The ultimate Christmas film night in

One of the things I love most about this time of the year is how sociable it is! December is party after party after party, and I have been known to enjoy a party.

But as someone who enjoys going out - Christmastime or not - a rare night in is a real treat.

It's my favourite time of the year and there is simply so much fun to be had, but that needn't always mean going out - I decided to invite over some of my best gals and have a relaxing, cosy and Christmassy night in watching films.

I wanted the night to be a bit more special than the spontaneous (but still lovely) film nights my flatmates and I often end up having, so I made sure to set the festive scene.

Fortunately, the flat has been a Christmas grotto since December 1st, so there were only a few finishing touches left to get.

Crackers, festive candles, twinkly lights, a poinsettia, my gingerbread-scented wax melt, Christmas napkins and a pretty mandarin, clove & cinnamon room spray (from M&S) made for a deliciously festive vibe, if I do say so myself.

The girls soon arrived so I popped open a bottle of prosecco (obviously) and we snuggled up on the sofa in Christmas jumpers.

Crackers were pulled, bad jokes were read, party hats were donned. W sipped our drinks and nibbled on crudités and houmous whilst deciding which festive film to watch first.

Decision made, I popped some food in the oven.

I'm not going to pretend - absolutely no cooking was involved in this evening. But hey, it's a busy time of year. Also, for a film night I figured you want nibbly bits rather than a plate you have to try and balance on your lap. Also also, M&S have some cracking party food and they were on 4 for 3 sooooo...

We had Christmas tree-shaped mini pizzas, a mini sausage party selection, cheese and onion muffins (omg they were so good you simply must get some) and cheese and garlic dough balls.

So good. And yes, I bought food for about ten people even though there were five of us but god forbid anyone should leave hungry. (They left stuffed, my bad.)

Nawwwww ma pals.

Oh, and by this point we'd started watching It's a Wonderful Life because only Ellie had ever seen it. Also, research by E.ON recently found it's the festive film Brits would most like to step into, so it is quite frankly outrageous that only one of us had seen it.

The trouble was, we kept pausing to chat. Well, put a group of girlfriends together and what do you expect?

Savouried-out, it was time to hit the sugar.

And more bubbles. Cos Christmas.

We had starry brownie squares, Baileys chocolates, pecan and chocolate popcorn, strawberries and Christmas Percy Pigs (he's wearing Santa hats you guys!)

I like to think I had a nice pudding snack variation - chocolate, sweets, fruit and of course, popcorn, for what is a film night without popcorn?

Naturally, we ate far too much and before long had to move on from prosecco to peppermint tea.

My plan had been to watch two films over the course of the evening. We managed half of one because we were talking so much. So yes, in some ways you could say it was a failed film night, but in my books it was a huge success.

It was an evening of fun, friends, food and festive cheer, with a bit of film thrown in for good measure.

Thanks to E.ON for inviting me to host my film night. E.ON is now proud sponsor of Sky Cinema Premiere and Sky Cinema Family.