\n\t \n<\/p>\n
\n\tHave Yourself A Merry Little Christmas <\/strong><\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n\t \n<\/p>\n \n\tChristmas will be different this year. It seems everything this year has challenged us with means we deserve a new future, a new year to cap off the disastrous 2017. But with it comes a desire for a better 2018, one with less tragedy and less worry, one I’m highly doubtful we’ll be graced with. As you attempt to track through the awful past year, too many tragedies appear; but thankfully, some good has come out of this year, too. Perhaps the definition of 2017 is Time magazine’s Person of the Year being the men and women who stood up against their abusers this year, an ongoing battle I wish to see more of; but with Donald Trump taking second place. A year of wins, sprinkled with losses, too.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n\tAs we review this year, we need to take note of the good things. All too often do we dwell on the bad – remember the solidarity of women standing together at the Women’s Marches, and the world banding together in light of the numerous terror attacks, to prove we will not our futures be defined by the ugliness of these attacks. When you think of this year – although it’s so hard – try not to think about the ludicrous fact that Donald Trump (practically a five year old) is running America; daydream about his impeachment and Bernie Sanders storming in with a new Congress to pass the bills for free healthcare and re-instating Planned Parenthood. When you think of the Harvey Weinstein cases, don’t waste time on him and his supporters, educate yourself on the victims who finally allowed themselves a voice.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n\tFollowing 2016 murderous rampage practically of celebrity after celebrity dying, we were graced with 2017’s own tragedies of sexual abusers. As one user on Tumblr aptly put it – last year you worried if your favourite celebrity was trending in case they were dead, this year you’re worried they are an abuser. Which then is worse?<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n\tTake the time this year to think about your successes this year. This year I passed my first year of A Levels without too much hassle; have applied to Universities and gained offers; have passed my final LAMDA examination; have (finally) passed my theory test; have gained multiple opportunities to expand my future, and have further gained stronger friendships. I’m grateful that I’m sure there’s more I could say about this year, and am more than grateful that I don’t know what I want for Christmas. Maybe the one thing I want for Christmas is impossible to have – an even better 2018.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n\tWhen I sit watching the Christmas specials flood my screen at Christmas, and enjoy the feeling of having my family around me, I’ll realise I’m grateful for this year.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n\tBecause despite how awful it appears to have been on the outside, it’s allowed me to expand my horizons, and realise that my future is quickly shaping to be better than I’d hoped. For Christmas this year, I just hope that everyone else feels that they can call themselves stronger for having overcome a Millennial’s Year from Hell.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n\t \n<\/p>\n \n\tBy Tirion Davies<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas Christmas will be different this year. It seems everything this year has challenged us with means we deserve a new future, a new year to cap off the disastrous 2017. But with it comes a desire for a better 2018, one with less tragedy and less worry, one I’m highly doubtful we’ll […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[274,228,1],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6cWjO-14w","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12563,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=12563","url_meta":{"origin":4124,"position":0},"title":"Merry Christmas from the \u2018What\u2019s On\u2019 Team","author":"Alan Williams","date":"5th December 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "General Interest Articles"","block_context":{"text":"General Interest Articles","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=334"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Thank-you.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Thank-you.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Thank-you.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Thank-you.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10817,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=10817","url_meta":{"origin":4124,"position":1},"title":"Merry Christmas from \u2018What\u2019s On\u2019","author":"Alan Williams","date":"13th December 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0","rel":"","context":"In "General Interest Articles"","block_context":{"text":"General Interest Articles","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=334"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Merry-Xmas.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Merry-Xmas.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Merry-Xmas.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Merry-Xmas.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8624,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=8624","url_meta":{"origin":4124,"position":2},"title":"Merry Christmas From The What’s On Team","author":"Alan Williams","date":"28th November 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0","rel":"","context":"In "General Interest Articles"","block_context":{"text":"General Interest Articles","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=334"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16332,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=16332","url_meta":{"origin":4124,"position":3},"title":"Christmas Crafts Well Underway","author":"Alan Williams","date":"30th November 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"WENVOE PLAYGROUP NEWS AND EVENTS Registered Charity, right in the heart of the Village. www.wenvoeplaygroup.co.uk As I write this, Christmas crafts are well underway here at the playgroup. The children have all settled well into Playgroup life this Autumn Term. Please visit our website www.wenvoeplaygroup.co.uk to view our gallery of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "New Items for December 2025"","block_context":{"text":"New Items for December 2025","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=428"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10809,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=10809","url_meta":{"origin":4124,"position":4},"title":"Christmas Sugar Cookies","author":"Alan Williams","date":"13th December 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Christmas Sugar Cookies 300g caster sugar 140g butter 2 large eggs 1 tbsp vanilla extract 2 tbsp milk 550g plain flour 2 tsp baking powder 1\/2 tsp salt 200g glace cherries, chopped In a large bowl, beat the sugar and butter together until pale and creamy. Gradually beat in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mr Greedy's Kitchen"","block_context":{"text":"Mr Greedy's Kitchen","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=129"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1927,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=1927","url_meta":{"origin":4124,"position":5},"title":"Christmas Preparations","author":"Alan Williams","date":"5th December 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"As we write this we are busy creating our Christmas crafts and practising our songs in time for Christmas. Our concert this year is on Friday 16th December at 11am here at the playgroup. Our news. Most recently we benefited from a grant from the \u2018Big Lottery\u2019 to help with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Wenvoe Playgroup"","block_context":{"text":"Wenvoe Playgroup","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=94"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4124"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4124"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4124\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4125,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4124\/revisions\/4125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}