm finding myself transitioning from leggings in favor of wearing tights more often.  I got these two cute grey tights, which I am so excited to try on with some of my outfits!

Closeup!

 And I also got this pair of burgundy tights, which is a color I've wanted for a long time, and these ones especially are so cozy!  It's like wearing a sweater on your legs.  As you can probably tell from the picture below, this pair is no longer in its original packaging because I've already started to wear them.  I couldn't resist!



I especially love how they look with my new black sweater:


Another great thing about these leggings is that the inside has really soft brown fleece, which makes these so warm and cozy when you slip them on!  I definitely look forward to wearing these as the cold winter months creep around the corner.  I don't care if they have reindeer on them, I'd wear these all winter long!


Now we've reached my favorite gifts I received this year!  As you may or may not know, I am an avid book reader and collector, and every time I read a really good book, I just have to put it on my wishlist and add it to my beloved collection.  So when I opened all of these, I was in complete book heaven.  I read all of these last year and fell in love with them, and I am so happy to now be the owner of all of these wonderful books... and it makes it so much more satisfying that each of these books has gorgeous covers!






*squeal!*

Finally, the last gift in my Christmas haul is this absolutely beautiful red Sherpa blanket.  About a month ago, I was in the Christmas mood and was browsing Christmasy blankets to buy until I saw this and I just thought it was so magical.  At a glance, it looked like Santa's red suit, which is why I now fondly refer to this as my "Santa blanket."  This was yet another item that completely left my mind by Christmas morning and it also happened to be the last gift I opened.  I was so happy to unwrap this, and now I cannot wait until next year when I can wrap myself up in this cozy blanket and lay by the fireplace :)




And those are all my Christmas gifts I received this year! (not counting a few gift cards, money from relatives, etc.)  This turned out to be a wonderful Christmas in the end and I am so immensely grateful for each of the gifts I received.  Now I look forward to spending time with family and enjoying the rest of my break until I go back to school.  I hope you all had a wonderful holiday spent with loved ones.  Until the next time I write!

Happy holidays and Happy New Year!
x Danielle