If you’ve been around long enough, you’ll know I am irritatingly positive! That’s why, in what has been a ball-bag of a year, I refuse to write it off completely. Instead I am going to use top 5’s as a year in review!
Why Top 5’s?
When I sat and really thought about the moment’s I wanted to cherish this year. I realised that I actually had a huge amount to be grateful for. A lot that has kept me going and in fact, whittling it down would be too tricky.
So instead you get hit with lots of lists of things that I have enjoyed. Plenty of categories to share with you and move forward in to 2021 with a positive mindset.
The Top 5’s of 2020; A year in review
Top 5 Books
Reading has most definitely become a place of comfort for me this year. I managed over 20 books this year, which is about 18 more than 2019!
- Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine – Gail Honeyman
- The Family Upstairs – Lisa Jewell
- Blood Orange – Harriet Tyce
- Here to Stay – Mark Edwards
- The Cosy Christmas chocolate shop – Caroline Roberts
Top 5 Films
Not all from this year, but I have watched them this year so that’s all that counts! We, like most people, have watched an awful lot of films this year!
- Hamilton
- Baby Driver
- Little Women
- Noelle
- The Gentleman
Top 5 TV Shows
In no particular order but this list could go on and on. Lockdown gave us some serious TV time!
- Selling Sunset
- The Crown
- The Morning Show
- The Haunting of Bly Manor
- Afterlife 2
Top 5 Photographs
It was hard to pick just 5 to be honest. In a year where we spent most of it at home, it’s nice to find some moments that were outdoors!
Family snap on the pier Pre-Covid times My Nephew! He was living his best life and it makes me smile so much! Lincoln Cathedral
Top 5 Political blunders
Hard to just pick 5 really. 2020 just kept giving us ridiculous moments that we will not forget in a hurry.
- Boris Johnson telling the UK that he happily shake hands with every patient on a Covid ward with no PPE
- Donald Trump giving us his top Covid cure’s
- Matt Hancock fake crying on Good morning Britain after watching the first vaccine being administered.
- Donald Trump refusing to accept defeat!
- Dominic Cummins and that whole ridiculous fiasco!
Top 5 Blog posts
This is not my most popular blog posts of the year, that’s a whole other post. But this is the ones I enjoyed putting together the most.
- 40 quotes you must read help understand grief better
- How much can change in a decade
- The Big countdown to 40 with 101 goals in 1001 days
- A plea for Kindness and understanding
- How to avoid feeling overwhelmed this Christmas
Top 5 moments
- More time with the family I live with
- Finally seeing friends and family again
- The attic conversion being finished
- Celebrating our postponed wedding
- Meeting the Script (Weeks before lockdown!)
Top 5 Lockdown activities
- Daily walks
- Scrapbooking
- Rekindling my love of reading
- Our Disney+ movie game which we are still enjoying over 6 months later!
- Decorating
Top 5 achievements
- Surviving 2020
- Earning money from my Blog
- Reaching over 50k views on my blog
- Completing the work on our house
- Hitting my Goodreads book target in 6 months
Top 5 Songs
- The whole Hamilton soundtrack!
- Blinding lights – The Weekend
- Watermelon Sugar – Harry Styles
- Physical – Dua Lipa
- Savage Love – Jason Derulo
And there you have it! A review of 2020 in top 5’s. It’s been one heck of a year, some real highlights and many lows, but it’s close to being over. Who knows right now what 2021 will hold. But I will be walking in to it with optimism and a healthy does of positivity.
Happy new year to you all! What would be the highlight of 2020 for you?
Your positivity is not irritating xx
Oh bless you! Thank you x x
This is such a great post! Well done for reaching your reading goals. I failed my GoodReads challenge this year. If you loved Eleanor Oliphant, you might also enjoy The Cactus. I rewatched Little Women and loved it the second time around too! Also enjoyed The Crown. You’ve inspired me to make my own end of year lists. Thank you. 😊
Aww brilliant. It really helped me see that 2020 was not quite the write off I thought it was x
Great post! Glad to hear it wasn’t all doom and gloom. I’m so happy I discovered your blog 🙂
All the best, Michelle (michellesclutterbox.com)
Thank you so much Michelle x x
Oh my God Claire!! This is so amazing. You have absolutely no idea how much I love this.. I have seen many bloggers highlight only the negatives of 2020 but the fact that you were able to bring out the positives from a not-so friendly year like 2020 is everything. I love being positive and the positivity that is always radiated in your posts is matchless. love your blog so much and I feel you should know that. I love all your top 5’s but my favourites are: your top 5 photographs, your top 5 achievements, your top 5 blog posts, your top 5 moments, your top 5 books! Surviving 2020 is a great one and making money from your blog, oh darn you rocked 2020. 💕💕💕
Ruth
Thank you so much Ruth, I am so sorry for the delay in coming back to you. I am struggling to keep up with my blog with all that is going on again so I am dedicating weekends to catching up. This comment really means a lot. Thank you!!
Here is hoping 2021 is more positive for us all x x
This is such a cute wee blog post. I have to agree with your No.1 book choice. I loved it so much. It made me laugh & cry. Wishing you all a lovely new year.
I hope you had a good new year lovely. It was a great book. Eleanor reminded me of someone I knew which I think is why I related to it so much x
I think if most of us were to sit down and think about our highlights of 2020, we’d come up with quite a few. Obviously many have lost loved ones and I don’t want to diminish that, but there are also been so many treasured moments too. Thank you for sharing yours, Claire, and I love the pic of your nephew! x
Thank you Lisa. I agree, we have to take the positives from this odd year, I am so grateful that my family are safe and well but I do realise how lucky I am to be in that position. My nephew is just the cutest isn’t he, Gosh I miss him so much!
What a great way of doing a 2020 review and, in all honesty, something I wish I’d thought of! I wasn’t in the right place and didn’t give myself enough time to review the year but you’ve done it perfectly in bite size chunks. Love that our old mate Alexander Hamilton got an honourable mention, he definitely hasn’t thrown away his shot. Glad you’ve found some positive things to take from the year and looking forward to continuing to read your stuff in 2021!
You too Thomas. Let’s hope it’s a better year all round x x
I love that you’re looking at the positives from 2020. So many people are just writing it off and not thinking about the good things that have come out of it. Your political list gave me a laugh 🤣 x
You have to laugh or you might cry! These crazy men have far too much power!
I have to look at it positively or I’d be clinically depressed I think x
What a fun post Claire! I like it! Congrats on all your blog accomplishments, those are pretty amazing! I’m sorry about the postponed wedding, that’s a real bummer. A couple of my cousins had to cancel their weddings as well. And that watermelon sugar song… I’ve been humming it for months! 😂 Happy new year Claire!
It’s a brilliant song. Sorry to hear about your cousins wedding. It’s really rubbish but here’s hoping 2021 improves. Happy New Year Clarissa x x
Awh loved this! Particularly the political blunders! I think Donald Trump telling everyone to drink detergent to get rid of COVID is a once in a lifetime thing hahahah! Although I can’t BELIEVE that Eleanor Oliphant is your number one book of the year. We need to have a serious chat about this. I loved Little Women and The Gentlemen though!
Uh oh!! I think I related to Eleanor because she reminded me of a teenager I used to work with. Little Women was such a lovely film, I might need to watch it again!
This is such a great post and I think I might do it over the weekend 🙂 we loved Noelle , was such a great Xmas film
I think it might be one of my new favourite films x
It was fun to read your top 5s! I’ve been wanting to read Eleanor Oliphant for a while, it’s definitely on my list for this year! Congratulations on some amazing achievements in 2020 despite the difficulties xx
I loved reading your top 5’s of 2020 Claire, I loved reading Blood Orange, it’s such a good book! Also Weeknd – Blinding Lights has been one of my favourite songs recently! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
It really cheers me up whenever I hear it. It reminds me of all the early tiktok dance challenges and I loved that community spirit. Blood Orange was so so good. I have just lent it to a friend as I kept raving about it to her x
I love your positivity! I think it is important to always find something to be grateful for. It sounds like you really made the most of 2020. Thanks for sharing all your top 5’s!!
This is such a fun way to look back on the year and everything that happened. I might have to try this moving forward just as a way to reflect on everything myself!
What a great way of looking at things! It’s so good to find the positives in what has been a terrible year for so many! Here’s to 2021
Em | echoesofem.Wordpress.com
It has been terrible hasn’t it but there were some great moments in it x x
Thanks for sharing your top 5’s of the last year 🙂
Thank you for reading x
This is such a lovely post. Eleanor Oliphant was a top book for me as well, I really enjoyed it. Selling Sunset was also a top show for me as well, I binged all the seasons in just a few days x
We did, and we never binge watch TV, ever!
Fab post! I really liked how you split it all up into sections, congratulations on making money with your blog and all you’ve achieved this year! I hope 2021 is an even better year for you! x
Thank you so much Sophie x x
Love this and it is such a lovely positive way to look back on what has definitely been a tricky year! It sounds like you have read and watched some great books and films and well done on your achievements this year too! x
Thank you Jess. Finding positives wherever we can is really important x x
For me, I have had lots of things to be thankful for and also bad times. I have loved staying in and spending more time with my kids, I just felt less pressure to do things. Got to look on the bright side. I loved Eleanor Oliphant too!
It was such a great book! I think we have to remain positive and optimistic about the year ahead as much as we can x
Happy New Year, I hope 2021 is good to you all. It’s nice to look back on the year. I like the sound of your Disney+ Movie game. I think I will try this, this year with my bunch.
We are still using it, we’ve extended it to any film. Although that backfired on me when I had to watch Lord of the rings and the Hobbit!
I agree that The Crown was a fab series – especially loved the latest one! Your pic outside Lincoln Cathedral is fab – it’s such a lovely place too!
Tash – A Girl with a View
Thank you. It’s such a gorgeous place. I was completely wowed by it. The latest Crown series blew the others out the water, it was amazing x
Eleanor Oliphant is one of my favourite books of all time. Some great additions to your lists here, we binge watched so much TV too – loved the Morning Show but not heard of Selling Sunset
It’s seriously cheesy and based on selling luxury property in America. Lots of women = Bitchy drama. But the houses WOW!
What a lovely way to look back on the year. I reckon your Top 5 Moments No.s 1&2, will be shared by many <3 x
Thank you Lisa x x
This is a great way to round up the year. I’ve still not watched Hamilton so must do this and thanks for the series inspiration too
I really hope you enjoy Hamilton as much as I still am x x
This is such a great idea and such a positive post. I love that you’ve included so many different topics, especially the political blunders. It still blows my mind just how stupid some of those blunders have been. You’ve included some lovely family photos too.
You almost couldn’t make up the nonsense these politicians come out with hey! Thank you, I had so many pictures to choose from but I love these ones x
What a lovely way to look back at the year! I loved the book, the family upstairs too and I loved the Crown. Fab photos of you and your family xx
This is such a great way to look back at the year and also to catch up if we lost any post during the year! Eleanor Oliphant was truly a great read! Love to pictures x